Amazing Muslim Town and Stunning Shadian Mosque S8 EP 81 | Pakistan to Japan Motorcycle Tour
I really like this artwork. I have never seen this kind of work in a mosque. I am coming from Pakistan on my motorcycle.
Assalam-o-Alaikum everyone and welcome back to the channel from Kunming, Yunnan province, China. I got a nice cup of coffee early in the morning and had a light breakfast. Because we have to visit two very important places today. The plan is that I will leave Kunming today and visit two Muslim towns or Muslim areas.
There is a town called Najian, about 150 km from here. It's a very historical town. Let's see what kind of town it is. I have seen its pictures and videos and I liked it a lot. We will visit it. And there is another town called Shadian,
which is about the same distance. There is a very historical mosque there. We will visit it and see what kind of life it has. And then we will spend the night in a Chinese ancient town called Jianshui between Najian and Shadian. Because my group will continue from there.
I am alone here in Kunming because I had to visit this area. Let's have a nice cup of coffee and then leave. I will take you to Najian and Shadian. Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim Prayer for the journey Ya Allah, may we have a good day today. Today is Saturday.
People are in no rush to get up early in the morning. Everything is open on weekends. But it is a little late here as well.
Between 9 and 10 pm. Or even later than that. We have to try to leave the city as soon as possible. The highway is not far. So I don't think it will take too long.
I hope the weather is better today. I hope it doesn't rain. I think we will enjoy our ride. Most likely, we will reach Jianshui by night. Our ride for the next couple of days will take us to that part of China. We are not far from the Laos border.
The weather will be similar to that of Southeast Asian countries. Right now, the temperature is around 15 degrees. But if it rains, it may drop to 2 or 3 degrees.
It is not as cold as when we entered China from Mongolia. The weather is slowly warming up in this region. Whenever they clean the area, they take pictures for the record. I have seen that even if 2 or 3 people are cleaning the area, they will still take pictures. In some countries, people take care not to litter.
But in China, people litter. But the government is doing a good job, cleaning the area. No matter when you go out, be it morning or evening. There must be someone cleaning the area. There are so many apartments here, along this highway.
And this is about 40 km away from the city. And the construction is still going on. There are so many apartments like this in China. But most of them are empty. We have reached Najiaying village.
There is another town as well. This is the first time I have seen domes in China. I don't think this is a mosque. It looks like a dome on top of a house.
There is an apartment building in front as well. There is a dome on top of it. And this is the historical mosque in front of us. Construction work is going on on the roof. Let's see where the entrance is. I think this is the entrance to the mosque.
This is a very big mosque. Let's park here, somewhere. This is one of the oldest mosques in China.
It was built in 1370. The mosque kept on expanding over time. The building behind me is the main mosque building. Let me show you this area first.
It's a very big area. This is the main mosque building. There is another building here. This is for ablution. And there are some rooms here.
This is a very big building with a lot of rooms. The roof is in traditional Chinese style. There is another building here. I am not sure what is in this building.
There are some rooms down there. This is a triple storey building. However, the main mosque in front of us.
Honestly, when you enter, you have no idea that this is a mosque. All the temples I have visited in China, mostly Buddhist ones, have similar roofs. There used to be one dome and four minarets here. You won't be able to see them now.
In 2023, the four minarets and the dome have been changed to Chinese style. Let's go inside. Let me show you the mosque from inside.
This is the entrance of the mosque. As soon as you enter, you realize that this mosque is very unique. This is a wooden wall. And look at the work on it.
It is very beautiful and unique. I have never seen such work in any other mosque worldwide. And you can see the different designs on it.
There are flowers here. I am not sure what this is made of. But I don't know what it is made of.
There is a small box for keeping a book. And there are tea pots here as well. You will find such beautiful designs on the wall.
You will find such designs wherever you look. And this is the main door of the mosque. The main hall is behind it. All along this wall in the main hall of the mosque, you see this beautiful piece of art.
And in front of it is Masjid-Al-Nabwi. I think this is a painting. Or it could be woodwork. Let's take a closer look.
