Traditionally, Hui communities surround a community mosque. Historically speaking, this makes sense. The Hui's ancestors came to China as foreigners with a strange religion. Banding together in enclaves allowed adherents to preserve and sustain the faith in a country where major aspects of life (particularly the centrality of pork to the Chinese diet) aren't totally amenable to Islam. To sustain a community of faith with dietary and lifestyle commitments, it makes perfect sense to put the place of worship at the center. All of the infrastrcuture needed to maintain a halal diet, and live as a faithful Muslim grows out from these communities. Though these communities have been dispersed throughout time, many cities still have a pronounced Hui Quarter. Such is the case in Jinan, where the Great Southern Mosque still stands as the heart of the community. Built during the Yuan Dynasty in 1295, the mosque replaced an earlier one that dated to the Song Dynasty about 200 years earlier. The mosque has been through lots of change and turmoil over the years, but still remains at the heart of the community as a spiritual and social center. The building's gently upturned roofs, and formidable minaret and observatory towers appear as lovely as they ever have, and the grounds of the mosque continue to hold unique historical wealth contained on the written records carved into the stone steles that fill the courtyard. This year, the venerable old mosque celebrates the 720th anniversary of its founding. In celebration of this momentous anniversary, I thought I'd post some pictures.