Yingbin Dadao Station 迎宾大道站
The name of this station literally means “Welcome Avernue”, this station is located on the Metro line 2.

Jinniu Hotel (金牛宾馆) is in the east of this station, a five-star hotel that is usually off the radar of the general public. A lot of leaders and high-ranked officials of the People’s Republic have been hosted there, including Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping and more recent leaders like Hu Jintao and Jiang Zemin, as well as foreign presidents and monarchs- Kim II Sung, Sihanouk and George Bush.

Opposite the entrance to the Jinniu Hotel is one of two of Tuqiao Mosques dated back to the 18th century. After being damaged during the Cultural Revolution both mosques underwent renovation.

In Chinese, a mosque is called qīngzhēn sì (清真寺) or “pure truth temple.”  Western Chinese mosques were more likely to incorporate minarets and domes while eastern Chinese mosques were more likely to look like pagodas.

The history of Muslim ethnic groups have been profoundly shaped by their position along the Silk Road trading route, which can be dated back to 1400 years ago.  Called Hui （回）in Chinese, the ethnic groups have retained some Arabic, Persian and Central Asian features.

Aside from the history and architecture, the visitors may also profit from the exotic cuisine of Chinese Muslim near the mosque.

This is my first blog about Chengdu.

Discover Chengdu while doing an internship wit InternChina.