Huaisheng Mosque
The Huaisheng Mosque (Chinese: 广州怀圣寺; also known as the Lighthouse Mosque and the Great Mosque of Canton) is the main mosque of Guangzhou. Rebuilt many times over its history, it is traditionally thought to have been originally built over 1,300 years ago, which would make it one of the oldest mosques in the world.
| Huaisheng Mosque | |
|---|---|
怀圣寺 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Islam |
| Branch/tradition | Sunni |
| Location | |
| Location | Guangzhou, Guangdong, China |
Guangdong | |
| Geographic coordinates | 23°7′31.38″N 113°15′12.91″E |
| Architecture | |
| Type | mosque |
| Huaisheng Mosque | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 广州怀圣寺 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 廣州懷聖寺 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
In China, the most unusual feature of the mosque is its pointed 36 metre minaret, the Guangta or Kwangtah. Although this meant the "Plain Pagoda" in reference to its unadorned surface, it is also sometimes taken to mean "lighthouse" and gave the mosque its alternate name. Somewhat similar "minimalist" minarets can be seen outside China, e.g. at the Khan's Mosque in Kasimov, Russia. The mosque was visited by Tim Severin's crew of the Sohar, that sailed into Canton from Muscat in July 1981, recreating the fictional voyage of Sinbad the Sailor.