Huxi mosque @ Changshou

Walking on Changde Road from Changshou station to Huxi mosque, we came across a really bizarre apartment building built “into” some kind of completely fake “rock” on one side. Perhaps some kind of marketing gimmick gone wrong, since having that immense rock just there on a busy street corner really does nothing at all for the appeal of the residence!

The Friday Muslim market runs from Changde Road along Aomen Road on the right hand (east) side for about 200m. We were not sure that we were heading in the right direction at first, as there are just skyscraping apartment blocks and small neighbourhood shops lining both sides of Changde. But when got there, the market was immediately recognizable by the multitude of red-covered stalls, sudden crowds of salivating shoppers, and overwhelming scent of grilling lamb.

Onward to the mosque, which is also tucked away in the midst of a jungle of tall residential buildings. Huxi mosque is easy to find in the chaos due to its distinctive gleaming gold-colored domes topped with the usual Muslim crescent moons. It is a very welcoming, peaceful place of prayer - we were even invited to visit the ablution rooms and ladies’ prayer balconies. The way they have created a beautiful green oasis for the Chinese Muslim community here in the Changshou is really nice. Meg remarked that the main foyer was large enough to host a capoeira class! Which in old times is what these community halls would have been used for - whatever the people wanted to do together.Read more