Muslim Travel Guide China 2026: Shadian Grand Mosque, Yunnan Hui Muslims and Local Halal Food
Reposted from the web
Summary: Muslim Travel Guide China 2026: Shadian Grand Mosque, Yunnan Hui Muslims and Local Halal Food is presented here as a clear English travel account for Muslim readers, beginning with this scene: Continuing from the previous Yunnan Yuxi Fuxian Lake, Daying, and Najiaying Muslim Tour, continue to the next destination, Shadian. From Kunming to Shadian, you need to take an intercity train to Mengzi. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Shadian Mosque, Yunnan Muslims, Halal Food.
Continuing from the previous Yunnan Yuxi Fuxian Lake, Daying, and Najiaying Muslim Tour, continue to the next destination, Shadian. From Kunming to Shadian, you need to take an intercity train to Mengzi Station. From Mengzi Station, you can take a taxi to Gejiu City's Ji Street or Shadian. Generally, you can take a taxi to Ji Street, which costs 50 yuan. Chicken Street is about 3 kilometers away from Shadian and is another neighborhood with concentrated food.
Mengzi City, the capital of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture
Currently, there is no direct train from Kunming to Shadian. The fastest way is to reach Mengzi City first.
On the streets of Mengzi City, street signs with Yi characters can be seen everywhere.
The Hui population in Mengzi City is very small, accounting for less than 1% of the total population, but halal restaurants can also be found.
Ma's Braised Chicken Rice Noodles
Ma's braised chicken rice noodle shop, about 2 kilometers away from the train station, is halal and alcohol-free.
I have long heard that the braised chicken rice noodles are delicious, so I ordered a small portion, and it is indeed delicious. The seasoning of the braised chicken rice noodles has a special fragrance, which whets my appetite. Eating cold rice noodles in summer is also a good way to relieve the heat.
Mengzi City Mosque
The urban mosque, built in the 27th year of the Republic of China, has been renovated many times and transformed into a modern style.
After praying at the mosque in Mengzi City, we took a taxi to Ji Street in Gejiu City, which took about 50 minutes. I went to Chicken Street because there is the nationally famous Xida Education College, located right next to the Laoji Street Mosque.
Xida Education College is a Buddhist scriptures college established in 1999. Most of the school’s teachers have overseas study backgrounds. Many Dostis around them have studied scriptures here. When they mention their studying time in Xida, they miss it very much.
The Laoji Street Mosque has a history of more than 150 years. Its architectural style is close to traditional North African architecture and its appearance resembles the Hassan II Mosque in Morocco.
In the evening, I followed the Imam for the Fajr prayers and noticed that this place belongs to Salafi.
There is Ruirui BBQ 100 meters away from the Laoji Street Mosque. There are many barbecue restaurants here. Many friends recommended that I come to Shadin to eat roast chicken.
The proprietress of Ruirui BBQ was very enthusiastic. When she saw that I was from Beijing, she also chatted with me about her family life. Ruirui was her daughter’s name. I asked her for some local information and learned that there was Dusty from Beijing who was studying Buddhist scriptures at Chicken Street.
When I was eating roast chicken, the cat in the store came over and took a chicken wing away when I wasn't paying attention.
You need to take a motorcycle ride from Laoji Street to Shadian Street, which costs 6 yuan and takes 10 minutes.
The Jinjizhai Mosque, about 1 km away from the Shadian Grand Mosque, is a traditional-style building.
Here is a photocopy of the Bao Ming Sutra, an excerpt from the Chinese translation of the Quran, produced by Ma Lianyuan.
As usual, I prayed two rak'ahs in celebration and prepared to go to Xiying Mosque.
Xiying Mosque is located behind the Shadian Grand Mosque, about 300 meters away. It is also a South Asian style building and was built in 2008.
The garden pool in front of Chaozhen Hall is very beautiful and neat, with a Southeast Asian feel.
The village elders in the mosque were cleaning the place. The main hall was spacious and bright. After I finished praying and praying, I couldn't wait to get ready to go to the Shaden Grand Mosque.
After three days of running around, I finally arrived at the most important destination of this trip to Yunnan, the Shadin Grand Mosque. I wanted to come to the mosque before Friday to pray, because since the outbreak of the epidemic in February, all the mosques in Beijing have been closed. I have not attended the Juma prayer in half a year. It was because I heard that the Shadin Grand Mosque was open that I did not hesitate to book a flight.
The history of the construction of the Shadian Grand Mosque can be traced back to the 23rd year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1684). It was expanded to what it is today in 2005. It covers a total area of 21,000 square meters and is the largest mosque in southwest my country.
