The Dongguan Mosque is one of the
four great mosques in Northwest China. It is located at the Dongguan Street of
Xining City, Qinghai Province.
It is said that the mosque was established
at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It has undergone several
destructions and reconstructions in the history. The existing buildings were
rebuilt in 1913, expanded in 1946, and renovated in 1979.
The mosque covers an area of 13,602 square
meters now, and the construction area is 4,654 square meters. These buildings
have a large scale, and combine the traditional Chinese architectural art with
the Islamic architectural form. With the name of the mosque written on it, the
gate is 10 meters high and 15 meters wide. Inside the gate there are five arches
of 10 meters high and 21 meters wide. After passing the arches, you'll see a
courtyard with an area of 4,490 square meters. In the middle of the courtyard
stands the main worship hall, which takes up an area of 1,136 square meters and
is a brick-and-wood construction. There are the imam's room, students'
dormitories, bathrooms and steles in the mosque, too.
The Qinghai Aheng Islam College is located
in the mosque.