Songjiang Mosque

Songjiang Mosque, also known as Songjiang Zhenjiao Temple, is the oldest mosque in Shanghai. It is located in Songjiang District and was originally built during the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368) and the Zhizheng Period (1341-1368) because the local governor of the area was a Muslim at that time. In 1391 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the government ordered its reconstruction, which was subsequently expanded three times and renovated four times during the Qing Dynasty, so it still retains the style of mosques from the Yuan and Ming dynasties. The mosque faces south and has a traditional Chinese screen wall inside the gate with the word "Mosque" written on it. The original mosque was surrounded by Muslim cemeteries. Its architectural style retains the shape of Arabic column vaults while also having the architectural features of the Chinese Ming and Qing dynasties. The main buildings include the main hall, kiln hall, corridor, south and north lecture halls, Bangke Gate and water room. Among them, the kiln hall and Bangke Gate are the most distinctive architectural features of the temple. There are also four steles inscribed in various dynasties preserved in the temple. On August 26, 1980, the Shanghai Municipal People's Government designated Songjiang Mosque as a cultural relic protection site. In 1985, the temple was renovated and listed as a key cultural relic protection site in Shanghai. Opened to the outside world in 1989. Songjiang Mosque is the oldest Islamic temple in Shanghai and was built during the Zhizheng period of the Yuan Dynasty. It is an Islamic temple that combines Chinese palace classical style and Arabic architectural style. On the east side of the temple is the Bangke Gate Tower, also known as the minaret, which is used for Muslims to come and worship. The roof has a cross ridge, the inner wall is a brick arch dome, and a doorway is opened at the bottom as an entrance and exit. This is a typical Arabic architecture. On the west side is the prayer hall, a Ming Dynasty building with an antique charm that stands in symmetry with the exquisite Bangke Gate Tower. According to the "Songjiang Zhifu" records: When the Yuan Dynasty unified China, Nasir led his tribe, namely the Central Asian Persians. Enter Songjiang. Later, their tribes and descendants settled in Songjiang, which is the origin of Songjiang Muslims. Since the Hui people are actually descendants of Arabs, when they moved to Songjiang more than 600 years ago, the people were simple-minded and devout in their faith. Moreover, the Arabs who entered China because they were defeated in the war and became prisoners of the Mongolian rulers at the time, of course they could not forget their own nation's religious beliefs and religious activities, so they built mosques for them to worship in the places where they settled. This is the origin of Songjiang Mosque. The construction inside Songjiang Mosque is an important relic of the ancient cultural exchange between the Arab people and the Chinese nation, and is also one of the symbols of the combination of Islam and Chinese culture. Ancient Islamic temple in China. It is also known as Songjiang Zhenjiao Temple and Yunjian Baihe Temple ("Yunjian" is the ancient name of Songjiang. According to legend, Songjiang is the hometown of white cranes, hence the name). It is located in the Gangding Store at the end of the Ximalu Bridge in Songjiang County, Shanghai, and has a history of more than 600 years. There are different opinions about the time when the temple was first built: one says it was founded during the Yuan Dynasty (1341-1368) by the county governor Darughachi; another says it was founded in 1295 when Nasurdin, a Muslim from the Western Regions, was stationed in Songjiang. According to records, the temple collapsed during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang ordered its reconstruction in the 24th year of Hongwu (1391). It was rebuilt and expanded twice, in the fifth year of Yongle (1407) and the fourteenth year of Jiajing (1535). In the tenth year of Wanli's reign (1582), it was renovated again. It was rebuilt and renovated several times in the 15th year of Shunzhi's reign (1658), the 16th year of Kangxi's reign (1677), the 17th year of Jiaqing's reign (1812), the 2nd year of Daoguang's reign (1821) and in 1985. The layout of the temple maintains the traditional style of the Yuan and Ming dynasties, which combined Islamic temples and tombs. The main gate of the temple faces north, and the front screen wall is embedded with four large brick seal characters "Qing Miao Yuan Zhen". There are two characters "敕建" (imperial construction) on the gate of the temple, and there is an inner screen with the word "Mosque" written on it. Passing through the second gate of the corridor, there is a winding dragon wall and a cemetery outside the southeast wall, which is the Songjiang Huihui Tomb, which is the tomb of Songjiang Hui people from all dynasties. According to the inscriptions in the temple, Nasurdin, the governor of the Yuan Dynasty, was buried in the temple (the tomb has now been restored). Inside the dragon wall is a complete mosque building, whose style retains the characteristics of combining Arabic column vault style with Chinese palace-style classical architecture. On the east side of the temple is the Bunker Building, a brick-built bracket-arch structure. Inside the building wall is an Arabic-style brick arch dome, about 4 meters high. The walls have exquisite brick carvings, and the arched doorway is the entrance and exit. There are two convenience doors beside the building. The prayer hall faces east and is a Ming Dynasty Jiangnan wooden hall-style building. It is antique and symmetrical with the exquisite and graceful Bangke Building. The main hall is connected to the concave hall at the end by a corridor. The concave hall is about 8 meters high, with three doors on the north, south and east sides. It has a spherical vault, double-eaved cross ridges, and upturned wing corners. It is simple and majestic, and it complements the Bunker Building from a distance. There is a bathroom on the south side of the prayer hall, and there are side rooms on the north and south sides of the courtyard, which serve as lecture halls and places for the Imam to recite scriptures and meet guests. There are four existing Islamic steles in the mosque, which record the historical evolution of the mosque and its renovation during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The mosque is an important relic of cultural exchange between Arabia and my country, and is also one of the symbols of the combination of Islamic culture and Chinese culture. It is a key cultural relic protection unit in Shanghai.