Niujie Mosque

The Niujie Mosque (Chinese牛街 礼拜寺, Pinyin Niujie libaisi, English Niujie Mosque / Ox Street Mosque, Mosque in cattle alley '), which in Chinese as Niujie Qingzhensi (牛街 清真寺) and as Mingsi (明 寺) is called, is the city in Beijing Xuanwu District on the Niujie street 88 ( "mad cow road " ), this mosque. It is the oldest mosque in the city.

The mosque was built during the reign of Khitan (916-1125) or according to the Chinese calendar in the second year of the reign era Zhidao the Song Emperor Taizong (996) as a first relatively small investment and in the Mongol, Ming and Manchu - time expanded. After the extensions under the Qing Emperor Kangxi, it is now also Beijing's largest mosque, which can accommodate over a thousand people.

The mosque is reminiscent at first glance to a Chinese temple, but it represents a mixture that combines Chinese and Arabic architectural style in itself. The mosque has a floor area of ​​nearly 6000 square meters and consists of three successive courtyards with rooms on all four sides.

The building called Wangyuelou ( Moon observation building) was used for determination of time by the observation of the stars, the faithful are called to worship of the building Bangkelou from. As in other mosques are wash rooms, lecture halls, a library and attached homes. The large prayer hall ( Dadian ) is located in the center of the resort and the main building.

On stone tablets from the Ming period the appointment of this mosque one of the official stamp is shown.

Behind the mosque are the tombs of two Akhunds whose stone tablets were placed with Arabic script in 1281 and 1283 during the reign of the first Mongol Emperor Kublai. They had come from Persia or from Bukhara in the Chinese capital to preach Islam.

The Niujie Mosque Open since 1988 on the list of monuments of the People's Republic of China ( 3-134 ).

The area around the mosque is predominantly inhabited by Muslim members of ethnic or religious minorities Uighur and Hui.