Tianjin Great Mosque

　　

The Tianjin Great Mosque is one of the famous mosques in China. It is located at Hongqiao District of Tianjin City. There are different opinions on the year when it was established. Generally, people believe that it was established at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). In the following hundreds of years, it was rebuilt and expanded several times, and finally formed its current scale.  

　　

　　The mosque covers an area of 5,000 square meters, and has a construction area of 2,200 square meters. The main buildings include the entrance wall, the gate tower, the worship hall, the sermon hall, the bathroom, etc. The worship hall is composed of the main hall and the rear hall, etc. On the top of the rear hall there are five booth-like pavilions. Around the worship hall there is the ambulatory. Brick carvings of flower patterns are embedded into both the main ridge and drooping ridge, and tablets and couplets written in Chinese and Arabic letters are hung in the main hall. Among these tablets and couplets, those in Chinese were mainly created in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and are of high value. Besides, many precious cultural relics are preserved in the mosque, including two mini versions of the Alcoran. Brick carvings that describe some famous scenic spots in Tianjin City are preserved in the gate tower.