Xiaotaoyuan Mosque

　　Xiaotaoyuan Mosque, formerly known as the Western Mosque or Shanghai West City Mosque, is a center for Muslim religious, educational, and cultural activities in Shanghai. It earned the name "Xiaotaoyuan Mosque" because its entrance faces Xiaotaoyuan Street. The mosque was first built in 1917 when Mr. Jin Ziyun, a director of the Shanghai Mosque Board, purchased a 2.4-acre garden residence for over 12,000 silver dollars and donated it to serve as a mosque. In 1925, it was rebuilt on its current site as a mosque featuring four domes and reflecting the Islamic architectural style of West Asia. Today, it also houses institutions such as the Shanghai Mosque Management Committee and the Shanghai Islamic Association.

　　The mosque’s north-facing main gate is an arched iron gate with floral patterns. The number 1343 represents the Islamic calendar year, equivalent to 1925. The lintel is inlaid with the golden characters “清真寺” (Mosque). Above the gate is embedded a verse from the Quran: “Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam.” The eastern façade features a portico with Tuscan columns, pointed arch doors and windows, and Arabic-style domed roofs at the center and the four corners, with a moon-viewing pavilion atop the central large dome. A tall crescent and star finial stands atop the dome of the moon-viewing pavilion, serving as an important symbol of Islamic architecture. Inside the gate lies a spacious rectangular courtyard.

　　On the east side of the courtyard stands a three-story building with a hall-like structure. The second and third floors house a library and reading room, which contain various Chinese and foreign editions of the Quran and precious Islamic relics. The ground floor serves as a lecture hall, where a Qing Dynasty Chinese woodblock-printed Quran and a massive Indian edition of the Quran with Urdu commentary are displayed. The walls feature traditional Chinese hanging scrolls and couplets, along with decorations such as incense burners, altars, and vases. At the northern end of the courtyard are the imam’s office, reception room, ablution area, and other facilities.

　　The west side of the courtyard is home to the main prayer hall, a two-story square structure with an Islamic architectural style. Its large-span domed structure is rare among Islamic buildings in China. The ground floor features the main prayer hall with a clear height of 4.7 meters, while the upper floor has a clear height of 5.7 meters, together accommodating up to 1,000 worshippers. The lintel above the ground floor entrance bears a plaque inscribed with the words “显扬正教” (Promote the Righteous Religion), and the doorway is inlaid with two pairs of redwood Arabic couplets, with a section of the Quranic verse above. Between the ground and upper floors on the western side, there is a long opening enclosed by a copper railing. In the absence of sound equipment at the time, when the imam led prayers and recited the Quran on the ground floor, the sound could reach the upper floor through this opening.

　　The top of the prayer hall features a stone-paved platform, with a moon-viewing pavilion atop the central large dome. A tall crescent and star finial stands on the arched roof of the pavilion, one of the symbols of an Islamic mosque. The four corners of the platform are adorned with four Arabic-style domed roofs, and the southwest and northwest corners each have a stone platform and four benches, designated for Muslims to recite scriptures and rest.

　　The prayer hall has three spacious main doors, 12 glass windows each decorated with 25 patterns, four octagonal pillars, and a central chandelier. The space between the doors is inlaid with a redwood Arabic couplet. The roof of the prayer hall is a stone-paved platform, with the square moon-viewing pavilion at its center. The central dome of the roof features a large opening, and the upper level ensures sound can be heard below. The base of the prayer hall is elevated two meters deep to prevent moisture, pests, and deformation. Atop the roof sits the moon-viewing pavilion, surrounded by four small Arabic-style domed pavilions, each with a stone platform and four benches for devout Muslims to recite the Quran and rest. On the east side of the courtyard stands a three-story building with a traditional Chinese hall structure. The second and third floors now serve as a library and reading room, housing various Chinese and foreign editions of the Quran.

　　A major mosque of Shanghai Islam and the location of the Shanghai Islamic Association. Established in 1917 by Muslim residents in Shanghai, the mosque building was rebuilt in 1925 under the guidance of the Muslim benefactor Jin Ziyun, becoming a religious structure with Islamic characteristics. The main building is a square-shaped grand prayer hall, with a moon-viewing pavilion at the center of the domed roof platform and a crescent and star finial, a symbol of Islam. After multiple renovations following the liberation of Shanghai, it has regained its former grandeur and serves as an important venue for Islamic religious activities for both local and visiting Muslims.

　　Since its establishment, the mosque has hosted various schools: in 1928, it served as the initial site of the Shanghai Islamic Normal School (later relocated to Qinglian Street). Later, it also established traditional Islamic education and ordinary primary schools, including the Qingzhen National Primary School, Mingcheng Primary School, Chongben Primary School, and the Shanghai Muslim Orphanage. From 1917 to 1937, the mosque received Muslims from Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, and across China who gathered in Shanghai to embark on the pilgrimage to Mecca. It provided them with accommodation, assistance in obtaining passports, currency exchange, and purchasing ship tickets, serving as a hub for Chinese Muslims going on Hajj.

　　Prominent Islamic scholars such as Maishunsan, Majingwu, and Mayiting once presided over religious affairs at the mosque, spreading the ideas of the Ikhwan movement that emphasized "respecting the scripture and reforming customs," as well as religious education concepts adapted to the trends of the times.