A walk through Taiyuan's city centre takes in the contradictions of a provincial capital that has been heavily rebuilt but retains pockets of older fabric. From the main railway station, Yingze Avenue runs west through the commercial heart, passing the Chongshan Temple garden before reaching the Fen River embankment. The streets north of Yingze Avenue between the station and the mosque have older residential blocks alongside new construction, with morning street food vendors, small repair shops, and the life of a working-class Chinese neighbourhood that is rapidly being redeveloped.
The walk from the Immaculate Conception Cathedral south to the Ancient Mosque and then west to the river takes about an hour at a leisurely pace and passes through the areas of the city with the most accumulated human texture. The mosque courtyard is open to non-worshippers outside prayer times; the cathedral is open during daytime hours.