The Niujie Mosque

Why The Niujie Mosque is special ?

The Niujie Mosque is the Beijing's most historical and majestic mosque, it is situated on the Ox Street (Niujie in Chinese) in the city's Xuanwu District. First built back in 996, it has a history that stretches back over a thousand years, in which time it has undergone numerous refits and extensions, and has greeted Muslims from all over the world to worship. It covers an area of over 6000 square meters (7176 square yards), and is structurally based on traditional Chinese wooden palaces, yet adopts a typical Arabic-style of decoration. There are no human or animal figures among these decorations as these are considered taboo in Islam.

Source: http://www.chinahighlights.com/

What to explore at The Niujie Mosque?

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

The Niu Jie Mosque occupies a site of over 6000 m² and includes several buildings: the prayer hall, the Bangge Lou (minaret), a six-cornered moon observatory tower, and two pavilions with stone steles.

The exteriors are designed in classic Chinese style, looking very much like Buddhist temples, but the interiors are more traditionally Arab. And of course, there are no idols to be seen. 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 who preached here in the 13th century. Nearby is a copper cauldron, used to prepare food for devotees.

Source: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/

How to get to The Niujie Mosque?

Address: Cow Street Mosque (Qingzhensi), 18 Cow Street, Xuanwu District, Beijing. 牛街清真寺--北京市宣武区牛街18号区牛街. You can show the above address to a taxi driver.

Bus:Bus No. 10, 109, 61, or 6. Get off at Cow Street.

Metro:Take Subway Line 2 to Changchun Jie Station. Take Exit C1 and walk about 1.5km south to the mosque. Or exit from Exit A and take Bus No. 10 for 4 stops to the Niujie Mosque.

Source: http://www.chinahighlights.com/