Phoenix Mosque 凤凰寺

About Phoenix Mosque

The brick hall contains domed spaces, while historic inscriptions and Arabic and Persian tombstones record Hangzhou’s links with Muslim communities and maritime trade. Several periods of rebuilding shaped the complex. Plan a respectful architectural visit, with interior access subject to the mosque’s arrangements rather than assuming every religious space is open for sightseeing.

One of four mosques on China's southeast coast, alongside Yangzhou's Xianhe Mosque, Quanzhou's Qingjing Mosque and Guangzhou's Huaisheng Mosque, it was founded in the Tang or Song dynasty as Zhenjiao Temple (真教寺), destroyed at the end of the Song, and rebuilt in the Yuan dynasty with funds from the Islamic scholar Ala al-Din (阿老丁). Road widening in 1928 removed the original screen wall, gate, moon-viewing tower and corridor; a major repair followed in 1953.

The prayer hall (礼拜殿), the complex's main building, was built in 1281 under Kublai Khan as a beamless brick-and-stone structure of three bays linked by round arches. Its upper walls step inward with corbelled brackets to form domed ceilings painted with dark red and brown scroll patterns, topped outside by three hipped roofs: a double-eaved octagonal roof at the centre flanked by single-eaved hexagonal roofs. Against the rear wall stands a reading platform holding a red-lacquered wooden scripture tablet from 1451, carved with Arabic Qur'anic text.

The complex, laid out on a rectangular plan with a gatehouse whose moon-viewing tower was rebuilt in 2009, a stele corridor and other buildings, also holds Ala al-Din's tombstone, its epitaph written in Arabic. It remains a gathering place for Hangzhou's Muslim community, with a halal restaurant nearby.

What to look for

• The prayer hall’s domed brick structure beneath Chinese architectural forms.
• Historic steles and Arabic and Persian tombstones preserved in the complex.

Location & getting there

Getting to Phoenix Mosque

Approach the mosque on Middle Zhongshan Road in central Hangzhou. Ask at the entrance which parts of the historic complex may be visited; worship spaces and collections may have different access arrangements.