Qibla · Xinjiang
Qibla direction in Tacheng
To face the Kaaba in Tacheng, turn to 249.0° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (21.0° south of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 4,780 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Tacheng should follow.
On the compass the green needle points to 249.0°. If your phone shows true north, rotate until the heading reads 249°; with a classic magnetic compass, first correct for the local magnetic declination, which can shift the needle by several degrees.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Tacheng
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 21.0° towards south: the result is the bearing of 249.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 21° off.
Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
A straight line drawn on a flat (Mercator) map from Tacheng to Mecca points to 234.2° (south-west), 14.7° away from the correct 249.0°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 38 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.
The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 46.7454° N, 82.9585° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.
Distance from Tacheng to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 4,780 km from Tacheng as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 4,554 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 6 h 07 min, although most pilgrims from Tacheng connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Tacheng 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 Tacheng rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Tacheng
On 247 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Tacheng while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in March (31 days); for example, on 1 March 2027 it happens at 17:15 local time.
On 90 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 July (31 days), for instance on 15 May 2027 at 05:39.
| 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 | 17:15 | — |
| 15 March 2027 | 16:53 | — |
| 1 April 2027 | 16:26 | — |
| 15 April 2027 | 16:04 | — |
| 1 May 2027 | 15:42 | — |
| 15 May 2027 | 15:27 | 05:39 |
| 1 June 2027 | 15:16 | 05:53 |
| 15 June 2027 | 15:13 | 06:01 |
| 1 July 2027 | 15:18 | 06:04 |
| 15 July 2027 | 15:26 | 06:00 |
| 1 August 2027 | 15:40 | 05:47 |
| 15 August 2027 | 15:53 | — |
| 1 September 2027 | 16:09 | — |
| 15 September 2027 | 16:22 | — |
| 1 October 2027 | 16:37 | — |
| 15 October 2027 | 16:51 | — |
| 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 Tacheng: at 15:18 and 15:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Tacheng compared with other cities
Compared with Beijing, 2,786 km away, the Qibla in Tacheng is turned 29.9° further anticlockwise (249.0° against 278.9°), and Mecca is 2,605 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Karamay (197 km), prays towards 252.0°, a difference of 3.0°.
Among the 612 cities in China on this site, Tacheng has the smallest Qibla bearing; the largest is 286.5° in Suifenhe. Across the country the direction varies by 37.5°.
See all cities on the Qibla page for China.
Qibla in cities near Tacheng
Qibla in Tacheng: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Tacheng?
It is 249.0° from true north, which is west: 21.0° south of west.
How far is Tacheng from Mecca?
4,780 km in a straight line over the globe, and 4,554 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Tacheng?
On 247 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 Tacheng not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 234.2°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Tacheng at 249.0°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 249.0° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.