The mosque usually has volunteer guides who can provide local tourism information.
The Shadian Grand Mosque is a Qedime mosque, just like the Niujie Mosque in Beijing, which makes me feel more familiar.
The main hall can accommodate up to 10,000 people for worship, and the number of people on the main day accounted for about half of the main hall.
Walking one kilometer to the left from the main entrance of the mosque, you can reach the Sardin Shesid Monument.
The Sheshid Monument was built in the Muslim Cemetery in Fengwei Mountain to commemorate the more than 900 Shadian residents who were killed in their sleep by the Gang of Four because they opposed the closure of mosques by the ultra-left forces during the Cultural Revolution.
After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, after correcting the chaos and redressing the unjust killings, the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Kunming Military Region Committee of the Communist Party of China reported to the Central Committee for approval and redressed Shadian on February 15, 1979.
Every martyred Dosti has a name.
They only lie in their graves for the time being, and will receive their due rewards in future generations.
Panoramic view of Shading from Fengwei Mountain.
Dosti of Shaden, the Shadin travel map drawn by the Lin brothers for me basically marked all the important information.
The delicious and fun check-in places are all at a glance, including some special delicacies. It’s hard to find them without local guidance.
The fried papa marked on the picture is a local specialty snack that can only be eaten in Shadin.
After Bangda lowers the mosque, turn left from the mosque and there is a Huiyuan snack bar that is already open.
I had a bowl of Shadine-style rice noodles here, or Shaxian for short.
Fried dough sticks
It seems that the only breakfast options are rice noodles and fried dough sticks, as well as a ramen restaurant owned by people from the northwest.
At the entrance of Shadian Mosque is the Golden Rooster Square. There is a night market here, mainly some restaurants from northwest Xinjiang, as well as several local snack bars.
Knott's sizzling squid
Bought handmade yogurt here.
Handmade yogurt
There are not many people in Jinji Square at night, and many shops are not open.
Halal catering for repeat customers
This is the only repeat shop that sells some local specialty snacks. I ordered a bowl of pineapple sugar water.
Pineapple in sugar water
I bought the Yunnan specialty tamarind juice at Jinji Plaza. You need to shake it before drinking because the sugar is at the bottom.
The Sardinian style shaomai eaten at Golden Rooster Square is particularly delicate and small, about the size of a quail egg. It is stuffed with mushrooms and vegetables and has a sticky skin.
Lisa BBQ
Lisa BBQ, recommended by many Sardin veterans, is open after 5 p.m. Also, Dusty recommended Sisi BBQ, Qingxiang BBQ, and Jinsong BBQ. I couldn’t get enough of them.
There are many stalls selling snacks on Saiying Road. This one is called Little Copper Pot Rice Noodles, which is a Shadin specialty.
Small steamed cake
Small steamed cakes with grains cost two yuan each. The girl selling steamed cakes also sells soy sauce cakes and physalis cakes.
This one is fried eggplant, and the other is fried potatoes. You can order a little bit of each to taste. The girl selling the food said that it tastes best when it is hot. The taste here is very similar to that of Southeast Asia, and I also like to eat fried food.
I want to take away and try each of the various pickles sold at the morning market.
Qingxiang Inn
If you want to eat traditional halal pastries, I recommend this Qingxiang Inn on Chicken Street. For delicious bread, I recommend Wei Xun. If you want to eat Yunnan stir-fry, friends in Shadian basically only go to Huiwei Restaurant near the mosque and Guanyi Restaurant next to it. Guanyi Restaurant is not as hygienic as Huiwei Restaurant, but the taste is excellent.
Shadian Hui Culture and Art Museum
This Hui Culture and Art Museum looks like a museum from the outside, but when you walk in, you find it is an art store.
If you have time, you can go to Dazhuang, which is more than 20 kilometers away from Shading, to eat Sanmei Shaomai. It’s more authentic there.
There is an ancient mosque in Dazhuang, which is worth seeing.
For accommodation, you can choose Sailmou Hotel which is closest to the mosque or Yiduo Hotel next to it. You can walk 100 meters to the mosque and the price is only 100 yuan. The waiters are all young ladies wearing beautiful headscarves. The appearance of the girls in Shading is obviously higher than that of other places.
The Muslim trip to Shadian has come to an end for the time being, but I still have a lot of regrets, and there are still a lot of delicious foods that I haven’t eaten. I hope to travel and study in Shadian with more friends in the future. Silversha Allah, my next stop will be to Ruili, a small town on the border of China and Myanmar, to look for Rohingya Dosti.