I think this is a painting. I thought that it could be wood work. And if we go to the other side, you see similar sort of craftsmanship. And in front of it is a painting of the holy Kaaba.
On one side is Masjid-Al-Nabwi and on the other side is the holy Kaaba. So this is the verandah of this mosque. I have really liked this work of art.
I have never seen such a work in a mosque. And you see how beautiful it is up there. As far as your eyes can see, you will see this work. Very beautiful. Let's go inside the mosque now.
Mashallah, it is a very spacious mosque. And if you look from inside, it is a very simple mosque. You will not see any work on the wall or anywhere else. And look at the pulpit here; how beautiful this looks.
When you visit and observe different cultures, and how people contribute to their culture. This is beautiful. You wont see a pulpit like this in any other mosque. So this is its main hall. There are a lot of columns here.
And the roof is very simple. I think such a roof was made during renovation. It may be different before. I have parked the motorcycle in the mosque parking lot.
Let's walk a little in this village. If we find a good restaurant, we will have lunch. And I will try to capture any interesting things here. Let me tell you that the town we will visit after this, Shadian, the people there are called Hui people. This is a Chinese ethnic group, their population is around 10.5 million in China. And there are about 500,000 people in Yunnan province.
There is a guy with loud speaker behind me. I am not sure what is being announced. The streets of the village will look normal to you.
The life here is just like anywhere else in Central Asia or other countries. Everything here is the same. I can see a mud house in front of me. And I have not seen such a house anywhere in China. I think this is a part of the house. They have not made the whole house like this.
Almost everything is mixed here. You will see some Chinese influence here... and some from other cultures. I have come to a restaurant for lunch. They have displayed some food options here. I recognize some of them; but not all.
But at least we will get something to eat here. There is a small section over there with some rice. I think we will get some rice and some side dishes.
They are very cooperative. I translated for them that I'd like to have something to eat. They told me to sit and they will serve everything. I have brought my lunch here. I have added some potatoes, noodles, chicken and some vegetables.
It looks delicious. This is a bowl. It's a good thing that there are a lot of options. Bismillah.
It's a little spicy. There was a lot of crowd here during the prayer time. The mosque was full.
I wanted to talk to some people. We had a little chat. But first of all, no one knows English.
And secondly, people get scared when they see the camera. They are afraid that I might ask them weird questions. But I tried my best to capture as much as I could.
It would have been easier if I spoke Chinese. Now we will move towards Shadian. It's quite far from here. The navigation says that it will take us almost 3 hours.
It's 145 km away. We have finally reached Shadian town. We have finally reached Shadian town. They have built a beautiful roundabout here.
The mosque is about 2 km away from here. It could be that big building over there. People are wearing T-shirts and I am wearing a winter jacket. Because it was cold in the morning. Yes, this is the big building that you see in front.
Mashallah, it's a huge mosque. And you can see that most of the women have scarves on their heads. And there are a lot of Muslim shops here. You can tell by the word Halal from the restaurants. I don't think I have ever seen a mosque as big as this in China.
It's so beautiful. Masha Allah, it's a huge mosque. Let's park the motorcycle somewhere. I saw a parking sign board here.
So I thought let's go that way. There are police officers in front of us. I hope they don't stop us.
This way, we'll take a round on motorcycle. Will show you the back side of the mosque as well. There is proper parking on this side.
There are a lot of tourists here. We just prayed here. It was very crowded. You can see how big this mosque is. We went to Najiaying Mosque before. That mosque is much smaller than this. As soon as you reach the road, you see a huge building in front of you.
That's when you realize why it's called Shadian Grand Mosque. Because it's surrounded by a small town. The total area of this mosque is about 21,000 square meters.
It is said that this mosque was built during the Ming Dynasty. You might think it's a very modern mosque. Actually, it was built in the 14th or 15th century.
When other mosques were built. And similarly, as I told you about the previous mosque, its minaret and golden domes were removed and built in Chinese style. And similarly, if you look at the architecture of this mosque, it is built in Chinese style. Just like the temples and the historical Chinese style.
