Xi'an, known Chang'an in the ancient being the great ancient capital in China, is one of the place to first introduce Islam into China. During the Tang Dynasty, messengers from the Arab region and Persia coming to Changan to pay tributes to the Tang Dynasty were mostly Muslims. Later they settled down in Chang'an and the Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty had officially allowed the practice of Islam in 651. This had started Muslims' journey in China and was followed by the constructions of mosques.
There are about 600,000 Hui Muslims estimated living in Xi'an today. Xi'an has a total of seven mosques, among which the Great Mosque of Xi'an and Xi'an Daxuexixiang Mosque are quite famous.