Preview for the next issue: Yunnan Ruili Muslim Tour
Summary: Muslim Travel Guide China 2026: Shadian Grand Mosque, Yunnan Hui Muslims and Local Halal Food is presented here as a clear English travel account for Muslim readers, beginning with this scene: Continuing from the previous Yunnan Yuxi Fuxian Lake, Daying, and Najiaying Muslim Tour, continue to the next destination, Shadian. From Kunming to Shadian, you need to take an intercity train to Mengzi. The article keeps the original place names, food details, photographs, and cultural context while focusing on Shadian Mosque, Yunnan Muslims, Halal Food.
Continuing from the previous Yunnan Yuxi Fuxian Lake, Daying, and Najiaying Muslim Tour, continue to the next destination, Shadian. From Kunming to Shadian, you need to take an intercity train to Mengzi Station. From Mengzi Station, you can take a taxi to Gejiu City's Ji Street or Shadian. Generally, you can take a taxi to Ji Street, which costs 50 yuan. Chicken Street is about 3 kilometers away from Shadian and is another neighborhood with concentrated food.
Mengzi City, the capital of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture
Currently, there is no direct train from Kunming to Shadian. The fastest way is to reach Mengzi City first.
On the streets of Mengzi City, street signs with Yi characters can be seen everywhere.
The Hui population in Mengzi City is very small, accounting for less than 1% of the total population, but halal restaurants can also be found.
Ma's Braised Chicken Rice Noodles
Ma's braised chicken rice noodle shop, about 2 kilometers away from the train station, is halal and alcohol-free.
I have long heard that the braised chicken rice noodles are delicious, so I ordered a small portion, and it is indeed delicious. The seasoning of the braised chicken rice noodles has a special fragrance, which whets my appetite. Eating cold rice noodles in summer is also a good way to relieve the heat.
Mengzi City Mosque
The urban mosque, built in the 27th year of the Republic of China, has been renovated many times and transformed into a modern style.
After praying at the mosque in Mengzi City, we took a taxi to Ji Street in Gejiu City, which took about 50 minutes. I went to Chicken Street because there is the nationally famous Xida Education College, located right next to the Laoji Street Mosque.
Xida Education College is a Buddhist scriptures college established in 1999. Most of the school’s teachers have overseas study backgrounds. Many Dostis around them have studied scriptures here. When they mention their studying time in Xida, they miss it very much.
The Laoji Street Mosque has a history of more than 150 years. Its architectural style is close to traditional North African architecture and its appearance resembles the Hassan II Mosque in Morocco.
In the evening, I followed the Imam for the Fajr prayers and noticed that this place belongs to Salafi.
There is Ruirui BBQ 100 meters away from the Laoji Street Mosque. There are many barbecue restaurants here. Many friends recommended that I come to Shadin to eat roast chicken.
The proprietress of Ruirui BBQ was very enthusiastic. When she saw that I was from Beijing, she also chatted with me about her family life. Ruirui was her daughter’s name. I asked her for some local information and learned that there was Dusty from Beijing who was studying Buddhist scriptures at Chicken Street.
When I was eating roast chicken, the cat in the store came over and took a chicken wing away when I wasn't paying attention.
You need to take a motorcycle ride from Laoji Street to Shadian Street, which costs 6 yuan and takes 10 minutes.
The Jinjizhai Mosque, about 1 km away from the Shadian Grand Mosque, is a traditional-style building.
Here is a photocopy of the Bao Ming Sutra, an excerpt from the Chinese translation of the Quran, produced by Ma Lianyuan.
As usual, I prayed two rak'ahs in celebration and prepared to go to Xiying Mosque.
Xiying Mosque is located behind the Shadian Grand Mosque, about 300 meters away. It is also a South Asian style building and was built in 2008.
The garden pool in front of Chaozhen Hall is very beautiful and neat, with a Southeast Asian feel.
The village elders in the mosque were cleaning the place. The main hall was spacious and bright. After I finished praying and praying, I couldn't wait to get ready to go to the Shaden Grand Mosque.
After three days of running around, I finally arrived at the most important destination of this trip to Yunnan, the Shadin Grand Mosque. I wanted to come to the mosque before Friday to pray, because since the outbreak of the epidemic in February, all the mosques in Beijing have been closed. I have not attended the Juma prayer in half a year. It was because I heard that the Shadin Grand Mosque was open that I did not hesitate to book a flight.
The history of the construction of the Shadian Grand Mosque can be traced back to the 23rd year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1684). It was expanded to what it is today in 2005. It covers a total area of 21,000 square meters and is the largest mosque in southwest my country.
