page_title: Huashi, Beijing
section_title: Neighborhood institutions
hierarchical_section_title: Huashi, Beijing / Neighborhood institutions
caption_attribution_description: 中文: 袁崇焕祠堂中的墓碑。
context_page_description: Huashi, colloquially known as Huarshi and literally the "Flower Market", is a predominantly residential neighborhood to the south of Chongwenmen and Dongbianmen in Dongcheng District, Beijing. Huashi was known during imperial times for its markets for fresh and handmade flowers and was for centuries, one of Beijing's notable Hui Muslim quarters.
context_section_description: Huashi Mosque, at No. 30 Huashi Street near Xiaoshikou, is the spiritual home of the local Hui Muslim community.  The mosque was founded in 1415 in the early Ming dynasty, possibly by Hui generals Chang Yuchun or Hu Dahai.  The mosque compound occupies an area of 2,000 m² (22,000 sq ft), including a main hall of 1,000 m² (11,000 sq ft) that can accommodate 1,000 worshippers.  Among relics housed in the Huashi Mosque are gifts of calligraphy from the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong emperors of the Qing dynasty.
  Long'an Temple at No. 1 Baiqiao Nanli, originally built in 1454, and rebuilt in 1609 and 1708, was one of the largest Chinese Buddhist temples in Beijing's outer city. Active worship at the temple ended in the late Qing dynasty. In 1952, the temple was converted to the Long'an Temple Primary School and in 1983 became a children's science center, now known as the Dongcheng District Chongwen Children's Technology Center. The temple complex, nearly 10,000 m² (110,000 sq ft), is a protected historical landmark. The temple grounds has stone steles, the oldest of which date to the reign of the Jingtai Emperor and two trees over 500 years old.
  Tomb of Yuan Chonghuan at No. 52 East Huashi Diagonal Street, is a temple and tomb honoring the Ming dynasty general Yuan Chonghuan who repeatedly repelled Manchu invasions only to fall prey to a treacherous plot and was executed by the Chongzhen Emperor as a traitor. He was secretly buried on the grounds in 1630 and was rehabilitated by the Qianlong Emperor in the 18th century. The tomb was renovated in 1952 at the direction of Mao Zedong, ransacked during the Cultural Revolution, and restored in 1992.
  Daoist Fire God Temple, at No. 20 Huashi Street, was founded in 1568, and rebuilt in 1776.  During the Qing Dynasty, the temple hosted weekly temple festivals.
  Queen Mother's Saturn Peach Festival is a Daoist festival held during the third lunar month to celebrate the birthday of the Queen Mother of the West. The festival at Huashi was hosted by the Queen Mother's Saturn Peach Palace, a Daoist Temple, founded in 1662. Though the temple was destroyed in the 1950s, the festival continues to be held annually in the nearby Ming City Wall Relics Park.
  Dongcheng District Hui Nationality Experimental Primary School at No. 235 Huashi Street, was founded in 1909 and originally based inside the Huashi Mosque. In 1941, renowned performers Ma Lianzhong and Hou Xirui raised funds to educate improverished Hui Muslim children in the neighborhood and in 1943, moved the school to the larger confines of the Kitchen God Temple (Duzaojun Temple), which was once the largest temple in Beijing dedicated to the Daoist deity, the Kitchen God. The temple's two iron lions still guard the entrance to the school.
  During the Republican era, the three top ranking students of each semester were exempt from paying tuition.  Students were taught Arabic beginning in the third grade and classical Chinese in the fifth grade. Students also had two days per week of English instructions. A martial artist at the Fire God Temple taught physical education. The green and white school building with Islamic architectural elements was built in 1989 and expanded in 2001. The school remains a key point school in Dongcheng District and has pupils of Hui, Han, Manchu, Tibetan, Miao and other nationalities.
caption: Tomb of Ming general Yuan Chonghuan in East Huashi.
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