The Niujie
(Ox Street) Mosque in Beijing's Xuanwu District, the spiritual centre
for the 10, 000 Muslims living in the vicinity, is the biggest and oldest
one in Beijing. Beijing has about 250,000 Muslims. The Niujie Street
in Xuanwu District, where the mosque is located, is the largest area
inhabited by Muslims in Beijing.
Architecture
The Niujie Mosque is a famous Islamic temple covering an area of approximately
6000 square meters. The mosque is a mixture of Islamic and Chinese cultures.
Niujie Mosque consists of an observation tower, prayer hall, and minaret
with a pavilion on each side. More
information...
History The Niujie mosque, the largest among the 68 mosques in the Chinese
capital, was built in 996 AD during the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), the
mosque was rebuilt in 1442 in the Ming Dynasty and expanded in 1696
under the Qing Dynasty. It is now one of the major mosques in north
China. More information...
Custom of Muslins Muslims must wash their whole bodies on Friday, the major prayer
day. They only need to wash their heads, hands and feet on other days.
Muslims
are supposed to pray five times a day at dawn, at mid-day, in the afternoon,
at dusk, and in the evening. Adults who have no time to pray during
their working hours come in the early morning before work and in the
evening after work.
Non-Muslim
visitors are also welcome, but they have to make arrangements in advance.
They may have a look around and hear explanations from the imams or
staff of the Islamic Society. But when prayer is going on, they are
not permitted to enter the prayer hall.
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