Huaisheng Mosque,Guangzhou

Nestled in between some of the old buildings of Guangzhou at Guanta Street is the Huaisheng Mosque with an exterior arch having a blend of a Chinese temple.

Passerby might not noticed that this place is a Muslim house of worship.

On every Friday,this street will be abuzzed with Muslims of various nations congregating at this mosque to perform their Friday prayers.

Huaisheng Mosque is among one of the oldest mosque in China as manuscript evidence showed that it was built during the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

During the earlier Tang Dynasty (619AD-907AD),Guangzhou has already been a trading centre where Arab merchants must have brought with them the Islamic culture.

Please note that non-Muslims are not allowed in unless you are with a tour group and the opening hours are from 08:30-17:00.





The walls of the east and west parches in Huaisheng Mosque were completed by ramming muds during Kangxi time each having thickness of between 70-80cm.

 There is at one section of the mosque displaying the type of metamorphic and sedimentary Hongsa rocks in an enclosed glass casing.

 In mandarin 'Hong' means red while 'Sa' means sand.

 Emperor Kangxi was the greatest ruler of China reigning for nearly 61 years.

He was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty(1644-1912)

This  Building for the sighting of the crescent to confirm the date for the beginning of fasting months.

The wall was being built using the Hongsa rocks during the 276 years rule of Ming Dynasty(1368-1644).

The top tier roof is being constructed to shape like a hill top with double caves roof.

Upper and lower caves are arches of four tiers and it is the relics of the Kangxi period.

 When it was rebuilt during Qing Dynasty the upper part of the north door was written  
" This is Allah your God,there is not an adorable God but him,he is the Creator of all things on earth and you must adore him."

North Door "Jiao Chong Xi Yu" is the authentic writing of Cixi,the mother of Guangxu Emperor of the Qing Dynasty during 1901 which was stamped and decorated with dragons on both sides.

Jiao Chong Xi Yu means Islam Comes from West Makkha.

Main prayer hall building.
In fact the mosque covers an area of more than 2,966 square meters (3,547 square yards) and features six important buildings, the Imam Hall, the Wangyue Attic, the Covered Corridor, the Storehouse of Islamic Scripture, the Stone Steles Pavilion and the Light Tower.
The mosque was also named Light Tower Mosque.

 The Light Tower is a minaret, which used to serve as a beacon for boats on the Zhujiang River(Pearl River).

In addition, sailors often climb up to the minaret to observe the weather conditions.

Although the mosque presents a typical architectural style of the Tang Dynasty, the Light Tower seems to develop a new school of its own, which is deeply influenced by Arabic architectural flavor, an attractive feature of the mosque.





Main entrance to prayer hall that have a Chinese version design.
Other Mosques in Guangzhou includes: Guangzhou Dongjiao Mosque at Dongxianli, Dongjiaochang, Guangzhou.

Guangzhou Haopan Mosque at No. 378, Haopan Street, Tiancheng Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou.

Guangzhou Dongying Mosque at No. 1, Xiaodongying, Yuehua Road, Guanghzou Location: Near Guangzhou City Hall and Yuexiu Park.


 


View of prayer hall.
Muslims are commanded to perform prayers five times a day.
The five prayers are each assigned to certain prescribed times (al waqt) at which they must be performed, unless there is a compelling reason for not being able to perform them on time. Fajar:-Dawn to sunrise, should be read at least 10–15 minutes before sunrise
 Zohor:- After true noon until
Asar Asar:-Afternoon.
Maghrib:- After sunset until dusk.
 Ishak:-Dusk until dawn,it is makruh(sinful) to read Isha after midnight








The Imam hall.
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community.
Imams may lead Islamic worship services, serve as community leaders and scholars, and provide religious guidance.

Calligraphy is the most important and pervasive element in Islamic art.

 It has always been considered the noblest form of art because of its association with the Qur’an, the Muslim holy book, which is written in Arabic.

 This preoccupation with beautiful writing extended to all arts—including secular manuscripts; inscriptions on palaces; and those applied to metalwork, pottery, stone, glass, wood, and textiles—and to non-Arabic-speaking peoples within the Islamic commonwealth whose languages—such as Persian, Turkish, and Urdu—were written in the Arabic script.

  Beef Seller.

  Gadgets for grilling beef used by this Muslim restaurant.

















Hui Chinese transporting goods on an electric powered tricycle.
 Muslims live in every region in China.
The highest concentrations are found in the northwest provinces of Xinjiang, Gansu, and Ningxia, with significant populations also found throughout Yunnan province in southwest China and Henan province in central China.

Recent census counts imply that there may be up to 20 million Muslims in China.

The largest groups in descending order are Hui (9.8 million in year 2000 census, or 48% of the officially tabulated number of Muslims), Uyghur (8.4 million, 41%), Kazakh (1.25 million, 6.1%), Dongxiang (514,000, 2.5%), Kyrgyz (161,000), Salar (105,000), Tajik (41,000), Uzbeks, Bonan (17,000), and Tatar (5,000).

A Pakistani owned Muslim Restaurant beside Bo Luo Hotel.

Notice the red wording neon light,that's the Mandarin word for hotel (pinyin :Bin Quan)

Tips:if you happened to see these words displayed outside some shops, they are budget hotel so practise hard writing this manuscript.

Rooftop view of the minaret and nearby Zhongsan 7th Road area.

TESCO Supermarket is just less than 10minutes walk from here near the Ximenkou Metro.

 Xi (West),Men (Door),Kou (port)

Jiamei Hotel,No:51 Guang Tower Road,Yuexiu District,Guangzhou.(directly opposite Huaisheng Mosque) Tel:(020)81915858,81910711,81910733. Fax:(020)-81922955
Room rates:from 100




Yuan Bo Luo Hotel (a few shops further up of Jiamei)Guangta Road,Yuexiu District,Guangzhou.
Fax:(020)62794855 /Tel:(020)62794288
Room rates from 100Yuan  

Directions to above hotels:

 Metro train Line 1 will show you the word Ximenkou station that is the 6th station stop from Tiyu Xilu Interchange.

 From Baiyun (White Clouds) International Airport,Metro line 3 get off at TiYu Xi Lu interchange and walk to nearby platform for Metro Line 1(no need to pay) and you'll be right on target to the destination.

If coming by public bus which only cost 1 Yuan within the districts,(exact notes or coins please otherwise you won't get your change back since a deposit box is doing the work),look for Zhongsan Liu Lu (中山六路) buses.

Zhongsan is a name after Dr Sun Yat Sen while Liu is Number Six and Lu is Road.
 In fact Zhongsan Road is the main arterial road here(Yuexiu-Liwan districts) that stretches from Yi (1) Lu (where Old Canton Youth Hostel is located till Zhongsan Ba(8) Lu (Chen Clan academy located).
 It takes nearly 2hours to walk from Yi (1) Lu(Road) to Ba(8) Lu but you got lots of shops and sights to see. China's buses have a state of art computerised bi-lingual announcement when the bus is approaching each bus stop or even if there's a zebra crossing ahead.