Dongguan Mosque

Dongguan Mosque

Dongguan mosque is a famous building in the ancient city of Xining. It is located on the south side of Dongguan Street in Xining. The temple covers an area of 11940 square meters, the main hall covers an area of 1102 square meters, and the north and south buildings cover 363 square meters respectively. In history, the mosque has been destroyed many times and built continuously. The existing buildings were rebuilt in 1913, rebuilt and expanded in 1946, and rebuilt in 1979. It is one of the Great Mosque in Northwest China.

The Grand Mosque in Dongguan is located in the West and faces the East. It has the architectural characteristics of Chinese classical architecture and national style. It has carved beams and colorful eaves, and is resplendent. The hall is spacious, tall and bright. It can accommodate more than 3000 Muslims to worship at the same time.

The hall and the whole mosque in Dongguan are simple, elegant, solemn and full of strong Islamic characteristics. It is a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit.

Historical evolution

One of the four famous mosques in Northwest China is located in Dongguan Street, Xining City, Qinghai Province. It is said that the temple was founded in the early Ming Dynasty. It was destroyed many times and built continuously in history. The existing buildings were rebuilt in 1913, rebuilt and expanded in 1946, and rebuilt in 1979.

Dongguan mosque covers an area of 13602 square meters, with a construction area of 4654 square meters. It is a large-scale building complex. Its style combines traditional Chinese architectural art and Islamic architectural features. The main gate is 10 meters high and 15 meters wide, on which the name of the temple is written. Inside the main gate, there are five arches, 10 meters high and 21 meters wide. Inside the main gate, there is a courtyard with an area of 4490 square meters. In the middle of the main gate is the worship hall, with an area of 1136 square meters. It is of brick and wood structure, and its architectural form is a combination of rolling shed, main hall and back kiln hall. In addition, there are Imam and students' dormitories, bathing City, some stone tablets, etc.

Temple College

Qinghai aheng Islamic classics college is set up in the mosque of Dongguan.

The mosque in Dongguan ranks the fifth largest in the Islamic world in terms of the number of its followers. The mosque in Dongguan is listed by the Islamic Association of China as the mosque with the largest number of worshippers in China. The mosque in Dongguan can hold 40000-60000 Muslims to worship at the same time, with the largest number of people gathering in China. In 2012, the spectacle of 300000 Muslims worshiping at the same time at Dongguan temple in Xining, Qinghai Province, was even more shocking. Dongguan mosque was built in the Hongwu Period of Ming Dynasty around 1380 ad. it is the largest mosque in Qinghai Province and has a long history. Together with the famous Huajue temple in Xi'an, Qiaomen temple in Lanzhou and aitikar mosque in Kashgar, Xinjiang, it is known as the four mosques in Northwest China.

According to the existing two inscriptions in the temple, i.e. the inscription on the reconstruction of Xining great temple (established in May 1914) and the inscription on the reconstruction of Xining Dongguan great temple (established in August 1948), we can see that the temple has a history of more than 600 years.

Layout structure

The mosque in Dongguan is an Islamic building integrating tower, wall and hall. The worship hall in the center is the largest building in the temple, covering an area of 1102 square meters. The whole building is unique in style and distinct in structure. Tens of thousands of Muslims gather here to hold a grand ceremony every week and three major Islamic festivals. The mosque in Dongguan is the highest institution of Islamic Studies and enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad. Every Friday (Juma) the people who attend the church worship in the street. At that time, the traffic control of the whole Dongguan Street forbids motor vehicles to enter. Due to the limited space in the mosque hall, tens of thousands of Muslims have to worship in the street, and the streets are full of Muslims.

Yang wenjiong, a doctor of anthropology from Lanzhou University, said: "in the land of China where I have been, I have never seen a bigger scene than this. I have never seen such a harmonious and tacit relationship between the government and the people. I am deeply moved by such a scene in our motherland." Mohamed bin Russell Abdi, Deputy Secretary General of the league, said when he went to the mosque in Dongguan, Xining that the number of people gathered in the mosque is the third in the world.

The scale

Dongguan mosque is the largest and most complete ancient building in Xining city. It is the largest Islamic temple in Qinghai Province and one of the four mosques in Northwest China.

The temple is located in Dongguan Street of Xining city. During the Hongwu Period, Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was enfeoffed and helped Mu Ying, a meritorious general in the founding of his country, to be the Marquis of Xiping, guarding today's Gansu Qinghai region. At that time, the Ming Dynasty implemented the policy of religious tolerance, allowing and protecting the normal religious activities of Muslims. Due to a series of population migration such as Garrison and immigration, the number of Muslim residents living in Xining is increasing.

