Grand Kuqa Mosque

As a place for Muslim people in Kuqa to worship the God, Grand Kuqa Mosque was originally built in the 16th century and reconstructed in 1923 after being damaged by fire. It is located in the highest place of Heidun Bazaar, about 4 kilometers to the downtown of Kuqa. Grand Kuqa Mosque is the second largest mosque after the Id Kah Mosque of Kashgar in Xinjiang and the only mosque in China to have preserved the Islamic Court system.

The Architectural Structure

Grand Kuqa Mosque consists of the Big Worshiping hall, the Small Worshiping hall, Xuanli Tower, Vault Gate Tower and dormitory. There is a religious court in the worshiping hall. With a height of 18.3 meters, the gate tower is built with gray bricks. The great worshiping hall covers an area about 1,500 square meters and can accommodate 3,000 prayers at one time. It is supported by 64 pillars and embellished with exquisite carvings and beautiful pictures, which shows a strong Uygur architectural style.

The 64 six prismatic pillar are scattered in 8 lines vertically and horizontally and decorated with colorful carvings and beautiful pictures. They prop up the ceiling composed of 102 pieces of grid painting pattern, which makes the hall splendid and glorious. One thing worth to mention is the renowned religious court lying on the north of the Small Worshiping hall. It is the product of theocracy and one of the few Islam judicial institution site.

The original Grand Kuqa Mosque was damaged by the fire and reconstructed in 1923. The whole mosque covers an area of 1,165 square meters and consists of the main part of the mosque and the worshiping hall two parts. On the southeast corner of the mosque, there retained an Islamic religious court sites.

Little White Apricot in Kuqa

Every June is the mature season of apricot. If you travel in Kuqu at this month, you can taste one of the best fruit - apricot here. Kuqa has a history of planting apricot for more than 2,000 years and remains 20 high quality varieties. Some of them are as big as an egg, while some of them are as small as a litchi. With red, white and yellow mixed together, the apricot looks like a beautiful Uygur girl in appearance, charming and enchanting. The processing technology of dried apricot in Kuqa is unique. With golden color and sweet flavor, the dried apricot is very popular in Kuqa and in the whole country.