Qingjing Mosque

Qingjing Mosque (清净寺) in Quanzhou, Fujian, is one of China’s oldest mosques, founded in 1009 during the Song dynasty. The complex is an important surviving example of early Islamic architecture adapted into a Chinese urban context.

The site includes a timber prayer hall, a paved courtyard and a group of stone stelae with Arabic and Chinese inscriptions; these are primary visitor highlights for those interested in architecture and cross-cultural history. The mosque retains features from multiple periods and is compact and walkable.

The mosque was established by Muslim merchants active in Quanzhou’s medieval maritime trade and was expanded and maintained through later dynasties, preserving a continuous religious function. Surviving structural elements and inscriptions document the community’s presence from the Song period onward.

The mosque sits in urban Quanzhou in southern Fujian, close to the historic port area of the city.

• Founding date: Founded in 1009 during the Song dynasty, making it one of the oldest surviving mosques in China.
• Inscriptions: Contains bilingual stone inscriptions that record the history of the mosque and its community across centuries.

What to See #

• Main prayer hall: The prayer hall preserves traditional Chinese-Song layout and timber construction with a raised mihrab area used for communal worship.
• Courtyard and stelae: An outer courtyard and a collection of inscribed stone stelae showing Arabic and Chinese text, some dated to the Song and later dynasties, survive on site.