Our tour Coach travels through really dusty & bad & rundown dirty roads within the local Uygur communities before arriving at the following location where the Emin Minaret stands by the Uygur Muslim Mosque here at 2km East of Tulufan (or Turpan) in Xinjiang, Silk Road of China.

Well, Islam has a rich heritage in China, where it’s got some of the oldest Muslim history, dating back as early as 650 when Islam was first brought into China by Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas (uncle of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad who founded Islam religion), when he was sent as the first Muslim envoy to Emperor Gaozong during the Tang Dynasty in 651 (less than 20 years after the death of Prophet Muhammad).

Though Emperor Gaozong was not convinced to convert to Islam, he built the first Chinese Muslim Mosque in the Capital out of respect for the religion.

Thereafter the first Arab & Persian traders arriving via the ancient Silk Road of China began settling down here, followed by many other Muslims, who altogether started establishing the later much Islam history of China!!

Now, being born a Uygur means being a Muslim, & today Xinjiang has become one of the few largest Muslim regions founded in China - with 15,000 Mosques!

Now, we’ve come to visit the famous Uygur Muslim Mosque here in Tulufan (Turpan), Xinjiang - the Emin Minaret (or “Su Gong Ta” in Chinese), which is the largest extant Old Tower in Xinjiang, & the only Islamic Tower among the hundreds famous Towers in China!!

And it’s built in 1777 during the reign of Qing Emperor Qianlong in honor of the heroic Turpan General Emin Khoja (thus the name “Emin“), who was an outstanding Patriot who defended the Unification of China throughout his life.

The 44 meters high Emin Minaret takes the form of a Huge Column - with a Big Base with 10m in diameter tapering to a 2.8m top Islamic Dome. The structure is a combination of Wood & Bricks built by local craftsmen with local materials, & 14 elongated Windows were open at different levels & directions for the Building to get enough sunshine & ventilation!

And right beside the Emin Minaret stands the Uygur Muslim Mosque (or Su Gong Ta Mosque), which is one of the largest Mosques in Xinjiang that can accommodate 1000 people.

Now, we’ve stepped inside the Mosque which is rectangular structured with an iwan enclosed on 3 sides but opens to a large covered courtyard on the 4th.

The Mosque is divided into a small enclosed inner Hall for use in colder months, & larger open & spacious outer Halls with tall elegant thin wooden pillars & beams (supporting its exposed timber frame) used for warmer months.

An internal spiral 72-step staircase leads to the top Attic where we could see the most distinctive feature of the Su Gong Ta Mosque - Emin Minaret (as shown on below left) standing on the Northeast corner of the Uygur Muslim Mosque, surrounded by beautiful tranquil sceneries :

Now, the Uygur achitecture seen on the Emin Minaret is of richly textured sun-dried yellow bricks carved into repetitive, geometric, intricate floral mosaic patterns such as stylized flowers & rhombuses, as seen below. Such mixture of Chinese & Islamic features can only be seen in Minarets in China!

Here’re my Brother-in-law Ah Hia & Me braving the extremely HOT sun infront of the Emin Minaret - Su Gong Ta Mosque!! YES YES trust me it’s so hot here all our Tour mates have already run far to hide under shelter!!

Now, here’s a pic of the Emin Minaret - Su Gong Ta Mosque from inside the nearest Shelter - under the tasseled shades of the nearest Souvenirs Shop :

And I begin shopping in the above Souvenirs Shop & bought the following beautiful Beaded Bag - isn’t it gorgeous huh?!?

But there’s no time at all to shop as we’re led by our Chinese Tour Guide out of the premises…………….

It’s our very first time having Uygur Cuisines now, but there’re some similar dishes (that we’d eaten before in our earlier travelling along the Silk Road of China here), such as the following Scrambled Eggs with Tomatoes which we all adore!! It’s a very simple stirfry dish but it tastes really homely & so delicious!!

But basically, Ugyur Cuisines here in Xinjiang are usually spicy which I don mind at all cos I’m a lover of chilies!!

And from today onwards, we’ll eat no more Pork but Muttons as were served in the below Spicy Lamian since we’re in a Muslim state right now!!

Ahah we’ve plain White Rice everyday, apart from Mun Tou (or Plain Buns), & there’re always plenty of them!! But today there’s the additional Fried Rice!! But too bad Rice grains in the Silk Road here is not really yummy & fragrant at all!! 

And for a great change, we’re having these above Roast Nang (or Flat Bread or Pancakes) instead of Mun Tou - which is the traditional Uygur staple food & their everyday food - pretty good!!

Now, look at all our Lunch Cuisines in the following pic - some stacked up above others, which is what the local Chinese waitresses normally like to do during dining as I’ve noticed since arriving here in the Silk Road of China!! 

And it’s something I’ve to get used to cos I believe we’ll be seeing more of these in the days to come hahah!!