Qibla · Xinjiang
Qibla direction in Korla
To face the Kaaba in Korla, turn to 257.0° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (13.0° south of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,861 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Korla should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 257.0°, the Qibla of Korla. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 257° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Korla
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 13.0° towards south: the result is the bearing of 257.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 13° off.
Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Korla, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Korla to Mecca points to 242.5° (south-west), 14.5° away from the correct 257.0°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 39 km longer than the true shortest route. The Qibla follows the great circle, the shortest path on the curved Earth, which is why the bearing differs.
How is the figure of 257.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Korla (41.7606° N, 86.1523° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.
Distance from Korla to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,861 km from Korla as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,673 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 13 min, although most pilgrims from Korla connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Korla run 3 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Korla rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Korla
On 221 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Korla 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 March 2027 it happens at 17:17 local time.
On 121 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 1 May 2027 at 06:02.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | — |
| 1 March 2027 | — | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 17:17 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 16:43 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 16:17 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 15:50 | 06:02 |
| 15 May 2027 | 15:30 | 06:19 |
| 1 June 2027 | 15:15 | 06:38 |
| 15 June 2027 | 15:11 | 06:48 |
| 1 July 2027 | 15:15 | 06:50 |
| 15 July 2027 | 15:26 | 06:44 |
| 1 August 2027 | 15:45 | 06:26 |
| 15 August 2027 | 16:02 | 06:05 |
| 1 September 2027 | 16:23 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 16:41 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 17:02 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | — | — |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Korla: at 15:18 and 15:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Korla compared with other cities
Compared with Beijing, 2,540 km away, the Qibla in Korla is turned 21.9° further anticlockwise (257.0° against 278.9°), and Mecca is 2,524 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ürümqi (256 km), prays towards 256.2°, a difference of 0.8°.
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 Korla
Qibla in Korla: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Korla?
It is 257.0° from true north, which is west: 13.0° south of west.
How far is Korla from Mecca?
4,861 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,673 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Korla?
On 221 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Korla not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 242.5°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Korla at 257.0°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 257.0° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.