Who's Hui?
Trip Start
Sep 17, 2007
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108
272
Trip End
Oct 08, 2008
Xi'an,
China
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Chinese Muslims are called Hui, and although I believe many of them are no different than Han Chinese, their religion makes them an ethnic minority in China. Ergo, they are also no different than the numerous other ethnic minorities dotting the expanse that is known to us all as the PRC.
We've seen Muslims here and there...I think that the kebab restaurant we tried in our hutong in Beijing was run by Chinese Muslims, but no where do they come out en masse as they do in Xi'an. Since our hostel was right next to the quarter we would often pass bicycle carts whose owners would mix up all kinds of delicious (and mysterious) looking things for passersby to sample
Han Tang Inn
. It would have been so easy to walk out of our hotel every night and get some 5 yuan mystery food rather than eating more expensive non-mystery food, but I was never brave enough. But I just couldn't leave Xi'an without at least taking a peek at the Muslim quarter. I think most tourists love the Muslim quarter not only because it's different than your average Chinese neighbourhood, but also because you can get pretty much any souvenir you want for a third of the price you'd find it anywhere else. We met a pair of Aussies who'd purchased a Chinese chess board for 200 yuan when the asking price had been 1000, for example. Unfortunately for me, but fortunately for our budget, we don't do souvenirs. But we do do food.
As we walked down the street we saw any number of crazy new things. A few guys were blowing bubbles out of something approaching caramel, and they were in shapes like rats and people and all kinds of things. These guys would have audiences, and then you could buy and eat the works of art they created. There were also bread-like things that seemed like a cross between pancakes and biscuits, but they tasted like neither, being heavily spiced. The spices were a little too much for me, but I think Trav liked it. Trav was also going to get something like a pancake fried dumpling
the Muslim quarter
. It looked at once delicious and unappetizing, though the latter may just have been because of the piles of mystery vegetables and raw meat. If you hadn't noticed, much of the food we see/eat in China is mysterious. But the lady was already making one and it took too long for us to wait. We had a train to catch!We managed to catch our train without a hitch, and arrived safely in Chengdu, but I think that next time I'm in Xi'an, I'll explore the Muslim quarter much more thoroughly. There's no dearth of interesting hidey holes in China!
Erin
