Niujie Mosque

Southwest of outer Beijing City is the Xuanwu District, where the Niujie Street was located at, formerly called Liuhe Village. In the past this street was ornated with vegetable and fruit gardens. Today, its main attraction is the Niujie Mosque. Built in 996 during the Liao Dynasty, it is the biggest and oldest mosque in Beijing. In 1442 during the Ming Dynasty, and in 1696 during the Qing Dynasty, the Mosque was repaired several times.

The Niujie Mosque is a famous Islamic temple covering an area of approximately 6000 square meters. With the hexagonal Watching Moon Tower that is unique to Islamic temples, the Niujie Mosque presents an aesthetic blend of architecture, reflecting both ancient Chinese palaces and Arabian mosques.

Architecture and Scale of Niujie Mosque
The Mosque, built of timber, protects some important cultural relics and tablets, such as the upright tablet of an emperor's decree proclaimed in 1694 during the Qing Dynasty. Altogether there are 42 rooms, of which the main part is the Prayer Hall taking up more than 600 square meters. The Hall can permit more than 1000 persons to pray at the same time and consists of three spacious enclosing corridors. There are also 18 posts forming 21 arches that support the Hall. Parts of Alcoran are carved on two of the arches. In the middle of the Hall is a tablet of scriptures written in letters of gold.

Main Building in Niujie Mosque
The Prayer Hall goes by the name of Kiln Hall. At the back of the Hall is a hexagonal pavilion with a vault, which makes the Hall like a kiln, explaining the origin of this name. The kiln roof is a form of Chinese traditional architecture called Zaojing, which is also often found in the roofs of buildings in China. Usually, Zaojing is square or round. The Zaojing in the Prayer Hall is ornated with colorful engravings and drawings.

Outside the Hall are two stele pavilions. One is at the north and the other at the south side. Stone tablets are inside the pavilions, which were set in 1496 during the Ming Dynasty and have remained in their initial setting. On both sides of the Hall are the northern and southern lecture rooms used to lecture about the scriptures. The northern lecture room still has parts of ancient porcelain and is decorated with various kinds of scriptures. Also exterior to the Hall is the Xuanli Tower, which was used to call people to prayer. East of this tower is a hall that was used as a gathering spot for Muslims.

Finally, there is a yard at the southeast corner of the Mosque. Inside the yard are the tombs of two noble monks from the nearby countries, who came to China to spread the word of religion and died there. The words carved on the tablets of the two ancient tombs remain in perfect condition and are a rare cultural relic in China.