This is a list of notable mosques in China. A

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

is a place of worship for followers of the religion of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

. The first mosque in China was the Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou, built during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

in 627 CE. In of 2014 there were 39,135 mosques in China, in 2009 an estimated 25,000 of these were in

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

, a north-west

autonomous region An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, zone, entity, unit, region, subdivision, province, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or territory, internal territory of a sovereign state that has ...

, having a high density of one mosque per 500 Muslims. In China, mosques are called ''Qīng Zhēn Sì'' (, "Temples of the Pure Truth"), a name which was also used by Chinese Jews for

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

s. Other names include ''Huí Huí Táng'' (, "

Hui people The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Islam in China, Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the Northwest China, northwestern provinces and in the Zhongy ...

's hall"), ''Huí Huí Sì'' (, "Hui people's temple"), ''Lǐ Bài Sì'' (, "Temple of worship"), ''Zhēn Jiào Sì'' (, "Temple of the True Teaching") or ''Qīng Jìng Sì'' (, "Pure and clean temple"). During the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, at the mosque entrance of Hui Mosques, a tablet was placed upon which "''Huáng Dì Wàn Suì, Wàn Suì, Wàn Wàn Suì''" () was inscribed, which means, "The Emperor, may he live forever". Wansui means

Ten thousand years In various East Asian languages such as Chinese language, Chinese, Japanese language, Japanese, Korean language, Korean, and Vietnamese language, Vietnamese, the phrase "Wànsuì", "Banzai", "Manse", and "Vạn tuế", respectively, meaning "myr ...

, which means forever in Chinese. Westerners traveling in China noted the presence of these tablets at mosques in

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

and

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

. Most mosques have certain aspects in common with each other however as with other regions Chinese Islamic architecture reflects the local architecture in its style. China is renowned for its beautiful mosques, which resemble temples. However, in western China the mosques resemble those of Iran and Central Asia, with tall, slender minarets, curvy arches and dome shaped roofs, as well as the unique multi-layered portals. In northwest China where the Chinese Hui have built their mosques, there is a combination of eastern and western styles. The mosques have flared Buddhist style roofs set in walled courtyards entered through archways with miniature domes and

minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...

s.Saudi Aramco World, July/August 1985 , page 3035

List of iconic mosques

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External links

Mosques in China
a gallery at the site of the Institute for Research and Studies of Muslim Minorities (IRSMM) *
How China is tearing down Islam

{{Religion in China

List of iconic mosques

See also

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