The mosque usually has volunteer guides who can provide local tourism information.
The Shadian Grand Mosque is a Qedime mosque, just like the Niujie Mosque in Beijing, which makes me feel more familiar.
The main hall can accommodate up to 10,000 people for worship, and the number of people on the main day accounted for about half of the main hall.
Walking one kilometer to the left from the main entrance of the mosque, you can reach the Sardin Shesid Monument.
The Sheshid Monument was built in the Muslim Cemetery in Fengwei Mountain to commemorate the more than 900 Shadian residents who were killed in their sleep by the Gang of Four because they opposed the closure of mosques by the ultra-left forces during the Cultural Revolution.
After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, after correcting the chaos and redressing the unjust killings, the Yunnan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Kunming Military Region Committee of the Communist Party of China reported to the Central Committee for approval and redressed Shadian on February 15, 1979.
Every martyred Dosti has a name.
They only lie in their graves for the time being, and will receive their due rewards in future generations.
Panoramic view of Shading from Fengwei Mountain.
Dosti of Shaden, the Shadin travel map drawn by the Lin brothers for me basically marked all the important information.
The delicious and fun check-in places are all at a glance, including some special delicacies. It’s hard to find them without local guidance.
The fried papa marked on the picture is a local specialty snack that can only be eaten in Shadin.
After Bangda lowers the mosque, turn left from the mosque and there is a Huiyuan snack bar that is already open.
I had a bowl of Shadine-style rice noodles here, or Shaxian for short.
Fried dough sticks
It seems that the only breakfast options are rice noodles and fried dough sticks, as well as a ramen restaurant owned by people from the northwest.
At the entrance of Shadian Mosque is the Golden Rooster Square. There is a night market here, mainly some restaurants from northwest Xinjiang, as well as several local snack bars.
Knott's sizzling squid
Bought handmade yogurt here.
Handmade yogurt
There are not many people in Jinji Square at night, and many shops are not open.
Halal catering for repeat customers
This is the only repeat shop that sells some local specialty snacks. I ordered a bowl of pineapple sugar water.
Pineapple in sugar water
I bought the Yunnan specialty tamarind juice at Jinji Plaza. You need to shake it before drinking because the sugar is at the bottom.
The Sardinian style shaomai eaten at Golden Rooster Square is particularly delicate and small, about the size of a quail egg. It is stuffed with mushrooms and vegetables and has a sticky skin.
Lisa BBQ
Lisa BBQ, recommended by many Sardin veterans, is open after 5 p.m. Also, Dusty recommended Sisi BBQ, Qingxiang BBQ, and Jinsong BBQ. I couldn’t get enough of them.
There are many stalls selling snacks on Saiying Road. This one is called Little Copper Pot Rice Noodles, which is a Shadin specialty.
Small steamed cake
Small steamed cakes with grains cost two yuan each. The girl selling steamed cakes also sells soy sauce cakes and physalis cakes.
This one is fried eggplant, and the other is fried potatoes. You can order a little bit of each to taste. The girl selling the food said that it tastes best when it is hot. The taste here is very similar to that of Southeast Asia, and I also like to eat fried food.
I want to take away and try each of the various pickles sold at the morning market.
Qingxiang Inn
If you want to eat traditional halal pastries, I recommend this Qingxiang Inn on Chicken Street. For delicious bread, I recommend Wei Xun. If you want to eat Yunnan stir-fry, friends in Shadian basically only go to Huiwei Restaurant near the mosque and Guanyi Restaurant next to it. Guanyi Restaurant is not as hygienic as Huiwei Restaurant, but the taste is excellent.
Shadian Hui Culture and Art Museum
This Hui Culture and Art Museum looks like a museum from the outside, but when you walk in, you find it is an art store.
If you have time, you can go to Dazhuang, which is more than 20 kilometers away from Shading, to eat Sanmei Shaomai. It’s more authentic there.
There is an ancient mosque in Dazhuang, which is worth seeing.
For accommodation, you can choose Sailmou Hotel which is closest to the mosque or Yiduo Hotel next to it. You can walk 100 meters to the mosque and the price is only 100 yuan. The waiters are all young ladies wearing beautiful headscarves. The appearance of the girls in Shading is obviously higher than that of other places.
The Muslim trip to Shadian has come to an end for the time being, but I still have a lot of regrets, and there are still a lot of delicious foods that I haven’t eaten. I hope to travel and study in Shadian with more friends in the future. Silversha Allah, my next stop will be to Ruili, a small town on the border of China and Myanmar, to look for Rohingya Dosti.
Preview for the next issue: Yunnan Ruili Muslim Tour
