Muslim Quarter in Xi’An

Prior to traveling to Xi’an, I found out that the Muslim Quarter (回民街) is considered one of the best places to visit.  I discovered that Xi’an is home to a large Muslim population, with the majority being from the Hui ethnic group.  The Muslim Quarter was a place where you could find all sorts of Xi’an specialties, which included many Muslim goods that are popular in China. 

Although you would never know it from the English name, the Muslim Quarter is actually just a single street that is full of various shops and vendors selling snacks and tacky souvenirs.  True to its name, many of the snacks along this street are what is commonly associated with Chinese Muslims – walnuts, raisins, jujubes, meat skewers and breads. 

Seeing as how we were in Xi’an, the popular local specialty肉夾饃 was also available at many of the stalls.  This is most commonly described as a Chinese meat sandwich that is always sold on the streets of Xi’an.  It consists of a Chinese style bun stuffed with various fillings of meat, usually lamb or beef.  Surprisingly the sandwich wasn’t as dry as I thought it would be, as the juices of the meat made the sandwich quite enjoyable.

 

It wouldn’t be a tourist street without the token tourist souvenirs!