Portrait of an LBX

By Evan

The mosque of Shadian will be Southeast Asia's largest, by Andy

So since our last rest stop in Yanshan (硯山縣), we have coursed peacefully through rolling mountains inhabited primarily by Yi in small villages or Han in ugly concrete burgs — no surprises there. However, two days ago, after a climb to 2000 m (1.25 miles) high and subsequent plummet, we were in for a surprise. As we approached the town of Shadian (沙甸鎮), the frequency of halal restaurants (清真飯店) increased sharply, to the extent that the non-halal eateries actually had to announce themselves as just plain old Chinese (漢族飯店). Curious, Alexis and I made our way into town, under the sign in Chinese, English, and Arabic pointing us toward “Moslem Street (穆斯林街).” Immediately after making the turn, we were staring down a kilometer long boulevard straight into the biggest mosque I’ve ever seen — I mean the place gives St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican a run for its money.

We found Andy, who had ridden ahead, in front of the mosque chatting with three old men. Before we arrived, Andy had been told that the mosque will be the largest in Southeast Asia (confirmed on the town’s website — I suggest you watch the video on the home page if you understand Chinese and are curious) once it’s opened for service in August. Its total cost is over 100 million yuan (一億元), or over $14 million USD, all furnished by local businessmen as a part of their obligatory Zakat tithings, and it will be able to accommodate over 10,000 worshipers. A minute after Alexis and I arrived, one of the old men, the one who spoke the most enthusiastically but also in the least understandable dialect, invited us for a dinner of noodles in his house. As usual, we accepted, whereupon our courteous host led us toward the town center. (more…)