Islamic Architecture and Ornament in China

Architecture of the Islamic faith stands in every Chinese province and autonomous region. The most noteworthy Islamic construction was in China's major cities and towns on international land and sea trade routes. Old mosques remain today at ports along the Eastern China Sea from Nanjing and Songjiang (today Shanghai) southwestward to Guangzhou (Canton); ships embarked from all of them for trade with India and places farther west. The first physical evidence of Islamic architecture in China is from the Song dynasty. The Yuan dynasty, the period of Mongolian rule, can be called the Golden Age of Islam in China. Although Muslims had actively engaged in commerce in China for many centuries prior to the Mongol conquest, the unique circumstances of a pan-Asian empire opened possibilities unavailable at any earlier time. China's most famous mosque dates to the Ming period. Located in the old capital Xi'an, it is associated with one of China's most famous Muslims.