Luying Temple

　　Luying Temple, also known as Baba Temple, is situated two li northwest of Xixiang County and functions as a place for Islamic spiritual devotion. For over 260 years, since its founding in the 58th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1719), followers of Islam—including the Hui, Uyghur, Kazakh, Dongxiang, and Bonan ethnic groups from provinces such as Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Yunnan, Sichuan, and Heilongjiang—have made long pilgrimages to this sacred site for worship and reverence, with visitors coming in an endless stream.

　　Legend has it that during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, Qi Jingyi, an imam from Hezhou, Gansu, was ordered by his master to preach across Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu. He later settled in Xixiang and engaged in spiritual practice in locations such as Zhaojiawan, Dishuiya, Yangqigou, and the Kangning and Shahaikan areas of Guanzigou, as well as in the Yuanyang Cave of Suoluo Pass. In the 58th year of Kangxi’s reign, he passed away on Wutou Mountain in the western suburbs of the county and left instructions for his disciples to build Luying Temple, where his remains were interred. Over the subsequent dynastic periods of Jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng, Tongzhi, and Guangxu, the temple underwent multiple expansions, growing into a grand and magnificently built structure.

　　The original temple complex of Luying Temple consisted of three main sections: Xiangen Temple, Jingsi Temple, and Luying Temple, with the Scripture Hall, Gongbei Hall, memorial archway, and screen wall being particularly grand and imposing. The temple complex covered an area of over 100 mu. Currently, 106 halls and rooms remain. The main architectural structures are both aesthetically pleasing and dignified, with a solemn and rigorous style that blends the features of Islamic mosques with traditional Chinese architecture, showcasing not only unique ethnic characteristics but also distinct regional features.

　　In front of Luying Temple stands a screen wall approximately 10 meters high and 11 meters long. The base of the wall consists of seven tiers. The first tier features brick carvings of “cloud patterns”; the second tier's center is adorned with a brick carving of “intertwined peony branches with dragons competing for a pearl,” flanked by carvings of “lotus and lotus seeds” and “dragons playing with clouds.”

　　Inside the main gate lies the courtyard in front of the main hall. Both the eastern and western walls are decorated with exquisitely matched square brick carvings. The eastern wall features a carving titled “Scholar’s Study Scene,” inscribed with: “Created by Pan Xian in the 21st year of the Guangxu reign of the Great Qing.” The western wall bears a carving called “Pine, Moon, and Peony Scene,” with the poetic line: “The moon reaches the heart of the sky as flowers await the dew; shadows stir the earth as the pine greets the wind,” inscribed with: “Created in the early summer month of the year of Dingyou, respectfully inscribed by Shengchu of Dahe (present-day Linxia, Gansu), Ma Zhongyi.”

　　The main hall consists of three spacious and solid rooms, built entirely of blue bricks and designed in the architectural style of Islamic worship. To the east of the main hall lies a small courtyard that once served as the residence for imams, where ten imam tombs now stand. The temple preserves several Ming Dynasty bronze ritual vessels and calligraphic paintings modeled after those from the Shang, Zhou, Spring and Autumn, Warring States, and Han dynasties. Examples include genuine landscape paintings by Lan Ying of the Ming Dynasty and calligraphy personally written by Emperor Kangxi—all of which are significant cultural relics.