Dongguan Mosque

Dongguan Mosque (simplified Chinese: 东关清真大寺; traditional Chinese: 東關清真大寺; pinyin: Dōngguān Qīngzhēndàsì) is a mosque in Xining, Qinghai Province, China. It is the largest mosque in Qinghai.

Dongguan Mosque
东关清真大寺
Religion
Affiliation	Islam
Branch/tradition	Sunni
Location
Location	Xining, Qinghai, China
Shown within Qinghai
Geographic coordinates	36.6154°N 101.7953°E / 36.6154; 101.7953
Architecture
Type	mosque
Completed	1380

History

It was originally built in 1380 and had colorful white arches along the outside of the wide building. It had a green and white dome and two tall minarets.^[1] The mosque saw renovations in the late 19th to early 20th century. Shortly after, the mosque suffered heavy damages caused by political conflict. However, it continued to undergo restorations throughout the rest of the 20th century.^[2]

Generals Ma Qi and Ma Bufang controlled the Great Dongguan Mosque when they were military governors of Qinghai.^[3]

In 1989, tens of thousands of Muslims gathered around the mosque to protest against a book that demeaned Islam and Chinese Muslims. In October 1993, Muslims in the mosque protested against another book; the Chinese army then stormed the mosque and evicted the protestors.^[4]

In 2021, it was reported that the green dome and minarets of the mosque, which were built in 2000, were removed in a remodel, some reports said that it was done to make the structure look more "Chinese" in an attempt by the CCP at sinicization,^[5][6] and the others said that it was restored to its original Chinese localization style.^[7] The management committee of the mosque said that the removed part was not part of the original structure as a cultural relic, and they remind not to create or spread rumors, and be misled by malicious people.^[8]

Architecture

The mosque covers an area of 11,940 square metres. In the Ming period, the mosque consisted of a single courtyard with a worship hall and two multi-storey minarets. The modern mosque is built in Chinese Islamic architectural style and contains elements of western architecture.

Pictures

• 
  Sign of the Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected
• 
  Dongguan Mosque arch
• 
  Dongguan Mosque
• 
  Dongguan Mosque prayer hall
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  Prayer Hall
• 
  Prayer
• 
  Prayer

See also

• Islam in China
  • List of mosques in China

References

1. China. Eye Witness Travel Guides. p. 498.
2. Steinhardt, Nancy Shatzman (2018). China's Early Mosques. Edinburgh University Press. p. 249. ISBN 978-1-4744-3721-9.
3. Stéphane A. Dudoignon (2004). Devout societies vs. impious states?: transmitting Islamic learning in Russia, Central Asia and China, through the twentieth century : proceedings of an international colloquium held in the Carré des Sciences, French Ministry of Research, Paris, November 12-13, 2001. Schwarz. p. 68. ISBN 3-87997-314-8. Retrieved 2010-06-28.
4. Chebbi, Leila (2021). Brothers and Comrades: Muslim Fundamentalists and Communists. p. 14.
5. Feng, Emily (24 October 2021). "China is removing domes from mosques as part of a push to make them more 'Chinese'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
6. Misra, Shubhangi (2021-09-13). "China removes green dome, minarets from 14th century mosque in Qinghai". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2022-01-13.
7. 远方青木 (2022-07-05). "拆除圆顶，中国清真寺全面中国化". k.sina.cn. Retrieved 2023-02-14.
8. "西宁东关清真大寺民管会致广大穆斯林同胞的一封信 - 趣闻轶事 - 穆斯林在线（muslimwww)". www.muslimwww.com. Retrieved 2023-02-14.

External links

• Media related to Dongguan Mosque at Wikimedia Commons