Day #98: Muslim Quarter

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Finally moved on from Beijing via overnight train to Xi'an. Xi'an is most famous for the Terracotta Warriors but the city is also very interesting and we spent today cycling around the city walls and visiting the Muslim Quarter. About 1% of the population of the city is Muslim, and the population originates from the earliest time of the Silk Road which led to Muslims from Central Asia coming to China and marrying locals. Our guide made much of the physical appearance of the Muslim population: according to him they are easy for the Chinese to identify because they are paler than the rest of the population. The dress is also distinctive, lots of brightly coloured suits and, of course, headscarves.

The big draw of the Muslim Quarter is the food markets, which still sell traditional foods, lots of dates and walnuts (including walnuts salted by a special mixing machine), traditional sweets and halal kebabs. It made an interesting change to Chinese food.

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