Yalla China · Guide · Mosques in China · Laohua (Old Hua) Grand Mosque

Laohua (Old Hua) Grand Mosque

清真老华寺
📍 Linxia · Bafang Subdistrict 🏛️ 1368 (Ming Hongwu 1); rebuilt 2004 👥 5000

📜 About & history

Founded in 1368 as the 'Flower Mosque' (Huasi), it was enlarged in 1775 under Qianlong and became the seat of the Huasi Menhuan, one of the great Khufiyya Sufi orders of the northwest, associated with the scholar-teacher Ma Laichi. Repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt over the centuries, the present grand Arab-style complex dates from a 2004 reconstruction. The four-storey main hall stands about 48.8 metres tall over roughly 5,500 square metres, with a giant central dome and 36 granite columns some 18 metres high. It can hold about 5,000 worshippers, making it one of Linxia's largest mosques.

🕌 Prayer & visiting

TraditionKhufiyya – Huasi Menhuan (Sufi)

Five daily prayers plus the large Friday Jumu'ah; also a major centre for Sufi commemorations of the Huasi order.

📍 Address

Huasi Street / No. 85 Xinxi Road, Bafang, Linxia City
Address in Chinese (for taxis): 临夏市华寺街(新西路85号)

🇨🇳 Inside China use Baidu or Amap; Google Maps needs a VPN.

🚇 How to reach the mosque

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From the Arab districts

In the heart of the Bafang Muslim quarter, close to Tiejia Mosque and the Bafang Shisan Xiang lanes.

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From downtown

Inside the Bafang old town on Huasi Street, west of the centre off Xinxi Road; about a 10-minute walk from Hongyuan Square.

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Useful tip

The towering Arab-style dome makes it one of the tallest and largest mosques in the city and the base of the Huasi Sufi order. Ask a driver: 请带我去清真老华寺