The Grand Mosque in Yining City, Ili

The Grand Mosque in Yining City, Ili

Attractions Overview

It is the first Islamic temple directly funded by the Qing government to be built in Yili. In the past, it was known as Yili's three mosques with the Hui and Ta 'er temples.

English Name: The Grand Mosque in Yining City, Ili
Type: Ili Scenic Area, Ili famous spots & Ili attractions
Best Time: All Year Around
Recommended Visiting Hours: 2-3 hours

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Why is The Grand Mosque So Special?

Baitula Mosque is the largest mosque in Yining City. Baitula Mosque (also known as Maidris) located in Xinhua East Road in Yining City is the largest place for Muslim Uighurs in Yining to carry out religious activities. After the Qing government unified Xinjiang, it respected the religious beliefs of ethnic minorities and set aside 12,000 yuan to build the mosque. It is said that a famous Turkish Maulana, seeing the magnificence of the temple and its position in northern Xinjiang, has been dubbed “Baitula”. “Baitula” means “Tianfang” and is a holy place for Muslims to worship. After the completion of the Baitula mosque, an endless stream of people came to learn from the scriptures.

Where is The Grand Mosque

The Grand Temple of the Hui Nationality Located at the southern side of the Eastern Xinhua Road, Yining City, the temple was built in 1760-1781, having titles of “Ningguo”, “Phoenix Temple”, “Shaanxi Grand Temple”, “Shaangan Grand Temple”, and ” Kengkeng Temple”.

Main Attraction of The Grand Mosque

The extant buildings cover an area of over 3000 square meters, including three parts: the temple gate, hall and doctrine- teaching hall. The main building is the hall, which covers an area of 600 square meters, and of which the outer hall, middle hall and inner hall can hold a thousand people for praying service. The temple gate is a three-layered pavilion with flying eaves in traditional Chinese architectural style.

After completion, the total area is 6,950 square meters, which can accommodate 3,000-3,500 people at one time and is of Arabic and Uygur style.

After the completion of the Baitula Mosque, Yili Muslims all rejoiced and celebrated. It is said that a famous Turkish Maulana, seeing the magnificence of the temple and its position in northern Xinjiang, has been dubbed “Baitula”. “Baitula” means “Tianfang” and is a holy place for Muslims to worship. After the completion of the Baitula Mosque, it was well known and many people came to learn from it. At that time, there were more than 200 scholars studying here, who graduated five years later and were awarded religious titles according to their achievements. Therefore, the Baitula Temple is also called “Maidris”, which means high school.

The temple used to cover an area of about 1800 square meters and consists of the Xuanli Pagoda, the Temple of Worship and the Lecture Hall. For more than 200 years, the Baitula Mosque has been continuously renovated and expanded. After expansion in 1865, it can accommodate 1500 people to worship. In 1983, the government allocated funds to repair and renovate the temple, making this famous ancient temple a new face and a key cultural relic protection unit. In recent years, it has received many friendly groups, religious personages and scholars from home and abroad to do religious lessons or visit and browse. In October 1996, the temple underwent another large-scale expansion and renovation, which was undertaken by the Islamic Association, funded by governments at all levels, and raised by religious believers. In addition to retaining the minaret, the main hall has been demolished due to disrepair and an Islamic chapel has been built. After completion, the total area is 6,950 square meters, which can accommodate 3,000-3,500 people at one time and is of Arabic and Uygur style.

Best Time to Travel The Grand Mosque

Every autumn, that is, August and September, is the best time to visit Ili.

At this time, the weather began to cool and the fruits began to mature. This is a very suitable time to travel. At this time, most scenic spots began to hang attractive gold. Let’s travel in the golden ocean. The natural scenery around Ili is very beautiful. In our spare time , we take our family to Ili to play, eat delicious fruits and enjoy different local conditions and customs. I believe this is a very beautiful moment and a very happy memory.

How to Get There

  • By Bus
    You can take buses 3 to reach the scenic spots.

Useful Travel Tips

  • The morning light in summer in Xinjiang is earlier, it is about 6:30 in the morning in the plain area and it will light up at about 7:00 in the mountain area, but breakfast in Xinjiang hotels usually starts at 8:30, lunch time is 13: 00-14: 30, dinner time is about 19: 30-20: 30, and the sun will not set until 22:30 in the evening, so pay attention to adjust the time difference when traveling to Xinjiang.
  • Xinjiang has a large number of halal meals, mainly beef and mutton. Cities also have Sichuan, Hunan, Guangdong and other local restaurants with national characteristics. In remote areas and scenic spots, halal meals are the main food. Pasta is the main staple food in Xinjiang, but rice is the main food for group meals. Sheep meat is the main meat in Xinjiang, and the smell of mutton is very small, which is acceptable to the general public.

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Edited by Doreen/张洋