China Guide
Fujian, Guangdong and Hainan Island
Huaisheng Mosque
Address: South of Zhongshan Liu Lu on Guangta Lu (Ximen Kou or Gongyuan Qian metro stops)
Huaisheng Mosque and its grey, conical tower, Guangta, loom over a surrounding wall which bars entry to non-Muslims. Looking like a lighthouse, Guangta is possibly the world's oldest minaret outside Mecca and something of a stylistic fossil, said by some to have been built by Abu Waqas in the seventh century. During the fifteenth century, Huaisheng's environs were known as Fanfang, the foreigners' quarter; today there's a smattering of halal canteens and restaurants in the vicinity, including the famous Huimin Fandian.