Muslim Quarter, Xi'an

This week I went to Xi'an and had an absolutely amazing experience. One of my favorite places we went was the Muslim Quarter and this is why I loved it so much.


The Muslim Quarter is a neighborhood in Xi'an where the Muslim influence is quite evident. There are several mosques, lots of people walking around in hijabs and taquiyas, and of course the food.

I didn't really know about the huge influence that Islam had on the food in Shaanxi Province, of which Xi'an is the capital. The food there is quite different to the other kinds of Chinese food I have tried. I was so overwhelmed walking around the streets that I decided to film some clips of the different types of food and the general environment. I wanted to share a bit of what it felt like to be there and to hopefully inspire others to go there.

The middle section of the video is about my favorite dish I tried, which is called 泡馍 (pao mo). It's a soup made with cured beef, pieces of bread, and vermicelli noodles. You tear up the bread pieces yourself (or pay a small premium to have it done for you), and then you can watch them make it in front of you on the street. It's such a comforting meal, and it's very different from other Chinese soups I've had. If you ever have the chance to try it, I recommend you do.

Like I mentioned earlier, there are several mosques in the area. We went to the main one and were amazed. I did not expect to see a mosque in China, especially one that looked like it was straight out of the Middle East.

We got approached by two different men after walking in. We thought they were going to warn us not to go into the mosque, since it isn't allowed. Instead, they just started chatting to us and asking us about why we were in Xi'an. One of them had pretty decent English, but we chatted to them both in Chinese, because it was easier for everyone.

We asked them some questions about the area, the local dialect, and Islam in China. One of the men even invited us to go up to the door of the mosque and he pulled back the curtain for us to look in. And he was kind enough to let me take his picture!

Having these encounters really brought the area to life. This is one of many stories I have about how sweet the people in Xi'an are.

Day or night, this is a lovely place to walk around and talk to people, people watch, and enjoy amazing food.