Qibla direction in Jincheng

How to face the Qibla in Jincheng

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 8.9° towards north: the result is the bearing of 278.9°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 9° off.

The scholars distinguish two cases: the one who sees the Kaaba aims at the building itself, while the one who cannot see it, as anywhere in Jincheng, aims at its direction as well as he reasonably can. Comparing with the mihrab of a local mosque is a quick way to confirm the result. If you travel or move house, check the angle again, since it changes from place to place.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Jincheng to Mecca points to 257.6° (west), a full 21.3° away from the true Qibla of 278.9° (west). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 128 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Jincheng first heads west, and that is the direction to face.

The value of 278.9° is the direction in which the shortest route from 35.5022° N, 112.8328° E sets off towards the Kaaba at 21.4225° N, 39.8262° E. Every accurate Qibla calculator, and the plans of well-oriented mosques, arrive at the same angle for this point.

Distance from Jincheng to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 7,150 km from Jincheng as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 7,002 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 55 min, although most pilgrims from Jincheng connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Jincheng run 5 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Jincheng rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Jincheng

On 136 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Jincheng while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 15 April 2027 it happens at 18:35 local time.

On 213 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in May (31 days), for instance on 15 March 2027 at 07:26.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Jincheng: at 17:18 and 17:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Jincheng compared with other cities

The Qibla here is practically the same as in Beijing (278.9°), and Mecca is 234 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Jiaozuo (47 km), prays towards 279.2°, a difference of 0.3°.

Across the 612 cities in China on this site, the Qibla ranges from 249.0° in Tacheng to 286.5° in Suifenhe, a spread of 37.5°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for China.

Qibla in cities near Jincheng

• Jiaozuo279.2° · 47 km
• Jiyuan279.0° · 51 km
• Changzhi, Shanxi, China278.7° · 80 km
• Xinxiang279.5° · 94 km
• Luoyang, Henan, China279.1° · 99 km
• Changzhi (Changzhi), Shanxi, China278.5° · 104 km