The Crane Mosque, located in Yangzhou City,
Jiangsu Province, is one of the four great mosques along the
coastal area in Southeast China. For the layout of the buildings
in the mosque resembles a crane, it is named the Crane Mosque.
Some literature
works show that the mosque was built by Mohammed Puhadin, the
16th generation descendant of Mohammed. He missionized in Yangzhou
City from 1265 to 1274, and established the mosque during the
period. However, other records indicate that the exact year
of the establishment was 1275. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644),
the emperor ordered to rebuild the mosque in 1390, and Ma Zongdao,
a famous merchant, rebuilt the mosque together with an Imam
again in 1532.
The worship
hall of the mosque is a timberwork composed of the main hall
and the rear hall, etc. The old hall inside the main hall is
typical hall architecture in southern Jangsu Province, but the
layout of the mosque and decorations in the main hall feature
the Arabic style. The most famous cultural relic preserved in
the mosque is the imperial order issued by Emperor Chengzu to
protect Islam in 1407 during the Ming Dynasty and written in
Chinese, Farsi and Mongolian. It reflects the development of
Islam at that time in China.
