The Great Mosque

The Great Mosque, which is situated in Tongdao South Street of Hohhot, is the oldest and largest of mosque built during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD) after throngs of the Hui Muslim Minority migrated from Xinjiang to Mongolia. The mosque was built up in the reign of the Emperor Kangxi and was renovated and expanded several times in the reign of Emperor Yongzheng and Emperor Qianlong.

The mosque is a strange mix of Chinese and Arabic architecture, which is interesting not only for its insides, with its active worship, but also for the atmosphere that this whole area presents. Of the buildings here, all constructed in black brick, the grandest is the aptly named Grand Prayer Hall (Dajing tang shengdian), behind which lies both the Teaching Hall (Jiang tang) and the Muslim Baths (Musilin yushi). All of the buildings within bear Muslim characters, and especially noteworthy are the over 30 volumes of ancient Koran scriptures, all written in Arabic, which are valuable historical materials for studying the Hui nationality, are kept in the Great Mosque. During the period of the Republic of China, the Tower for Observing the Moon was built up. Rising 36 meters above the ground, the tower built out of bricks is hexagonal and peaked. A crescent-shaped lamp is fixed on the peaked top of the tower. When the fast month comes, the Moslems climb up to the top storey of the tower to observe the moon. It is also possible, with permission, to climb the 15m tall hexagonal minaret that is topped with a pagoda style roof, for a nice view of the city. Around the mosque run a series of small alleys (Hutong), which make up the Muslim area of town.