Xiaotaoyuan Mosque

Xiaotaoyuan Mosque (小桃园清真寺, Xiǎotáoyuán Qīngzhēnsì) is a mosque on Xiaotaoyuan Street in Huangpu District, and English Wikipedia calls it the largest in Shanghai. It was once known as the West Mosque.

The mosque was founded in 1917 by Jin Ziyun (金子云), who bought the land. It was rebuilt in 1925 in the form seen today, though English Wikipedia puts completion in 1927. The Shanghai Islamic Association was established here in 1962, and an earlier Islamic normal school stood on the site.

The look is West Asian with Chinese touches. The outside is painted green and white, and a plaque above the iron gate reads 清真寺 in the hand of the calligrapher Luo Junti. The two-storey prayer hall is square, with arched windows, a minaret and four corner domes. Sources give its capacity as 500 people, but Chinese Wikipedia says 1,000. On the east side of the courtyard, a three-storey Chinese-style building holds a lecture room, offices, a library and ablution facilities.

Next door, at 24 Xiaotaoyuan Street, is a women’s mosque built in 1920 and renovated in 1994; one article calls it the only women’s mosque in Shanghai.

This is a working place of worship. The Shanghai Information Office advises clothing that covers the whole body, no shoes in the prayer hall, and quiet. It says non-Muslims are generally not admitted to the prayer halls but can usually look at the architecture from outside. No opening hours were found, so check locally.