Yongning Najiahu Mosque

Najiahu means the neighborhood of the Na family. Najiahu Mosque is located in the Hui Muslim inhabited village in Yongning County of Northwest China’s Ningxi Hui Autonomous Region. The Na Family book recorded that they (Nasruddin Family) are decedents of Ali and Fatima, Prophet Mohammad’s daughter. In the Yuan Dynasty the Nasruddin family followed Mongolian army to China and settled down in current Xian. In 1524, Nasruddin sent one of his sons to the current site of Najiahu of Yongning County near Yinchuan. Eventually they adopted Na as their family name.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties the neighborhood of the Na family was the economic and cultural center for local Muslims. The Najiahu Mosque, oriented to the east, was built in traditional Chinese architecture, comprising a front gate-tower, a prayer hall and a water room which are spread out on a rectangular area of about two hectares. The prayer hall is large enough to accommodate one thousand people during prayer times. The buildings on the premises are adorned with numerous boards and couplets with Arabic calligraphy inscriptions on them, one of which tells of the origin of the Na family and the mosque itself: “My family left Qing (center China) and moved to Western Xia, and built this mosque during Emperor Jiajing’s reign.” After receiving repeated facelifts, the mosque is now opened for cultural and religious exchanges with foreign countries.