They are built in the same style as you see in these buildings. You can still see the four minarets of this mosque. The size of the minarets has also been reduced. Some of the domes have been removed. Let me show you the inside of the mosque. This is the main hall of the mosque.
All the doors are open. The doors are made of wood and metal. The doors look beautiful. As soon as you enter the mosque, you will see how big the main hall is.
One side is for ladies and the other for men. You can feel that the roof of the mosque is very high. There are double windows on both sides.
A lot of natural light comes in from there. There are some glass frames on the windows. You can see the dome here. The dome is quite high. This is the only dome and roof where you can see different colors.
There is blue in the middle and yellow on the sides. The total population of Shadian town is around 15,000. 90% of the population are Muslims. It is considered that outside Xinjiang province, you will not find such a large Muslim population anywhere else. You will find it, but it is scattered.
You will not find such a large Muslim population in one place. There is a beautiful courtyard outside the mosque. Let's walk towards it. An uncle is talking to me on the phone. Let me translate for him. He is asking me where I am from.
I am coming from Pakistan on my motorcycle. Are you from Pakistan? Are you from Pakistan? Yes, Pakistan. Are you alone? Let me translate again. Are you alone? Yes. I am going to Laos. Let's see if you want to drink.
That can't be right. This can't be the right translation. Let's do it again. How long does it take to get to Shadian? How long does this take? From Pakistan to Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and now in China.
From Pakistan to Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia and now in China. So many countries. Total 4 months. Total 4 months. Very good.
Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Insha Allah. Thank you.
There are some kids sitting here. YouTube? YouTube, yes. You speak Arabic? Do you say something in Arabic? There is a madrassa here and they are taught Arabic. He was trying to speak to me in Arabic. I told him that I don't know Arabic. Bye bye.
Assalamu Alaikum. Walaikum Assalam. We have found a restaurant here.
People are eating here. I asked if anyone knows English. No one knows English. I told him to give me whatever he thinks is good. Let's see what we get. Thank you.
Actually, I didn't know what I could get here. I saw a barbeque over there. I asked him to make it for me. But he brought rice for me. So I thought this is more than enough. I have seen one thing here.
I have been to many Muslim towns before. Even though I am from Lahore, a Muslim country. You can really feel that you are in a Muslim town. Because everyone is practicing it. As soon as the Azan is called, everyone goes to the mosque to pray.
We have rice for dinner. They have given a couple of things here. I am not sure what they are. We will find out when we eat. But this rice is just a perfect answer to my appetite. We have got an amazing room in Jianshui.
It's very clean and spacious. That's the advantage of coming to a small city. You get a much better room than the price you pay in a big city. We have paid 130 yuan for this room. That's around $20. As you can see, I have reached the main gate of the old city.
I thought it would take some time for the lights to go off. They usually turn off the lights around 10 pm. So I thought I'd take a look around. It's very lively here. Let me show you. In other cities, we saw that a lady comes with speakers and everyone'd start dancing with her. But here it's a bit different.
As you can see, everyone is busy dancing. They are holding something in their hands. I don't know what it's called. Maybe it's a traditional dance here. Nevertheless, it's very lively here. Everyone is busy.
Tourists from all around are participating in this activity. The gate behind me is very beautiful. I think they have turned off most of the lights. But you can still see it.
It's very lively here. But I am very tired. That's why I am taking a short walk and relaxing. Then I will go back to my room and get some rest. Because I have to travel again in the morning.
And it's very difficult for me to manage time with the tour. Normally, I travel as per my convenience. I spend more time in the places I like. Only when I'll feel that I've seen enough of a place, then I'll move forward to other places. But during the tour, you have to maintain a schedule.
I have tried my best to show you these places. Today was my rest day. So I thought I would at least show you these two places in Yunnan province.
Please remember me in your prayers. Don't forget to hit LIKE, SUBSCRIBE and SHARE. See you in the next vlog. Allah Hafiz.
2025-03-27 01:15
