Bukui Mosque, Religious complex in Jianhua District, Qiqihar, China
Bukui Mosque stands on Mosque Road off Bukui Street in Qiqihar's Jianhua District, a compound of about 6,400 square metres with roughly 2,000 square metres of built space. It began as two separate mosques: the three-storey East Mosque of 374 square metres, built in 1684, and the two-storey West Mosque of 173 square metres, built in 1852 by Jahriyya followers from Gansu. Their two prayer halls hold about 450 worshippers together.
The eastern mosque was built in 1684, seven years before Qiqihar was founded as a city, while the western mosque was added in 1852. These two original structures became the foundation for the region's largest Islamic center.
The name Bukui is a Chinese transcription of a Daur word meaning "auspicious". In Qiqihar the name also serves as an alternative name for the city itself, so the mosque's name ties it to the town's own designation. A local saying holds that "the mosque existed long before the town Bukui".
The mosque stands on Mosque Road (Qingzhen Lu), just off Bukui Street in Jianhua District. The East and West halls are entered from the same compound, and the two prayer spaces together hold about 450 people. Dress modestly and remove shoes before entering a prayer hall.
The grounds originally contained two separate buildings that merged into a single complex in 1958, becoming the largest Islamic center in Heilongjiang province. This consolidation reflects how the site grew into a focal point for the Muslim community.
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