📜 About & history
The Great Mosque of Xi'an, on Huajue Lane, is one of the oldest and best-preserved mosques in China, traditionally founded in 742 AD when Xi'an (Chang'an) was the Tang capital and terminus of the Silk Road. Its present layout dates largely to 1392 in the Ming dynasty, with later Qing additions. Laid out along a long east-west axis of four successive courtyards, it looks like a Chinese temple complex yet functions fully as a mosque, with a central minaret-pagoda and Arabic-Chinese inscriptions throughout. It remains the main religious center for the roughly 60,000 Hui Muslims of Xi'an's historic Muslim Quarter.
🕌 Prayer & visiting
An active mosque open for the five daily prayers and the Friday Jumu'ah gathering around midday. It is also a ticketed tourist site: non-Muslim visitors may explore the courtyards and pavilions but the main prayer hall is reserved for Muslim worshippers. Ablution facilities on site; modest dress required.
📍 Address
🇨🇳 Inside China use Baidu or Amap; Google Maps needs a VPN.
🚇 How to reach the mosque
- Line 2 Bell Tower (Zhonglou) （钟楼）
Many city buses stop at 'Bell Tower' (钟楼); from there it is about a 7-minute walk into the Muslim Quarter to the mosque.
The mosque sits inside the Muslim Quarter (Huimin Jie / Beiyuanmen) itself, Xi'an's halal food and Hui cultural district, so it is walkable from most Muslim-Quarter hotels and restaurants.
In the very center of Xi'an, just northwest of the Bell Tower inside the city walls. Metro Line 2 to Bell Tower Station, then a short walk through the Muslim Quarter (Beiyuanmen).
Surrounded by the famous Muslim Quarter food street with abundant halal dining. Allow time to walk the four courtyards. Modest dress required. Taxi phrase: 请带我去化觉巷清真大寺