It is said that Islam first came to China in the 7th century when Muslim merchants first arrived.
Sometime later, the Great Xi'an Mosque was built, in 742 AD during the Tang Dynasty. Xi'an was the capital of the Tang Dynasty and was a very populous city in the world during its time. The Great Xi'an Mosque is also one of the first Mosques in China. However, the current layout was developed towards the end of the 14th century during the Ming Dynasty.
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Great Mosque of Xi'an - Arabic Calligraphy
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Location - within the Muslim Quarter
The great Xi'an Mosque is located in the Muslim quarter (or Muslim street Huimin Jie in Pinyin) of Xi'an, where a large number of Muslims live. In 2019, the total population reached nearly 10 million people, while the Muslim population is estimated at around 65,000. Of those, many live and work within the Muslim quarter of Xi'an. In the Muslim quarter, there are a variety of delicious street food, as well as souvenir shops. This is the hub of the Muslim population in Xi'an, where many Hui Muslims live.
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Some sort of steamed beef soup
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Xi'an specialty glutinous rice cake
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| This place sells persimmon patties, sugar candy, green bean cake, peanut snack, etc |
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| Beef/Lamb meat shop |
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| Muslim Quarter |
Hui Muslims
Hui Muslims are thought to be the descendants of intermarriages between Muslim traders (Arabic and Persian) and Han locals (the majority ethnic group in China, and what many people envision as "Chinese"). However, many look indistinguishable to the Han people. The Hui people may be distinguishable from the Han people by the garments they may choose to wear. Some Hui women may choose to don the Hijab, and some men may choose to wear white caps. Hui people may also have surnames like Ha (sinicized "Hasan") or Ma (sinicized "Muhammad").
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Muslims making delicious street food in the Muslim Quarter
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Muslims making delicious street food in the Muslim Quarter
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| Cutting up pulled- candy |
Architecture
The Great Xi'an Mosque is a beautiful Mosque rooted in rich history, spanning an area of 6,000 square meters inclusive of its courtyards. The Great Xi'an Mosque merges traditional Chinese architecture with Islamic functionality, as with many other Hui Chinese Mosques. The Mosque has several courtyards, each encompassing a key monument. One of the courtyards contains the prayer hall, which can accommodate up to 1000 people. The Mosque is lined with both Chinese and Arabic calligraphy, making for a unique blend of cultures.
Cost
If you're Muslim, you can enter the Mosque for free. If you are are not and just a tourist, you will have to pay a fee. The last time I checked, this was the cost:
March-November: CNY 25
December-next February: CNY 15
How will they be able to tell you're Muslim if you aren't visibly Muslim? You can just say Assalamualaikum and that you are Muslim - they will let you in for free.
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Men's prayer hall
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Inside the men's prayer hall
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In summer 2009, I travelled to Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China for 3 weeks to volunteer to teach English.
I believe this was the first time travelling outside of Canada on my own (besides visiting family in SouthEast Asia). I was blessed to have been part of the Millennium Laureate program (which, unfortunately, is now defunct) through which I applied for a grant to do a volunteer project.
I was interested in a few things, one of which was teaching English. I was also particularly interested in selecting a location where people may not necessarily associate with Islam or somehow connect to a Muslim community. I knew that China has a sizeable Muslim population. Through my research, I found the city of Xi'an, which is both home to a sizeable Muslim population and also a city full of rich Chinese history.
I thoroughly enjoyed Xi'an. I taught an English summer camp with a few other volunteers, and then for the last week, taught college students conversational English. Both groups were fun - teaching kids put teaching on my life map as a potential journey to explore, and teaching college students was fun because I was about the same age as them.
The volunteer organization provided us with meals. Luckily for me, I was able to eat the beef because they got the beef from a halal provider (however, they got their chicken from a different place, so I didn't eat that).
Something that made me happy was the cleanliness of the Muslim population there. The volunteer organization told us not to eat street food, except if it was from the Muslim quarter because the food is clean. A fellow volunteer still did not believe in eating any street food, and sternly warned me against eating anything on the street. However, I still decided to eat the street food from the Muslim quarter. I was fine :).
I tried making a friend while I was in China. I believe I walked into a Hijab/Men's hat shop and started talking to the girl that was working there, who was probably around my age. I wanted to attend Jumuah (Friday prayers) but wasn't sure where the women's prayer hall was located. She told me where I needed to go to get to the women's area. I got her QQ contact (an instant messaging service popular in China) but did not get to create one until I returned home. I made an account later, but either she didn't reply or the message didn't go through. Oh well.
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One of the shops in the Muslim quarter
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My Jumuah (Friday prayer) experience:
The entrance to the women's area was not something very obvious (or perhaps it was if you were fluent in Chinese), but by asking at a store nearby (see above), I was able to find out how to get there. For prayer that day, I wore a black hijab. And boy, did I stick out. First of all, I was the only foreigner, and I was the only one with a black hijab in a sea of white hijabs. I also did not know anyone (now thinking back, I am not sure how I had the courage to attend Friday prayer without knowing anyone, in a foreign country, and only knowing very few basic words in Mandarin). Luckily, I found some other young girls who I think new some English. I believe the Khutbah was in Mandarin, so I didn't understand it, but I enjoyed being in the presence of other Muslims, and taking it all in.
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Near the Great Mosque of Xi'an
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After prayer, a few Chinese aunties wanted to feed me. We went downstairs where they had some fruit and snacks to eat, just like how it is common to have snacks after jumuah in other parts of the world. I think Muslim aunties around the world, regardless of their cultural background, will try to feed you! They welcomed me in and I could feel their warmth. Food is often a universal language, and so can faith be. Despite the language barrier and cultural difference, I felt the Muslim sisterhood and strength of our faith. This is one of the reasons why I am so interested in Mosques - because of the shared unity and connectedness it represents and embraces.
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Women's prayer area
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Women's prayer area
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In the women's prayer area
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