Back Street Mosque

Back Street Mosque

The Back Street Mosque is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Back Street Mosque is located on West Renmin Road, Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province. As the ancient city of Qinzhou consisted of five interconnected walled sections, this mosque was situated at the northeast corner of Xiguan (West Gate) City, and was formerly known as the "Xiguan Mosque." The northern side of the mosque originally bordered the northern wall of the city; after the wall was demolished, it came to face North Gate People’s Road. After 1970, since the main gate of the mosque was moved to Chengyuan Lane on Back Street, it has been commonly referred to as the Back Street Mosque.

The Back Street Mosque has a long history. According to the "Tianshui County Annals," it was "founded during the Zhizheng era of the Yuan Dynasty (1341–1368), featuring a five-bay prayer hall with glazed green tiles, red pillars, and carved rafters." The 1534 "Qinzhou Rebuilt Mosque Minaret Stele" from the Ming Dynasty's Jiajing era praised it, saying: "Its majestic presence towers above, even surpassing the famous Yueyang Tower."

The Back Street Mosque is built rationally and in an imposing style. Originally, the mosque had three entrance gates: the first gate was located at the north end of Chengyuan Lane, consisting of a three-bay wooden archway with the words “清真寺 (Mosque)” inscribed vertically between the brackets, while the lintel bore the phrases “Gradually Entering Blessed Ground” and “Reciting Scriptures, Honoring Ancestors.” The second gate was within Dasi Lane, a single-eaved, wide-span archway inscribed with “Everlasting Joy Realm” on the front, and “Repaying Original Merit” and “Ancient Mosque of Islam” on the back—traditionally said to be inscribed by Emperor Kangxi. The third gate was a three-bay passageway hall facing south, leading into the mosque courtyard. Ancient cypresses, the main prayer hall, and wooden towers complemented one another, creating a solemn and sacred atmosphere where Muslims performed ablutions and prayers. Unfortunately, during the Cultural Revolution, the site suffered severe damage: the archways, the mountain gate, and the "Mula Tower" were demolished, and several ancient locust and incense cypress trees were felled. Experts from China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration, after inspecting Tianshui, commented that among the over 30,000 mosques nationwide, only two such wooden minaret structures existed—and their demolition was truly regrettable.

The prayer hall was built in 1374 during the Ming Dynasty's Hongwu era, expanded in 1468 during the Chenghua era, and has been preserved for over 600 years. It consists of a front hall of five bays, a rear hall of three bays, and a three-bay front canopy corridor, spanning a total length of 22.3 meters and a depth of 19.3 meters. The entire hall contains only two thick central pillars, reflecting the Ming-style palace architecture that retained the Yuan Dynasty tradition of reducing the number of columns. The roof is a single-eave hip-and-gable design with glazed green tiles; the main ridge features a lotus scroll pattern, with a central tower pavilion and mythical beast ridge ends—creatures that look beast-like yet not entirely so, embodying Islamic philosophical concepts. The rear hall has corner beams supporting the eaves, with concealed roof gutters for drainage, giving it a style distinct from other structures. The roof of the main hall is paved with blue square bricks forming a grid pattern, with white lime used for pointing. According to experts in ancient architecture, these square brick grids are typical of pre-Ming construction. The main gate of the hall is a five-bay, four-panel door, which can be folded or installed, featuring exquisitely carved designs. The upper lintel is adorned with openwork patterns of “money and mugwort leaves,” displaying elegant composition and masterful carving technique, all well-preserved.

The mosque houses five stone steles, but the most precious and historically significant one is the “Qinzhou Rebuilt Mosque Tower Stele.” This stele was erected in 1543, during the Ming Dynasty’s Jiajing era, and has a history of over 460 years. Carved from white marble, it is largely intact and the inscriptions are clear. The front of the stele bears the Chinese text “Record of the Reconstruction of the Qinzhou Mosque Tower,” written in the European-style regular script, comprising 19 lines; the reverse side contains Arabic inscriptions, totaling 34 lines. The Chinese text begins by recounting the founding date and historical evolution of the Back Street Mosque, and later offers descriptions and praise for the nine-year construction of the “Mula Tower.” The Arabic inscription details the functions of the mosque, the merits of building it, and the blessings of praying there. This stele is the earliest known Arabic-language inscription in Gansu and serves as a crucial Hui (Chinese Muslim) historical document. Beyond its value in linguistics and epigraphy, it holds significant importance for research on the spread and development of Islam in northwest China during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the origin and migration history of the Hui people, and the history of Sino-Arab cultural exchanges.

In May 2006, the Back Street Mosque, as an ancient architectural structure from the Ming to Qing periods, was approved by the State Council to be included in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Attraction Location

No. 25, West Renmin Road, Qinzhou District, Tianshui City, Gansu Province

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Provincial-Level Cultural Relics Protection Units in Gansu Province

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units