Ox Street Mosque

Niujie–ox street was originally built during the Northern Song Dynasty in 996.

Ox Street Mosque have more than 1,000 years old,attendants here claim there are 200,000 Muslims in Beijing and altogether 68 Mosques which this is Beijing’s oldest and largest mosque sits at the center of the Muslim Quarter and mimics a Chinese temple from the outside,with its hexagonal wooden structure.Inside ,arches and posts are inscribed with Koranic verse,and a special moon tower helps with determining the lunar calendar.

At the rear of the  complex is a minaret from which a muezzin calls the faithful to prayer.Because Muslims must pray in the direction of Mecca,which ,in Beijing,is toward the west ,the main prayer hall opens onto the east.

There are also several religious halls,classrooms,and a bathhouse.

The mosque has been refurbished in a bid to re-creat how it looked back in 1696.The main prayer hall is open only to Muslims and can fit up to 1,000 worshippers.

There are two dark tombs with Chinese and Arabic inscriptions are kept in one of the small courtyards.They belong to two Persian imams who came to preach at the mosque in the 13th and 14th centuries.