Urban Transformation in Muslim Neighborhoods: From Shanghai’s Women’s Mosque into a Retirement Home

Xunqian Liu, Xiaoqing Liu and Yi Yang ()
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Xunqian Liu: School of Humanities, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Xiaoqing Liu: Faculty of Arts, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
Yi Yang: School of Humanities, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Since the mid-19th century, the migration of Hui Muslims to Shanghai has fostered the development of stable residential neighborhoods around the Small Peach Garden Mosque, turning the area into a hub for religious gatherings and a bustling economic center, especially for the beef, mutton, and catering sectors. However, the dawn of the 21st century brought with it swift economic expansion and urban redevelopment, gradually replacing the neighborhoods surrounding the mosque with high-end residential zones. Soaring land prices slashed the profits of Muslim food businesses in the area to the point of unsustainability, disrupting the traditional pattern of life around the mosque. This study offers insights from interviews with older Muslim women who stayed at the Small Peach Garden Women’s Mosque after its demolition, slowly transforming it into a retirement home. Their stories underline that architectural conservation alone is not sufficient to preserve the character of historic and cultural sites. The study calls for a deeper understanding of urban transformations in historic urban landscapes for religious minorities.

Keywords: Muslim; historic urban landscape; minorities; adaptive reuse (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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