Xi'an, China, in the Shaanxi province is probably one of the oldest cities in China. This is where the Silk Road starts on its trade route to Persia and Europe. You would probably be correct in saying "Marco Polo stayed here".
The Muslim quarter is inhabited by more than 20,000 Muslims with several Mosques, and some of the best shopping we've found is on Beiyuanmen, just north of the Drum Tower. The food, the souvenirs and the atmosphere is beyond compare.
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The Muslim quarter is inhabited by more than 20,000 Muslims with several Mosques, and some of the best shopping we've found is on Beiyuanmen, just north of the Drum Tower. The food, the souvenirs and the atmosphere is beyond compare.
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THE DAXEUXIXIANG MOSQUE
Xi'an is a great city to walk around as there is so much to see and do. On a rainy Friday morning Darryl and I took a stroll down a side street in the Muslim quarter and found this beautiful old mosque.
It was built in 705 A.D. during the Tang Dynasty. Islam was brought to China by the Muslim traders traveling the silk road.
This lovely old mosque covers more than 7000 Square Meters.
It includes that great screen wall,
and several halls and towers.
the tablet pavilion,
and the great stone archway.
SHOPPING IN THE MUSLIM QUARTER
Walking the streets you see so many unique and beautiful buildings and entries into the different shopping streets and neighborhoods.
It wasn't very busy on a rainy Friday morning, but by Friday at noon it was bustling!
It's shoulder to shoulder as you move down the street, I've never before been in such a crush of people on the move.
Yummy Bread.
The food you can find on this street is amazing!
Uhhh... Don't eat the corkscrew kabobs. Just take my word for it.
Everything else we tried was delicious!
Darryl made several meals from the lamb kabobs.
I enjoyed the rice cake with dates on a stick,
Making nut candies like almond brittle, or walnut bars. Yummy! They hammer the nuts into the hard candy filling with huge wooden mallets.
They guy in the back is pulling the taffy type filling that will hardened and be hammered with nuts.
One of our favorites was the seasoned new potatoes, boiled then fried!
This lovely young lady is Ma Li Do, She came up and asked if she could have a picture with me. We visited for a few minutes. What a sweet girl!
Scarves, miniature Terra Cotta Warriors, trickets, clothes ...
Custom Calligraphy at the House of Helen -
Helen was a very sweet, talented and kind woman. We loved meeting her and watching her work.
That's a sign she made for us. Hutch... What's it say?
These are some of the wares, antiques and other things available in her shop.
Jamin, Me, Helen, Darryl and John. Jamin and John are friends of Helen's from Batau in Inner Mongolia. It was a chance meeting and we had a wonderful time.
Oh.. the calligraphy she painted says "Cunningham".
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We found a small art gallery with wonderful Peasant Paintings that caught my eye.
It is the gallery of Professor Ding Ji Tang. The internationally renown Woodcut Artist whose works of art have been shown in galleries around the world.
He asked if I would have my picture with him. I was very excited. We did purchase one of his pieces and I plan on going back for a couple of more later this spring. There is a Chinese postage stamp that features his Picking Jujubees picture.
Beautiful Cloth lanterns in a shop.
So much to see and do in Xi'an. I can't wait for another trip.
I still have more photos to post. Will put up pictures of the Bell and Drum towers and the wall in a few days.
Xi'an is a great city to walk around as there is so much to see and do. On a rainy Friday morning Darryl and I took a stroll down a side street in the Muslim quarter and found this beautiful old mosque.
It was built in 705 A.D. during the Tang Dynasty. Islam was brought to China by the Muslim traders traveling the silk road.
This lovely old mosque covers more than 7000 Square Meters.
It includes that great screen wall,
and several halls and towers.
the tablet pavilion,
and the great stone archway.
SHOPPING IN THE MUSLIM QUARTER
Walking the streets you see so many unique and beautiful buildings and entries into the different shopping streets and neighborhoods.
It's shoulder to shoulder as you move down the street, I've never before been in such a crush of people on the move.
Yummy Bread.
Uhhh... Don't eat the corkscrew kabobs. Just take my word for it.
Everything else we tried was delicious!
Darryl made several meals from the lamb kabobs.
I enjoyed the rice cake with dates on a stick,
Making nut candies like almond brittle, or walnut bars. Yummy! They hammer the nuts into the hard candy filling with huge wooden mallets.
They guy in the back is pulling the taffy type filling that will hardened and be hammered with nuts.
One of our favorites was the seasoned new potatoes, boiled then fried!
This lovely young lady is Ma Li Do, She came up and asked if she could have a picture with me. We visited for a few minutes. What a sweet girl!
Scarves, miniature Terra Cotta Warriors, trickets, clothes ...
Custom Calligraphy at the House of Helen -
Helen was a very sweet, talented and kind woman. We loved meeting her and watching her work.
These are some of the wares, antiques and other things available in her shop.
Jamin, Me, Helen, Darryl and John. Jamin and John are friends of Helen's from Batau in Inner Mongolia. It was a chance meeting and we had a wonderful time.
***
We found a small art gallery with wonderful Peasant Paintings that caught my eye.
It is the gallery of Professor Ding Ji Tang. The internationally renown Woodcut Artist whose works of art have been shown in galleries around the world.
He asked if I would have my picture with him. I was very excited. We did purchase one of his pieces and I plan on going back for a couple of more later this spring. There is a Chinese postage stamp that features his Picking Jujubees picture.
Beautiful Cloth lanterns in a shop.
So much to see and do in Xi'an. I can't wait for another trip.
I still have more photos to post. Will put up pictures of the Bell and Drum towers and the wall in a few days.
2 comments:
Wonderful photos. I'm setting a portion of this new book at the Kashgar Night Market so it was fun to look at the Xian market photos. Miss y'all.
Marc (Otte)
Thanks so much for sharing. Felt like I just to a trip there too! Hugs.
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