Nanguan Mosque

Nanguan mosque in Xining was built in 1934, with a total area of 3100 square meters. It has five brick and concrete structure chapel halls, eight brick and concrete structure East rooms on the second floor, fourteen brick and concrete structure north rooms on the second floor, twelve brick and concrete structure West rooms on the second floor, seven ponds and a wake-up building about 15 meters high.

In those days, the place was sparsely populated. It was very inconvenient for the Hui people nearby to go to the mosque in Dongguan. So the local people raised funds to build three civil buildings, namely, the west room, the north room and the student room. They invited Imam Cheng Zhang to teach. With the increase of population in Nanguan area, mosques have been gradually expanded, forming a larger scale. After the religious reform, it used to be the workshop of Xining embroidery factory. Later, it was occupied by Nanxiaojie primary school in Chengdong district. It was not until 1979 that the house was returned to the mosque that it was renovated and expanded again, forming today's scale.

Nanguan Mosque

Nanguan mosque is one of the largest mosques in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, located in the old city of Yinchuan. It has a high position in the minds of the Hui people in Ningxia. The mosque covers an area of about 10000 square meters, with a construction area of more than 2000 square meters. The main hall is 26 meters high, and the upper hall can accommodate more than 1300 people to worship at the same time. The lower floor is equipped with bath room, Chapel hall, female chapel hall, Arabic school Imam bedroom, reception hall, etc. In the center of the building stands a big green dome with a crescent sign hanging from the top. In front of the hall, there are 30 meter high "minarets" on both sides, and a 15 meter diameter fountain in the middle. The whole building layout is rigorous, the decoration is gorgeous, exquisite and elegant, magnificent. Every "Juma day" or the annual Hui traditional festival, there will be thousands of Muslims gathering here to engage in normal religious activities. Nanguan mosque is not only a place for religious activities in Yinchuan city and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, but also one of the famous tourist attractions in the region.

Historical evolution

Nanguan mosque has been built for hundreds of years. It was destroyed many times due to war and other reasons. After 1949, with the help of the government, after continuous repair. In 1981, the majority of Muslim people in Ningxia warmly raised funds to rebuild this building group with Arab style and national characteristics.

Nanguan mosque is one of the largest mosques in Ningxia. It is located in the East Road of Nanguan south ring in Yinchuan city. It was built outside the South Gate in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty, and moved to the urban area in 1915. After expansion in 1953, it became a building complex with 63 main halls, an area of more than 1200 square meters, 41 north and South rooms, covering an area of more than 20 mu. Its scale ranked first among the seven mosques in Yinchuan at that time. The original temple is in the style of traditional Chinese classical architecture. The doors and windows of the hall are made of red pine wood, and the carving process is exquisite. Unfortunately, it was demolished in the "Cultural Revolution". In 1981, it was rebuilt in Arabic style. In 2008, Nanguan mosque began to carry out large-scale repair, which cost more than 7 million yuan and lasted more than one year. This mosque with Arabic architectural style is open to Chinese and foreign tourists.

Temple renovation

On July 12, 2009, the maintenance project of the nearly 400 year old Nanguan mosque in Yinchuan city was completed. From now on, this mosque with Arabic architectural style will be open to Chinese and foreign tourists.

Bao Jingui, director of the Management Committee of Nanguan mosque, said that the maintenance project cost more than 7 million yuan and took more than one year to carry out a comprehensive repair of the mosque. Yao Fuxing, the original designer, was specially invited to provide repair guidance. Nanguan mosque was built in the late Ming Dynasty, which has a history of nearly 400 years. In the early stage of reform and opening up, Nanguan mosque was dilapidated and in urgent need of reconstruction. In 1981, with the joint efforts of the relevant departments of Yinchuan city and the local Hui people, Nanguan mosque was rebuilt and completed. For more than 20 years, Nanguan mosque has become a window for Ningxia to open up to the outside world. Leaders, delegation and friends from more than 100 countries and regions have come to visit it.

Scale system

Now Nanguan mosque covers an area of more than 3 mu, with a construction area of 2074 square meters.

Architectural features

The temple is designed by Yao Fuxing, a Hui architect. The main building is divided into two floors, with a construction area of more than 1300 square meters. The main hall of worship is located on the upper floor, rising up along the arc-shaped steps. It is a two-story platform. Between the platform and the hall, there is a double center circular pillar gallery with white marble veneer. The main hall is square, 21 meters long on each side, and the kiln hall is made of white marble in the form of a round center compound leaf niche with the Koran engraved on it. There are four square pillars with green tiles in the middle of the hall.

The top of the hall is a large dome with a diameter of 9.5 meters and a small dome at each corner. The big and small domes are all green, and the top is decorated with Aquarius. The crescent moon on the big dome is 22 meters away from the surface. Between the bottom of the dome and the square pillars in the hall is a cylindrical drum seat with 24 skylights. In addition, there are 6 large windows on the north and south sides of the hall, which increases the brightness of the hall. In addition, there are 19 palace lanterns in the hall, with double tube Yulan lanterns on the wall. The lower layer of the main hall of worship is the small hall of worship, the Imam's house, the reception room, etc., which are connected by the corridor. Later, in front of the main hall, the temple added two square column shaped "Bunker buildings" and two long corridors on both sides, making the style of the whole mosque integrated, elegant and magnificent. There is also a fountain in front of the hall, with duckweed floating, lotus reflecting the moon, trees in the courtyard, and flowers blooming in spring, summer and autumn.

The Nanguan temple in Yinchuan, with its novel architecture, once became a landmark building in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. In addition, the temple is located in the urban area with convenient transportation, so it has become one of the cultural attractions attracting the most domestic and foreign tourists in Ningxia.

Main tourist attractions

The mosque in Nanguan has a long history. At the end of Ming Dynasty, the original temple was located in Gongbei Pavilion outside Nanguan, Yinchuan, with a small scale. In 1916, the site of the temple was moved into Nanguan and a large temple with classical style was built. In the 1960s, temples were destroyed in the turmoil. In 1981, Muslims raised money to rebuild the site.

The main hall of the reconstructed mosque in Nanguan is 26 meters high, with an area of about 10000 square meters. The main hall has two layers of round vault, the upper layer is the main hall and balcony, and the square worship hall can accommodate more than 1300 people. The lower floor has a spacious bath room, Chapel hall, female chapel hall, Arabic school, Imam's bedroom, office, reception room, etc., all connected by cloisters.

Traffic information

Take No.1, No.2, No.3 bus to Nanmen square and walk to it.

Address: near 31-1 Nanxiao street, Chengdong District, Xining City, Qinghai Province

Longitude: 101.797389

Latitude: 36.615348

Tour time: 1 hour

Traffic information: take bus No.5, 41, 43, 86, 301 to Nanxiaojie station

Ticket information: Free

Opening hours: 8:00-20:00, Friday 10:00-15:00 is the worship time, non muslims are not allowed to enter