Qibla · Tuyen Quang
Qibla direction in Bắc Quang
To face the Kaaba in Bắc Quang, turn to 282.5° measured clockwise from true north, which is west (12.5° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 6,652 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Bắc Quang should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 282.5°, the Qibla of Bắc Quang. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 283° 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 Bắc Quang
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 12.5° towards north: the result is the bearing of 282.5°. 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 Bắc Quang, 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 Bắc Quang to Mecca points to 269.0° (west), 13.5° away from the correct 282.5°. That map line is a rhumb line: it keeps the same compass heading all the way, but it is 56 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 282.5° obtained? From the coordinates of Bắc Quang (22.4833° N, 104.8667° 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 Bắc Quang to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 6,652 km from Bắc Quang as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 6,595 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 8 h 20 min, although most pilgrims from Bắc Quang connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Bắc Quang run 4 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Bắc Quang rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Bắc Quang
On 118 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Bắc Quang 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 1 May 2027 it happens at 17:41 local time.
On 204 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 March (31 days), for instance on 1 March 2027 at 07:07.
| 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 | — | 07:07 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 07:51 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 08:42 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 09:24 |
| 1 May 2027 | 17:41 | 10:14 |
| 15 May 2027 | 16:55 | 10:59 |
| 1 June 2027 | 16:08 | 11:50 |
| 15 June 2027 | 12:18 | — |
| 1 July 2027 | 12:17 | — |
| 15 July 2027 | 16:25 | 11:50 |
| 1 August 2027 | 17:16 | 10:59 |
| 15 August 2027 | 18:00 | 10:13 |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 09:13 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 08:23 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 07:26 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 06:36 |
| 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 Bắc Quang: at 16:18 and 16:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Bắc Quang compared with other cities
Compared with Hanoi, 191 km away, the Qibla in Bắc Quang is turned 1.1° further anticlockwise (282.5° against 283.6°), and Mecca is 135 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Tuyen Quang (82 km), prays towards 283.0°, a difference of 0.5°.
Across the 98 cities in Vietnam on this site, the Qibla ranges from 282.3° in Lao Cai to 289.4° in Ca Mau, a spread of 7.2°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Vietnam.
Qibla in cities near Bắc Quang
- Tuyen Quang283.0° · 82 km
- Yên Bái283.0° · 85 km
- Lao Cai282.3° · 92 km
- Thị Trấn Đại Từ283.2° · 123 km
- Viet Tri283.3° · 140 km
- Thai Nguyen283.3° · 141 km
Qibla in Bắc Quang: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Bắc Quang?
It is 282.5° from true north, which is west: 12.5° north of west.
How far is Bắc Quang from Mecca?
6,652 km in a straight line over the globe, and 6,595 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Bắc Quang?
On 118 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 Bắc Quang not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 269.0°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Bắc Quang at 282.5°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 282.5° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.