The Qingzhen Puning Mosque (Chinese: 清真普宁寺; pinyin: Qīngzhēn Pǔníng Sì), also known historically as the Puning Mosque or Huihuiying Mosque (Chinese: 回回营清真寺; pinyin: Huíhuíyíng Qīngzhēn Sì), was a mosque located on the south side of the middle section of Xichang'an Street in Xicheng District, Beijing, directly south of Xinhua Gate. It was built during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty and has since been demolished.^[1]

In the 20th year of the Qianlong reign (1755), the Qing government launched a campaign to suppress the rebellion led by Amursana in Xinjiang. During this campaign, the Qing forces rescued the brothers Burhan al Din [zh] (the "Great Khoja") and Khoja Jahan [zh] (the "Small Khoja"), who later led new uprisings. Within the Khoja family, the Āfāqī Khoja and Ālāymāt Khoja factions were divided. The family of Consort Rong—later romanticized as the “Fragrant Concubine”—belonged to the latter group, which supported Qing authority and opposed separatism. They were persecuted by the Great and Small Khojas.^[1]

In 1757 (the 22nd year of Qianlong), the Qing again campaigned in Xinjiang to quell the Great and Small Khoja Rebellion. By 1759, the rebellion was suppressed. In 1760, Consort Rong’s brother and several relatives—called the “Eight Nobles Entering Beijing”—were summoned to the capital and granted titles and residences. The Qianlong Emperor settled these Muslim nobles and their followers south of the present Zhongnanhai complex, in what is now Chinese: 东安福胡同; pinyin: Dōng’ānfú Hútòng. The settlement became known as the “Huihuiying” (Camp of the Hui), and its residents were called “Red-hatted Hui.”^[1]

At the emperor’s command, a mosque was constructed within this Hui settlement for religious worship. The structure, named Qingzhen Puning Temple (later known as Puning Mosque), was built in 1762 and completed in 1763. It stood opposite the imperial Baoyue Pavilion (宝月楼) of the Western Garden, now part of Zhongnanhai. The mosque was a state-sponsored project funded from the Inner Treasury and built under imperial supervision.^[1]

A stele inscribed with the Imperially Composed Inscription of the Qingzhen Puning Temple was installed in the mosque, bearing text in Manchu, Chinese, Mongolian, and Arabic. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the stele was buried for protection and later transferred to the Temple of the Emperors of the Past Dynasties, where it remains preserved.^[1]

Local legend mistakenly identified the mosque as the “Fragrant Concubine Mosque.” The story claimed that the Baoyue Pavilion was built by the emperor for Consort Rong, and that her parents, unable to enter the palace, stood atop the mosque’s “Bangke Tower” to look across the street at her residence. Thus, the Baoyue Pavilion came to be known as the “Home-Gazing Tower.” In fact, the mosque was never officially named after the concubine, though the Huihuiying community and the pavilion were related to her family. The pavilion was constructed two years before her entry into the palace (1758), and records show that she frequently visited or stayed there.^[2]

After the founding of the Republic of China, Yuan Shikai established his Presidential Palace in Zhongnanhai. In 1913, under Zhu Qiqian, the Baoyue Pavilion was converted into the new main gate of the complex—renamed Xinhua Gate. During this renovation, the mosque’s northern gate, prayer hall, and nearby buildings were demolished, and a gray wall was erected along the street to conceal residential houses.^[3]

A new south-facing gate on Dong’anfu Hutong replaced the demolished northern entrance. During the People’s Republic of China period, the mosque’s grounds were converted into residential housing. As of 2009, remnants of the structure were still visible, including a carved archway and a main hall behind it. The imperial stele had by then been relocated to the Temple of the Emperors.^[2]

In 2009, the north side of Dong’anfu Hutong was demolished for the expansion of Xichang'an Street. All remaining traces of the Puning Mosque were destroyed, and the site ceased to exist.^[2][3]

The mosque originally covered more than twenty mu (≈13,000 m²) and was notable for its large scale and distinctive layout. Its plan was asymmetrical, with structures built mainly of brick and stone. The main prayer hall, facing east toward Mecca, had a green glazed-tile pyramidal roof. Four corner pavilions surrounded the hall, each with green tiles and double-eaved pointed roofs, blending Chinese and Islamic architectural features. The hall followed a “nine bays visible, seven hidden” (Chinese: 明九暗七; pinyin: Míng jiǔ àn qī) pattern, resembling the Fang Hall of Beihai Park, built six years later.^[1]

The mosque’s northern entrance faced Xichang'an Street and incorporated a domed arch joined with the “Bangke Tower” (Chinese: 邦克楼; pinyin: Bāngkè Lóu), or call-to-prayer tower. This four-pillared pavilion, with a double-eaved gabled roof, reportedly carried the muezzin’s voice across the imperial lake of the Western Garden for several li (miles).^[2]

(39.9042° N, 116.3658° E)

"老照片：北京回回营清真寺旧照". www.360doc.com. Archived from the original on 2026-03-31. Retrieved 2025-10-13.