Guangzhou Huaisheng Mosque

The Huaisheng Mosque (Guangta Mosque) is one of the four great mosques along the coastal area of Southeast China. The mosque has a long history, and is as famous as the Crane Mosque in Yangzhou City, the Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou City, and the Phoenix Mosque in Hangzhou City. It is said that the Huaisheng Mosque was built by S’ad Ibn Abi Waqqas, a prominent companion of the Holy Prophet, in the early Tang Dynasty (618-970).

The existing buildings include the Pagoda of Light, the Main Hall, the Minaret, the Stele Pavilion, the ambulatory, and the reception room, etc. The Pagoda of Light of 35.75 meters high is located in the right front of the Main Hall, and is the most prominent building in the mosque. Visitors can get to the top of the pagoda via a helical staircase in the pagoda. The light on the top of the pagoda acts as a lighthouse for ships navigating at night. The Main Hall is located at the rear part of the mosque. The current Main Hall is the one rebuilt in 1935. The carvings outside the Main Hall have local features. For there is a dragon eye tree and a phoenix eye tree on each side of the Main Hall, the mosque is also called the Dragon and Phoenix Mosque.