Qingzhen Da Si (Great Mosque)

Description:

• As beautiful as this 360-year-old mosque is, it has yet to become a standard tourist sight. Typically, a few seniors are chatting and passing time in the courtyard. The buildings include the prayer hall with a beautiful ceiling painted with pink flowers; the teaching hall; and a 15m-tall (49-ft.) wooden pavilion (a Chinese version of the minaret), which, with permission, can sometimes be climbed. (Note: A sign in Chinese at the mosque's entrance requests no shorts, short skirts, smoking, or loud talking.) The back exit leads through a small street lined with food stalls on one side and tables and chairs on the other. Here you'll find Muslim snacks such as noodles and kabobs. To get back to Tongdao Jie, walk the full length of the lane.

• © Frommer's 2012