Great Mosque of Xi'an gates

Great Mosque gate in Xi'an

The Great Mosque is located in a neighborhood in the northwestern park of Xi'an. This neighborhood is inhabited by mostly Huis (Moslems). A mosque has stood in this vicinity since approximately the Tang Dynasty. We were fortunate enough to be able to tour the grounds--on a Friday around 1pm--so prayer services were well underway. The grounds were beautiful--full of interesting gates, pavilions, pagodas and other antiquities. There weren't many signs in English so I'm not quite sure what many of the things were--but I still took pictures because there were things we don't typically see. The mosque's complex consists of five courtyards laid out on an east-west axis.

There were just a handful of tourists. So, it was really a pleasant place to visit as we were able to get away from the throes of tourists for a little bit.