Chinese design
Islamic decoration.
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Beijing's oldest and largest mosque, built in 996 under the Liao dynasty, destroyed during the Mongol conquest, rebuilt in the fifteenth century and enlarged in the seventeenth under the Kangxi Emperor; it covers about 10,000 square metres. Its traditional Chinese architecture is striking: the prayer hall, with curved roofs and red columns, looks like a Chinese palace but is decorated with Arabic calligraphy and Islamic ornament, and its minaret is a Chinese tower for sighting the new moon, a unique meeting of two civilisations. The mosque stands in Niujie, Beijing's largest Muslim neighbourhood, home to about 10,000 Muslims, and the street is lined with halal restaurants, sweet shops and markets, an ideal stop for Muslim visitors to eat with peace of mind. Muslims enter for prayer free of charge; non-Muslims pay about CNY 10, 08:00–16:00, and may not enter the prayer hall, per visitor guides. Modest dress is required: no shorts or short skirts.
Islamic decoration.
A unique minaret.
On Niujie Street.
Niujie Street, Xicheng District, Beijing
In Niujie around the mosque, Beijing's largest Muslim neighbourhood, lined with halal restaurants, sweet shops and markets.