It is famous for the Hui people who live in this street, and it is also famous for niujie's worship of temples in this street. It is the largest mosque with the longest history in Beijing. It was built in the second year of the Northern Song Dynasty to Daoism (996), rebuilt in the seventh year of the Ming Dynasty (1442), and overhauled in the thirty-fifth year of the Qing Emperor Kangxi (1696), and has been renovated and decorated in recent years. The temple area is not large, but the buildings are concentrated and symmetrical. Many buildings have Islamic domes.
Origin of the name: originally pomegranate garden, pomegranate garden residential area referred to as Liu street. Because the residents of the street are mostly Hui people, the beef they cooked is famous for its delicious taste. With the homonym of "Niu" and "Liu", people simply changed the name of "Liu Street" to "niujie".
Development history:
The history of the name niujie is far less than that of this street. There is no record about niujie in Shi Jing Wuchengfang Hutong Collection written by Zhang Jue in Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty. There is only one street called "Worship Temple", which is believed to be today's niujie. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, because niujie was relatively stable in the change of Gengzi, Empress Dowager Cixi issued a decree to rename it "Taiping Street", but it was never recognized by the people.
This is the only street named after a cow in Beijing. There is a worship temple in the east of the street, which was built from the Northern Song Dynasty to Daoguang two years (996). It is the largest, oldest and most famous Islamic mosque in Beijing. The main buildings of the whole temple include the Hall of Worship, Zhaoli Building, Moon-watching Building and Monument Pavilion. Historically, it was the center of Youzhou City in Tang Dynasty, Nanjing City in Liaoning Province and Zhongdu City in Jin Dynasty, and was once called "East Lake Liucun". Because of its relatively high terrain, it is also called "Shang Gang". Zhang Jue's collection of Shi Jing Wuchengfang Hutong was called "Baimiao" Street in Ming Dynasty and niujie in Qing Dynasty.