The Nanguan Mosque in Yinchuan's old city is one of the most important mosques in China and the main place of worship for the city's substantial Hui Muslim community. The current building was constructed in the 1980s — the original mosque was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution — and combines Arabic architectural elements (domes, minarets) with some Chinese detailing.
Non-Muslim visitors are welcome outside prayer times. The mosque grounds are large and relatively quiet on weekday mornings; the surrounding streets have a distinctly different character from the rest of the city, with Arabic script on shop signs, halal restaurants, and the sounds of Quran recitation drifting from open doorways. This is genuinely the heart of Yinchuan's Hui neighbourhood.