Behind the Concrete is a monthly snippet where we introduce a piece of architecture that has a unique design and/or interesting story.
The oldest mosque in Guangzhou, Huaisheng Mosque has been standing on Guangta Lu in Yuexiu District for almost 1,400 years (give or take a few during its reconstruction after it burned down in the Yuan Dynasty). The mosque dates to the very beginning of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), when Muhammad sent his diplomatic envoys to China.
Believed to have been built by Sa’ad ibn Abi Waqqas, the Islamic prophet’s uncle and one of the first envoys to China, the building, which includes a lighthouse more than 35 meters high, used to serve as a beacon for cargo boats carrying spices, jewels and ivory, giving it the nickname ‘the Lighthouse (Guangta) Mosque.’
According to Ma Guangxing, president of the Guangdong Islamic Association, Huaisheng Mosque was rebuilt again in 1695 and has undergone three renovations since 1949.
Though you may easily sneak into the mosque before salat at 1.30pm, Ma tells us “non-Muslims are not encouraged to do that.” It’s a rule that doesn’t exist in countries like Saudi Arabia, where visitors – Muslim or not – can enter mosques at will without being asked to leave.
In 1996, Haisheng Mosque – one of China’s four oldest mosques, which include Shengyou Mosque in Quanzhou, Fenghuan Mosque in Hangzhou and Xianhe Mosque in Yangzhou – was listed as an ‘Important Historical Monument under Special Preservation’ by the Chinese government.
Walk to the mosque from Ximenkou Metro Station at around noon on a Friday and you will see throngs of Indians, Arabs and Uighers on their way to worship, gathering before the lighthouse just as they did one thousand years ago.
See listing for Huaisheng Mosque.
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