Cowen, Jill S. "Muslims in China: The Mosques." Saudi Aramco World, July/August 1985, http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198504/muslims.in.china-an.introduction.htm.  

Cowen discusses the local non-Islamic architectural styles of some mosques in China.  In doing so she mentions subtle Islamic influences that make the mosques useful to Muslims, but also local traditional elements that also make them appealing to non-Muslims. 
 
Comments: 3/2/10
Is the localization of mosque architectural styles (e.g. Chinese style v. Arabesque styles) any different than the localization of Islamic practices (e.g. shrine visits v. five daily prayers) in Central Asia, which are often labeled as syncretism or heterodoxy?  The Great Mosque in Xi'an, which is built in a Chinese style, is no less Islamic than other mosques built in Arabesque styles.  Maybe religious practices are different in that getting them wrong impact rewards and punishments in the next life whereas getting the architecture wrong does not.
 
Descriptors: 1980s, architecture, bibliographic, C, China, e-article, magazine, post-Soviet; Xi'an