The mosque was founded in 742 under the Tang dynasty by decree of Emperor Xuanzong, when it was known as Tangmingsi. The Yuan dynasty rebuilt it in the 1260s, and its current form was largely built in 1392 under Emperor Hongwu of the Ming. The article says it was rebuilt at least four times and that most Tang-era structures did not survive.
The walled complex covers 3.0 acres (1.23 ha) in a symmetrical plan on an east-west axis, following Chinese tradition, with more than 20 buildings in courtyards called sahns. The article gives five sahns in the lead and four in the body text. It has no minaret, and some scholars suggest the three-story octagonal Shengxinlou pagoda served as one.
The timber prayer hall holds 1,000 people and has a turquoise hip roof with painted dougong brackets and a tiled pointed ceiling rather than a dome. Visitors pay a small fee, and non-Muslims may not enter the prayer hall.
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