China is so big, I want to visit it. Take you to a place you have been or have not been.

It doesn't look like it from a distance, but it looks like it up close--Xi'an Huajue Lane Mosque

As the ancient capital of the thirteen dynasties, Xi'an has many places to go, both ancient and modern relics and modern amusements. Huajue Lane Mosque in Xi'an is one of the four major mosques in northwest China. It can be said that there are few tourists and it appears very quiet.

In August 2013, ticket for Xi'an Mosque at Beiyuanmen Gate in Xi'an is 25 yuan

In the early 7th century AD, Islam spread to China through the "Silk Road". Through the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, Islam was widely spread in China. Mosques built in past dynasties were preserved in almost every place. Huajue Lane Mosque is one of the famous Islamic temples. However, you can't see the gemstone blue domes, towers and other signs inherent in Arab mosques here. What comes into view is the traditional Chinese wooden pavilions, which is unique among Chinese mosques in the "alternative" style of Chinese-style Islamic temples. Walking into it, the details and decoration incorporate Islamic architectural art. Integrating traditional Chinese architectural art and Islamic culture, it is one of the most distinctive, completely preserved and typical Chinese-style mosques in my country by far, and it is also the only garden-style mosque in China.

The Da Temple is located in Huajue Lane, Huifang Cultural Style Street (Hui Min Street), Beiyuanmen, Xi'an. It is commonly known as "Da Temple" or "Dongda Temple". It is the largest Islamic temple in Xi'an and well-known at home and abroad. Huajue Lane is a settlement area inhabited by Hui ancestors, taking the meaning of influence and enlightenment. The history of its alleys can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. The Hui people are characterized by "large dispersion and small concentration". Their residential areas are all centered around the mosque and "live around the temple". Xi'an has the Muslim building complex of "Seven Temples and Thirteen Square".

According to the inscription in the temple, the temple was built in the first year of Tianbao of the Tang Dynasty (742). It went through many renovations and expansions in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, gradually forming the current building. "Imperial Edict Stele" records: In the 25th year of Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty (1392), an imperial decree was issued to build Xi'an Ribai Temple. Among the temples were the "Imperial Edict to Rebuild the Mosque Monument" in the 34th year of Wanli (1606) and the 33rd year of Qianlong (1768)"Imperial Edict to Build the Mosque Monument". It is the largest Islamic temple in Xi'an and well-known at home and abroad.

The temple is a rectangle 250 meters long from east to west and 50 meters wide from north to south. The five-entry courtyard is in a courtyard pattern, and the courtyard layout is unique among Chinese mosques. The walls are made of brick, including wooden archway, stone archway, imperial repair hall, moon stele, worry-saving building, water room, phoenix pavilion, moon platform and other buildings. They are a model for combining Islamic culture and Chinese culture.

The Zhaobi in the middle of the courtyard wall at the east end of the temple is the starting point of the central axis of the temple. The main wall of the Zhaobi is decorated with three diamond-shaped brick carvings, namely chrysanthemum, lotus and peony.

(Photo on the wall)

The wooden archway in the first courtyard was built in the early 17th century and is a high-level five-room building.

What attracts attention in the second courtyard is the stone archway engraved with the words "Tianjian is here" in the Ming Dynasty. It has four pillars and three rooms, surrounded by stone railings. Tianjian Zaizi originally originated from the Book of Songs. "Respect for Zhi" means that the Holy Spirit watches everything about us in heaven. There are two towering dragon steles erected on the north and south sides of the west tread path of the archway: one is the "Imperial Temple Rebuilding Monument" erected in the thirty-fourth year of Wanli of the Ming Dynasty (1606), and the back is engraved with the calligraphy of Song Mi Fu,"Tao Can Understand Heaven and Earth"; the other is the "Imperial Temple Monument" erected in the thirty-third year of Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1763), and the back is engraved with the inscription "Imperial Temple" written by Dong Qichang of the Ming Dynasty.

The third admission center is the "worry building", which is the prayer building where Muslims are called to worship. Because the Arab-style minaret (worship building) is very tall, this building is a three-story octagonal Chinese-style building with a lower level. The caller does not need to go to a tall building, so it is named after "worry". There is a Chinese-style Arabic "moon tablet" in the side pavilion, which describes the calculation method of the Islamic calendar. There is also a plaque titled "Pai Yan Tianfang" personally inscribed by the Empress Dowager Cixi.

(Shengxin Building is under maintenance)

There are three brick carved doors at the entrance of the fourth entrance courtyard, and the "Yizhen Pavilion" is a unique building integrating archway and pavilions. The central main pavilion has six-corner flying eaves, wings triangular like an archway, and the eaves corners are high. The three pavilions are connected, looking like a phoenix spreading its wings. They are commonly known as the "Phoenix Pavilion".

Behind the "Yizhen Pavilion" are two crabapple shaped fish ponds, with clear water and clear waves and fish flying on the shallow bottom. There are stele pavilions with spires at four corners by the pool. Through a corridor surrounded by stone railings in the middle of the fish pond, to the west is a large platform, surrounded by stone railings on three sides.

On the wide platform of the fifth entrance courtyard, the main hall is located at the main end. It has seven rooms wide and nine rooms deep, allowing more than a thousand people to worship at the same time. There is a long-lit lantern from the Sui and Tang Dynasties, known as the "auspicious star shines high", and a plaque "There is a blessing in the middle of the lintel."

The buildings in the temple are arranged symmetrically along the central axis, with medium size and medium spacing, and are arranged very neatly. The halls and towers in the courtyard are vaguely hidden among the lush trees and flowers, and the environment is very quiet. The beautiful brick sculpture shadow wall that surrounds the surroundings is almost everywhere incorporates Islamic Art Deco. The rooms on the south and north sides of the courtyard display Ming and Qing furniture, authentic calligraphy, etc.

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