North Mosque

North Mosque

The North Mosque is a cultural relic protection unit of Henan Province.

The North Mosque in Kaifeng is located near the intersection of Tietasi Fourth Street and the northern section of Neihuan East Road in Shunhe Hui District, Kaifeng City, Henan Province, and is commonly known as the North Grand Mosque. It is one of the four most historic and renowned mosques in the urban area of Kaifeng. The other three are the East Grand Mosque, Shanyitang Mosque, and Wenshu Temple. It is also one of the Thirteen Mosque Quarters in the ancient city of Kaifeng, which has a large Hui population.

On the left corner gate of the main prayer hall of the North Mosque, there is a stone tablet inscribed with five seal characters reading “Longma Futu Chu” (The Place Where the Dragon-Horse Carried the Diagram), and the inscription below in regular script reads: “Jia · Second Year, Third Month, Longtu Pavilion Academician and Prefect of Kaifeng Prefecture Bao Zheng.” This stele was unearthed in 1785 (the 50th year of the Qianlong reign in the Qing Dynasty) by Jiang Lan, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Henan, from beneath the Yellow River embankment at Heigangkou in the suburbs of Kaifeng. After its discovery, a memorial shrine and pavilion were built to house it. Later, when the shrine and pavilion collapsed, the stele was moved into the mosque. It is one of the very few surviving relics of Bao Zheng.

The mosque also houses stone inscriptions from the Song and Qing dynasties, among which the Arabic-language “Koran Tablet” carved in the 20th year of the Daoguang reign (1840) is a valuable resource for the study of Islam.

In 2008, the North Mosque was listed as part of the fifth batch of cultural relic protection units of Henan Province as an ancient architectural site.

Address: No. 1, Tietasi Fourth Street, Longting District, Kaifeng City

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Henan Province