The Qingjing Mosque is the oldest mosque now existent in China. It was first built in 1009 and is well-known to the Moslem world. The gate to the temple is built of stone with a vaulted narrow arch top. In the mosque are the Terrace for the Moon, the Pavilion for Prophet Sighting and the Altar for Heaven. The outlandish flavor is very strong. The temple was formerly a place for sacrifice and prayer for the Moslem travelers and merchants from foreign countries and for a time it enjoyed great fame.
It was entirely constructed from granite and is an exact copy of a mosque in Damascus in Syria. Three gates form its grand main entrance which is 65.6 feet high and 14.8 feet wide. The niches in the exterior of the south wall and the wall of the altar are inscribed with Arabic passages from the Koran. There is an exhibition hall at the back of the mosque that provides some extra information about the development of Islam in Quanzhou.
Its main prayer hall covers an area of 717.6 square yards in name of Worshiping God. It is a structure of granites with large windows opened on its halls. Like the similar Muslim architecture, it originally had a huge doom in golden color which unfortunately collapsed in a strong earthquake in 1607. The structural remnants was buried under the hall ground and made the ground floor 3.3 feet higher than that before the natural disaster. The hall is left with many cultural and religious witnesses of its past glory, with cared Koran in Arabic on its walls. Its architectural style is said to be the typical one of Muslim world in tenth century.
With a 1,000 years of history, Qingjing Mosque is a historic witness of trade and cultural exchange between China and Arabic countries. It is also an important relic revealing the status of ancient Quanzhou as the Largest Port City in Orient.
Entrance Fee: CNY 3
Opening Hours: 08:00 - 17:30
Transportation:
A. Qingjing Mosque is not far from the city center, so it takes only a few minutes to walk to the mosque from the Huaqiao Mansion in the city center;
B. Take Bus No. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 16, 18 or 26 and get off at Guandimiao stop;
C. Take Bus No. 19 and get off at Qingzhensi stop.
More Tourist Attraction in Quanzhou: Luoyang Bridge
