Chapter 40 Section 3 Shanghai Songjiang Mosque

The Songjiang Mosque, also known as the Zhenjiao Temple, is located in the village of Gangzheng (Beng Pump), Songjiang Town, Songjiang County, Shanghai.According to local records, when the Mongols went south in the Yuan Dynasty, there were many Hui people among the soldiers. Later, they settled in Songjiang and built kiln halls and bangge towers. In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered that mosques should be built in every city where Muslims lived.According to this religious and ethnic policy, during the Yongle period (1403-1424 A.D.), local Muslims expanded the mosque, making it the largest mosque in Shanghai.

The existing main part is still the structure of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties.After entering the door, there are Bangge Building, worship hall, bathroom, dean's room and kiln hall in sequence.Among them, Bangge Tower and Kiln Hall are all of brick structure, with double eaves and cross ridges, and the interior structure is Arabic style.The worship hall has a width of 3 rooms and is a hall-like structure of the Ming Dynasty. Its pillars, foundations and moon beams all have the architectural characteristics of the Ming Dynasty. Songjiang Mosque is the earliest mosque in Shanghai, and it is also a well-preserved Islamic building in Jiangnan area of ​​my country.