Xian Great Mosque

The Great Mosque of Xi'an is one of the largest and renowned Islamic mosques in China, situated in the northwest of the Drum Tower on Huajue Lane. The present buildings can date back to the middle of the 18th century, though the mosque has been established several hundred years earlier. Unlike all the mosques in Middle Eastern or Arab counties, this mosque is built in a Chinese architectural style and most of the grounds are taken up with gardens, except for some Arabic lettering and decorations, the mosque has neither domes nor traditional-style minarets. It's still an active place of worship and several prayer services are held each day.

The Great Mosque was built in the shape of a rectangle from the east to the west, and is subdivided into four courtyards. The Mosque has many traditional Chinese buildings, such as the ancient wooden archway, tower, pavilions, huge screen wall decorated with clay brick carvings, stone tablets, stone memorial gateways and halls. It also houses many cultural relics such as the old furniture made in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, works of writings by the famous ancient calligraphers, paintings and carvings.

The remarkable detailed art work seen here, characterize this Great Mosque, as one of the most unique Mosque-architecture in the world. In 1956, the Great Mosque was decreed to be an important historical and cultural site under the protection of the Shaanxi Provincial Government and in 1988 it was promoted to be one of the most important sites in China.