In order to meet the needs of the religious life of the majority of Muslims, muying, at the request of the Muslim upper class and religious personages, and with the permission of the imperial court, started to build a mosque in Dongguan area, where the Hui people live together.

Soon after, a mosque with an area of 28000 square meters, a main hall of more than 2000 square meters, two minarets, a stele Pavilion courtyard and some auxiliary buildings sprang up in today's Dongguan Street in Xining.

Dongguan mosque in Xining covers a total area of 13602 square meters, with magnificent buildings and ancient Chinese architectural art and Islamic characteristics. The original main gate of the temple, namely "the first three gates", faces north in the south. It is a large green western gate with a height of 10 meters and a width of 15 meters. The banner plaque on the top of the gate is inlaid with the eight characters of "Xining Dongguan Muslim Temple" (the first three gates are now in front of the street building of the Muslim Temple).

Main building

The temple has a history of more than 600 years. The main building of the temple is a hall that can hold 3000 people for worship, with an area of about 1102 square meters.

The main hall is decorated with golden Tibetan treasure bottles. It is said that this vase was donated by the monks of Labrang temple in Gansu Province after the completion of the main hall, which is the only one in the mosques in China. The huge pillars in the main hall were selected and presented by Huzhu Youning temple from the pine forest of the temple. This hall is a palace style building in ancient China, pure brick and wood structure.

The building of the mosque in Dongguan is solid, the structure is rigorous, the appearance is magnificent, and the interior is quiet and elegant. On the north and south sides of the main hall are two two-story Xiang Lou, which are Xieshan style buildings.

The main hall and Xiang Lou are close to each other, and they are very harmonious. The three buildings are the main body of the temple and the essence of the temple. The whole building, with cornices, brackets, carved beams and painted buildings, is gorgeous and magnificent. Between the front of the main hall and the xianglou is a square covering an area of 28000 square meters. The site is paved with bluestone slabs. Although the slabs are of different sizes and shapes, they are densely arranged, flat as a mirror and not exposed to soil. Therefore, there is no dust on sunny days and no mud on rainy days. Outside the square are the first three doors made of granite boulders. The three doors are about five feet high and seven feet wide, which are simple, solemn and grand. On both sides of the three doors stand two tall Mingjing towers, also known as the noisy ritual tower. The top of the tower is decorated with two very delicate small Scripture tubes, which are said to be treasures presented by Taer Temple in Huangzhong. The first three doors are a triangle courtyard. Out of the small courtyard is the western-style gate facing the street. On the top of the gate, there are six Golden characters of "Dongguan Muslim Temple", which are the same color as the goose yellow gate. It is very beautiful and elegant.

It is said that the mosque in Dongguan, Xining, was built in Hongwu Period of Ming Dynasty. According to the inscription of rebuilding Xining temple, the mosque in Xining was "created in Ming Dynasty and destroyed by soldiers." Another "reconstruction of Xining Dongguan Temple stele" records: "Xining halal temple, founded in the Ming Dynasty, after repeated military capital, its land was abandoned." According to Xining City annals compiled in 1961, "the mosque in Dongguan of Xining was built for the first time by Ming Dynasty general Xiping Hou muying during Hongwu Period of Ming Dynasty."

Qianlong period

When the temple was first built, it was narrow in scale and simple in structure. After many vicissitudes, it was demolished several times and restored several times. In 1781, the people of Hui and Salar led by Su 43 and Han rose up against the Qing Dynasty. When the Qing rulers suppressed the uprising of the Soviet Union, they destroyed the mosque in Dongguan of Xining.

Tongzhi period

From the end of Xianfeng to the beginning of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty, hundreds of thousands of Hui people in Shaanxi, under the leadership of Bai Yanhu and others, split the country. The Qing government dispatched Zuo Zongtang and Gansu Mafu troops to suppress the rebellion. Under the attack of heavy troops, the rebels retreated and finally moved to Xining. At this time, Ma Guiyuan, the magistrate of Xining Prefecture and his brother Ma Benyuan, the commander in chief of Xining Town, had the same purpose and colluded with the rebels to separate Xining. In 1872, Zuo Zongtang conquered Xining. In the spring of 1873, the general of Hunan army and the general of Xining town did not need to demolish the rebuilt mosque in Dongguan of Xining.

Guangxu period

In 1895, under the leadership of Han Wenxiu, the Hui and Salar rebels in the Hehuang area of Gansu, Qing and Gansu provinces split up and were ordered by the Qing government to suppress them. From December of the same year to February of the next year, "Hehuang rebellion" was suppressed by the Qing government, and the reconstructed mosque in Dongguan of Xining was demolished by the Qing government. The temple was razed to the ground this time

Chinese PinYin : Dong Guan Qing Zhen Da Si