Niujie Mosque

Niujie Mosque on Oxen Street in Beijing's Xicheng district is the city's oldest and largest mosque and the heart of its Hui Muslim community. Founded in 996 during the Liao dynasty by the Arab scholar Nasruddin and rebuilt several times, notably under the Ming in 1442, it is architecturally unique: outside a traditional Chinese courtyard complex with swept roofs and red columns, inside an Islamic prayer hall with a mihrab pointing to Mecca and Arabic calligraphy. The courtyard holds the tombs of two 13th-century Persian imams. Visitors can enter outside prayer times, borrow shoe covers and headscarves, and explore the surrounding halal quarter with lamb skewer stalls and sesame bread bakeries.