The Niujie Mosque (niú jiē qīng zhēn sì 牛街清真寺), the largest of all the mosques in Beijing, was first built in 996 by two Arabs during the Liao Dynasty (liáo guó 辽国). The local Muslim community was forbidden from constructing the mosque in a style other than traditional Chinese architecture, with the exception that the use of Arabic calligraphy was allowed. It was rebuilt in 1442 in the Ming Dynasty and expanded in 1696 under the Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝). It is now one of the major mosques in north China. It underwent several alterations and since 1949 it has been repeatedly restored.

The Niu Jie Mosque occupies a site of over 6000 m². The buildings in the mosque are symmetrically arranged. The main buildings include the Wangyue Pavilion (wàng yuè lóu 望月楼), the Worship Hall (lǐ bài diàn 礼拜殿), the Stele Pavilion (bēi tíng 碑亭), and so on. Many important cultural relics, such as steles from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and cupreous hollowware from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), are preserved in the mosque. From the past to the present, Muslims come here to bathe and warship everyday. Especially on Islamic festivals, native and foreign Muslims gather here and celebrate the festivals together. Now Niujie is the residential place for more than 13,000 Muslims in Beijing City. Because Muslims mainly eat beef, there are a large number of stores selling beef and restaurants providing foods made of beef. Therefore, this place is called Niujie (niú jiē 牛街).

Niu Jie is a cramped road running north-south in the Muslim Quarter, about a mile directly west of the Temple of Heaven (tiān tán 天坛). It is lined with offal stalls and vendors selling fried dough rings, rice cakes (nián gāo 年糕) and shaobang (muffins), and populated by men wearing white hats and beards.

The exteriors are designed in classic Chinese style, looking very much like Buddhist temples, but the interiors are more traditionally Arab. Both Chinese and Arabic inscriptions adorn the buildings.

Non-Muslim visitors cannot enter the prayer hall (which is usually fairly empty except on Fridays), but can admire the architecture of the exteriors and look around the courtyards. A small courtyard on the south side contains the graves of two Persian imams (yī mǎ mù 伊玛目) who preached here in the 13th century. Nearby is a copper cauldron, used to prepare food for devotees.

                                  (Click above picture to view the map)

Address: Niu Jie 88, Xuanwu Qu (xuān wǔ qǖ 宣武区), Beijing
Tel: 010-6353-2564
Opening Hours: 8am-7pm
Admission Fee: ¥10 for non-Muslims
Public Transportation: You can take bus No.10、626、5、38、6、822、715、743、109、613、381 and get off at Niu Jie stop. Or you can take subway line 2 and get off at Changchun Jie (cháng chūn jiē 长椿街) stop (exit D).

Tags: Travel in Shanghai     Travel in Beijing