OX Street Mosque

Located in Beijing's Niujie (Ox Street) in Xicheng District, Ox Street Mosque is the largest and oldest mosque in Beijing. The mosque was first built in 996 by Nasruddin, the son of an Arabic priest who came to China to preach the Islamic faith. Under the Qing Emperor Kangxi, the mosque was reconstructed and enlarged to its present scale. Niujie is the largest area inhabited by Muslims in Beijing and the mosque is the spiritual centre for the 10,000 Muslims living in the vicinity.

Covering an area of about 6,000 square meters, the mosque is influenced by Islamic and Han Chinese culture and architecture. The buildings are traditional Chinese wooden structure while the inside has mostly Islamic decorations. Within the mosque, there are some important cultural relics and tablets such as the two tablets with Islamic inscription, which are important materials for the research on Islam History.

Visiting Guide

The mosque is facing west towards Mekka, the holy land of Islam with a symmetrical and compact layout. The main buildings are Moon-Watching Tower, Prayer Hall and Stele Pavilions.

In front of the entrance to the mosque, there is a screen wall sitting on a white marble pedestal. The wall is covered with carved murals indicating happiness and fortune. The hexagonal Moon-Watching Tower stands directly inside the front gate. This 10-meter tower is about serving the moon's waxing and waning at the beginning and ending of the fast so as to fix the exact duration of the fast auspiciously.

Passing through the path beside the tower, visitors fill find the Prayer Hall, the main building in the mosque where the Muslims comes to pray. The hall has a courtyard to its east, can host thousands people to pray. At the entrance of the hall, the ceiling bears the Arabic names of noted imams around the world. The pillars form gold arches which are engraved with Chinese flower and cloud paintings as well as Arabic letters and geometrical patterns as the teaching of the Koran forbid the portrayal of human or animal forms.

To the east of the Prayer Hall’s rear is a group of small religious halls and stele pavilions designed in Islamic style. The steles are carved with inscription indicating the history of the mosque. To the southeast of the hall is a courtyard contains the two tombs of Ahmad and Bukhara Ali, the ancient Persians who came to lecture in South Song Dynasty (1127-1279). The minaret, where muezzin calls the faithful for prayers five times a day, is at the center of the courtyard. At the south of the courtyard are the men's and women's prayer-preparation bathrooms.

Apart from these, OX Street Mosque also boasts some important relics and tablets. In the imam's library, there are Koran manuscripts and old wooden printing blocks. The steles with Arabic inscription and the upright tablet of an emperor's decree proclaimed in 1694 have great value on the research of the mosque’s history as well as the Islam in China.

Travel Tips

1. Proper dress is required as the respect to Muslims. No shorts or a skirt.
2. Only Muslims can access to the Prayer Hall.
3. Refer to the information on the ticket carefully as some areas are not open to the public.