Zhangga Mosque in Xunhua, Qinghai

The Zhangga Mosque is located in Zhangga Village, Baizhuang Township, Xunhua Salar Autonomous County, and was established during the Ming Dynasty. It consists of a prayer hall, a wake-up tower, a shadow wall, left and right mountain gates, and south and north side rooms. The main buildings are all on the central axis, forming a quadrangle courtyard complex. On the central axis, the shadow wall, wake-up tower, and prayer hall are arranged in order. On both sides of the shadow wall are the left and right mountain gates, and on both sides of the main hall are the south and north side rooms, covering an area of 2275 square meters. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, it was the main temple (ancestral temple) of the Salar Eight Works, one of which was Zhangga. During the Cultural Revolution, religious activities were banned. In 1981, the mosque resumed religious activities. The entire mosque is square in layout, with the main hall being 5 bays wide and 5 bays deep, with a rear hall. It is a palace-style building. The exterior of the hall is in Han style, with a treasure bottle in the middle of the roof ridge and no animal shapes on both sides. The interior structure is a bracket set style, with a large lotus bracket set in the seat, finely crafted. On both sides of the central niche, there are carved Chinese-style scripture patterns, and the front beam of the hall is carved with ring patterns. The door is painted with various forms of "Pine Crane Prolongs Life", "Hundred Fortunes are Blessings" and other eight treasure patterns. In the center of the main hall hangs a plaque given by the governor of Lanzhou during the Qing Dynasty, which reads "Dao Crown Ancient and Modern". The Xuanli Tower is 4 stories high, 30 meters high, shaped like a pagoda, hexagonal in shape, with flying eaves, and a wooden staircase spiraling up in the middle. When you climb to the top, the breeze blows, and the village, small river, and Red Mountain are laid out in front of you from near to far, with a panoramic view of the scenery, presenting a beautiful pastoral scene of the Salar. It is a key national cultural relics protection unit.