By Ma Xin
Majority Chinese mosques which we can see now were built or rebuilt during the Ming and Yuan dynasties. The mosque which was built during the Ming dynasty has special layout, building type, building decoration, courtyard construction and so on.
During Qing dynasty it was the peak of great development of Islamic architecture in China. The mosques had unique Chinese architecture-based system. The most known one are the four biggest: Aitinaier Mosque, Huajuexiang Mosque, Dongguan Mosque and Nanguan Mosque.
Aitinaier Mosque is one of the most famous mosques and it is the biggest mosque in China so far. It is located in the centre of Wulumuqi city in north of China.The gross area of this mosque is ‹‹16,800 square meters.. Both sides of the gate has two asymmetrically minaret, there is a crescent moon on each top of minaret. After entering the gate, it is a huge courtyard, there are some trees, some flowers and a pool. The north and south walls have 36 scripture hall respectively for the imam to teach Muslims the religions knowledge. It uses 158 blue color pillars to support the top of mosque. The four corners of the ceiling and wooden pillars are exquisite carvings and painted caisson pattern. It is the Islamic knowledge centre in whole Xinjiang province.
However, Dongguan Mosque located in Xining City, and it is the centre of religious activities. It is the largest in Qinghai Province and has more than 500 years of history. It was built by a Muslim official during Ming dynasty. It has five pray halls, three layers of minarets as well as a kitchen and a restaurant. The most attractive things are the three large gold-plated prayer wheels in the ridge of main hall and two small gold-plated prayer wheels on top of minarets; they are magnificent, glorious, increase the infinite splendour for the whole mosque.
The third mosque is Huajuexiang mosque in Xian. It is the biggest mosque in the city and it is a famous historic place too. It has its own style, a very special style. Unlike other mosques, it followed the Chinese traditional style. Although it does not look like a standard mosque, everything inside has followed strictly in accordance with the Islamic regime, the sculpture embellishments, creepers set carving decorative pattern in the pray hall composed by Arabic. It is a unique combination of traditional Chinese architecture and Islamic architectural art.
The last mosque is Nanguan mosque. It is located in Yinchuan city, with Arabic style and ethnic characteristics. It was rebuilt in 1981. After the rebuilt, the main hall has 26 meters high, almost 10,000 square meters. The main hall like a dome has two layers, upper level is pray hall, can accommodate more than 1,300 worshipers. The lower level is a small worship hall, female worship hall, Arabic school, imam’s bedroom, office, meeting room and so on. In front it has a 15 meters fountain, surrounded by flowers and trees, each side has a 30-meter-high minarets.***
