Dongsi Mosque

　　The Dongsi Mosque, also known as Faming Temple, is situated on Dongsi South Street in Dongcheng District. The mosque faces east with its main body to the west, and features a prayer hall, north and south lecture rooms, ablution rooms, a library, and more, covering an area of over 10,000 square meters. The prayer hall is lavishly decorated with gilded carvings and painted beams, and its three arched gates are inscribed with Quranic verses in Kufic Arabic script, crafted with exquisite detail. The domed prayer niche (mihrab) behind the main hall is built in a dome structure. The courtyard is lush with trees and exudes tranquility and solemnity. The mosque houses a rich collection of cultural relics and books, including the bronze finial from the minaret built in the 22nd year of the Ming Chenghua era (1486, destroyed in the late Guangxu era of the Qing Dynasty); the “Hundred-Character Holy Inscription of the Islamic Faming Temple” stele from the 7th year of the Wanli era (1579), with the front inscribed in Chinese narrating the deeds of Muhammad, and the back in Arabic, featuring the four characters “Li Ben Wu Ji” (The Principle is Boundless) in the center; as well as various versions of the Quran, including a well-preserved Yuan Dynasty handwritten copy with neat and elegant script. It now serves as the headquarters of the Islamic Association and is a place where Muslims gather for daily prayers, Friday congregational prayers, and festival prayers.