Site: Protection [Strategy I]

In the Muslim Area of Xi'an, the streets are crowded with shops and restaurants, filled with those who want to buy, sell, and eat. It appears to be a typical marketplace, the tourist shops selling identical items, and smaller streets are hidden by the gaudy facades. The chaos and noise are a sharp contrast to what the bustling streets hide: The Great Mosque. One would not expect one of four great mosques in China. One cannot even see the mosque from the market. The Mosque's site within this hodgepodge of streets allows it to be camouflaged. The "tourist" entrance to the Mosque is located off a side street of a side streets.

The mosque is for the Muslim area and streets, and they, in turn, protect the mosque and shield it from outsiders and developers. One could not demolish the mosque without destroying the whole city block. Both worshippers and tourist groups alike come to visit the mosque, but the tourist groups generate income to maintain the mosque while still allowing its worshippers some degree of privacy. For example, while groups of tourists linger, it is not so crowded or loud as to disturb the serenity of the site. In this way, the protection of the Muslim streets "preserve" the Great Mosque.