The arrival of Muslims in Guangzhou is causing a revival of Islam in a city with a long link to the religion.

Built more than 1,000 years ago, the ancient minaret of the Huaisheng Mosque is an Islamic symbol in Guangzhou. The Abi Waggas Graveyard, near Yuexiu Park, is said to hold the tomb of Saad bin Abi Waggas, Muhammad`s maternal uncle and the first Islamic preacher in China. The other two mosques in Guangzhou, the Haopan Mosque and Xiaodongying Mosque, were built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).

However, Islam declined in Guangzhou over the 20th century and the fifth national census in 2000 showed just 9,838 Muslims lived in the city, including many who no longer practiced the faith.

When Muslim history researcher Ma Qiang came to Guangzhou from Northwest China`s Ningxia Hui autonomous region in 1994, he found hardly any sign of Islam. The four mosques were mostly preserved as cultural relics and were not open to the public, and there were few Muslim restaurants.

However, when he returned in 2002, he was amazed to see the Huaisheng Mosque filled with a multi-national congregation.

"It looked like a foreign mosque. I thought that the Muslim communities set up by Arabs and Persians in the Tang Dynasty probably looked like that," he says.

Influenced by the Muslim community in Guangzhou, some Chinese Muslims have also become more religious after moving to Guangzhou from other areas.

"My understanding of Islam has become wider and deeper now," says Jin Lei, a Muslim from Shandong province. "In my contact with Muslims from different countries, I came to know that Islam is not limited to the mosque, but is a way of life. Being good Muslims will let more people understand Islam and help build a more harmonious society."

Wang Wenjie, vice-president of the Guangzhou Islamic Association, says more than 10,000 people attend Friday prayers at the city`s four mosques.

Bai Lin, an imam (spiritual leader) at the Xiaodongying Mosque, estimates that Africans account for about 70 percent of the worshippers. As the prayer hall covers only 125 sqm, many African Muslims often have to pray on the sidewalks outside.

"At first, local residents didn`t know what they were doing, but now they are all used to the scene. People in Guangzhou are quite open-minded," says Bai.

At the Honghui International Commercial Center, where many African Muslims come to buy Chinese goods, the Chinese business people are also familiar with their partners` religion.

"When prayer times come, they sometimes just pray in my store, and I provide cardboard for them to kneel on," says Fang Qinghao, a storeowner in the Honghui International Commercial Center.

"I understand that they have their religion, but we don`t talk about it. We talk about business."