Located in the heart of the Old city, walking distance from Yuyuan Garden and the City God temple, Xiaotaoyuan mosque / 小桃园清真寺 is the largest mosque in Shanghai.
Although a first building was erected in 1917, the current building dates from 1925. The date of 1343 is actually written over one of the entrances, equivalent islamic equivalent to year 1925 in christian calendar. The name of the mosque is written in both Chinese and Arabic at the front of the main building.
The building on the street is hidden by the trees of a park.
The main building actually reflects its time of construction. The façade shows similarities with the one of the Shanghai Club on the Bund that dates from 1911. This is particularly true for the columns at the entrance and the windows of the windows on the top of each side wings.
Floors of the buildings are nicely decorated in a way that is very similar to other Old Shanghai buildings from the same period. The prayer hall is very spacious, but does not offer much details in terms of decor.
The mosque has 4 towers and one minaret. They are only really visible from the neighboring foot bridge over the main roads. The women mosque is located a few meters away, a smaller pink building that was built in 1920.
Xiaotaoyuan mosque is located on 52 Xiaotiaoyuan lu, 52 小桃园路。It’s easy to access by subway, from Laoximen station.