Pagoda minarets
Chinese style with an Islamic spirit.
A striking Chinese-style mosque built by Palembang's Chinese Muslims and named after the Muslim admiral Zheng He, who led China's fleets in the early fifteenth century and called at Palembang on his voyages, when the city had a Chinese Muslim community. The mosque blends Chinese and Islamic architecture: two minarets shaped like multi-tiered Chinese pagodas with sweeping roofs, in red, green and gold, together with a dome and an Islamic prayer hall. It bears witness to the city's cultural mix and to the Islam of part of its Chinese community over the centuries. Entry is free; the mosque serves daily and Friday prayers, and non-Muslims visit outside prayer times in modest dress. It stands in the Jakabaring area south of the river, about a quarter of an hour by car from the centre. The visit is short but completes the picture of multicultural Palembang, and suits anyone who has also seen the Cheng Ho museum in Malacca, Malaysia.
Chinese style with an Islamic spirit.
Named after Zheng He.
Chinese Muslims for centuries.
Jakabaring, south of the Musi River
Palembang was one of his fleets' ports of call in the Indian Ocean in the early fifteenth century, when it had a Chinese Muslim community, so the mosque bears his name in tribute.