Similar Longsha Park, Altyn Mosque, Daowai Mosque, Songjiang Mosque, Huxi Mosque | ||
Bukui Mosque (Chinese: 卜奎清真寺; pinyin: Bǔkuí Qīngzhēnsì) is a mosque in Qiqihar, Heilongjiang in northeast China. It is located in Mosque Road (Chinese: 清真路; pinyin: Qīngzhēn Lù) off Bukui Street. It was built during the Qing Dynasty, and listed in 2006 as a Major Site to Be Protected for Its Historical and Cultural Value at the National Level. It is the largest and oldest mosque in the province.
History and structure
The name "Bukui" is the Chinese transcription of a Daur word meaning "auspicious". Bukui Mosque originally consisted of two separate mosques:
The mosque contains roughly 2,000 square metres (22,000 sq ft) of constructed space; the whole compound covers an area of roughly 6,400 square metres (69,000 sq ft). The two prayer spaces together can hold a total of roughly 450 people.
The mosque's long history has led to a saying in Qiqihar: "the mosque existed long before the town Bukui". In 1958, the two mosques were reorganised as a single mosque, with the name "Qiqihar Mosque". The mosque was listed as a city-level protected cultural relic in 1980, and as a provincial-level protected cultural relic in 1981; its name was then also changed to the present "Bukui Mosque". An assessment done that year found that while the East Mosque was in relatively good condition, there was serious structural damage to the West Mosque. Reconstruction efforts were undertaken in 1989-1990. On 25 June 2006, the State Council of the People's Republic of China entered Bukui Mosque onto the sixth batch list of Major Sites Protected at the National Level.