Tongxin Great Mosque
{{Short description|Mosque in Wuzhong, Ningxia, China}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}
{{Infobox religious building
| name = Tongxin Great Mosque
| native_name = 同心清真大寺
| native_name_lang = zh
| image = Tongxin mosque.JPG
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| map_type = China Ningxia
| map_size = 220px
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| coordinates = {{coord|36.96501|105.91124|type:landmark_region:CN|display=inline,title}}
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| religious_affiliation = Islam
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| location = Tongxin, Wuzhong, Ningxia, China
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| tradition = Sunni
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| architecture_type = mosque
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| capacity = 1,000 worshipers
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The Tongxin Great Mosque ({{zh|s=同心清真大寺|p=Tóngxīn Qīngzhēndàsì}}) is a mosque in Tongxin County, Wuzhong City, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China. The mosque is the oldest and largest mosque in Ningxia.{{cite web|url=http://www.china.org.cn/travel/Ningxia/2011-01/06/content_21685977.htm|title=Tongxin Great Mosque _ China.org.cn|work=china.org.cn|access-date=22 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231100319/http://china.org.cn/travel/Ningxia/2011-01/06/content_21685977.htm|archive-date=31 December 2013|url-status=live}}
History
The mosque was likely built in the fourteenth century during the Yuan dynasty.{{Cite book|title=China's Muslims|last=Dillon|first=Michael|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1996|isbn=0195875044|location=Hong Kong|pages=[https://archive.org/details/chinasmuslims00dill/page/41 41]|url=https://archive.org/details/chinasmuslims00dill/page/41}} It was originally a Mongolian Buddhist temple that was eventually abandoned after the fall of the Yuan dynasty in 1368. It was reconsecrated as a mosque during the early Ming dynasty.{{Cite book|last=Steinhardt|first=Nancy Shatzman|title=China's Early Mosques|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4744-3721-9|location=Edinburgh|pages=219}} The mosque underwent major renovations in the sixteenth century, in 1791 and in 1907. The mosque was further expanded in 1936. When the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army went on a westward campaign in 1936 liberating areas in Ningxia, they held a meeting with the local people at the mosque. They also set up the Yuhai County People's Government in Shanganning. In 1983, it was recognized as the National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit by the State Council.{{cite web|url=http://en.chinaculture.org/library/2003-09/24/content_33174.htm|title=Tongxin Mosque|work=chinaculture.org|access-date=7 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107202812/http://en.chinaculture.org/library/2003-09/24/content_33174.htm|archive-date=7 November 2016|url-status=live}} Today, the mosque is affiliated with the Yihewani sect.{{Cite book|title=China's Muslims|last=Dillon|first=Michael|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1996|isbn=0195875044|location=Hong Kong|pages=[https://archive.org/details/chinasmuslims00dill/page/42 42]|url=https://archive.org/details/chinasmuslims00dill/page/42}}
Architecture
The mosque was built in Han style and decorated in Islamic style, which showcase the combination of Han and Hui culture. All of the buildings were built on a cyan platform, seven meters high. There is an imitation-timber work entrance wall, decorated with brick carvings, at the front gate. The main building, consisting of the main prayer hall and two connecting halls, accommodates 1,000 worshipers.{{cite web|url=http://en.chinaculture.org/library/2008-02/04/content_25289.htm|title=Tongxin Great Mosque|work=chinaculture.org|access-date=7 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107203318/http://en.chinaculture.org/library/2008-02/04/content_25289.htm|archive-date=7 November 2016|url-status=live}} Behind the mosque lies a cemetery which also contains the shrines of two Sufi saints (or Shaykhs).
Transportation
The mosque is accessible by bus from the Yinchuan Railway Station.{{cite web|url=http://www.at0086.com/Tongxinqingzhensi/|title=Tongxin Mosque|work=at0086.com|access-date=22 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122101741/http://www.at0086.com/Tongxinqingzhensi//|archive-date=22 January 2015|url-status=live}}