Kaifeng Eastern Mosque, National heritage mosque in Shunhe Hui District, Kaifeng, China.
Kaifeng Eastern Mosque is a Qing-era mosque complex of three successive courtyards on the west side of Qingping South Street. Its buildings include a screen wall, stone lions at the gate, a main gate, a second gate, side corridors, auxiliary halls, a rolled-eave prayer hall, a lecture hall and an ablution room. A separate women's mosque stands opposite.
Muslims settled in the area of present-day Kaifeng from the late Tang dynasty, and a mosque was later built where the Eastern Mosque now stands. It was destroyed by dynastic wars and Yellow River floods. In 1407, during the Ming Yongle reign, it was rebuilt by imperial order, but it was destroyed again at the end of the Ming. In 1655, during the Qing Shunzhi reign, believers raised funds to rebuild it, and it was repaired again in 1846, during the Daoguang reign; the current buildings date from that restoration.
The mosque heads the thirteen historic mosques of Kaifeng and was once called Henan's first mosque. A women's mosque stands across the street, and the complex includes a water house for ablutions. Its name, Eastern Great Mosque, distinguishes it from the Northern Great Mosque nearby.
The grounds are open to visitors, but it is important to respect active prayer times and religious practices at the site. Check beforehand if there are specific visiting guidelines or times when non-worshippers are welcome.
The mosque is the first of Kaifeng's Thirteen Mosques and was historically called the "First Quarter of Henan", the largest mosque in the province. It was listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level on 25 June 2006 as a Qing-dynasty building. A women's mosque stands across the street.
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