Da Dao Wang Wu's Yuanshun Escort Agency: Beijing Hui Muslim History and Martial Arts
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Da Dao Wang Wu's Yuanshun Escort Agency: Beijing Hui Muslim History and Martial Arts. Last weekend, I visited the former site of the Yuanshun Biaoju (escort agency) established by the famous late Qing dynasty chivalrous hero Dadao Wang Wu on Banbi Street, west of Zhushikou outside Qianmen in Beijing. It is useful for readers interested in Beijing History, Hui Muslims, Martial Arts.
Last weekend, I visited the former site of the Yuanshun Biaoju (escort agency) established by the famous late Qing dynasty chivalrous hero Dadao Wang Wu on Banbi Street, west of Zhushikou outside Qianmen in Beijing. Dadao Wang Wu, whose real name was Wang Zibin (1844-1900) and courtesy name was Zhengyi, was a Han Chinese from Cangzhou, Hebei. He loved martial arts from a young age and greatly admired Li Fenggang, the manager of the Chengxing Biaoju in Cangzhou. The Li family came from a Hui Muslim military household background during the Ming dynasty, having moved from Nanjing to settle in Cangzhou during the Yongle reign while 'escorting the emperor,' and their tradition of practicing martial arts has never been interrupted since. In the late Qing dynasty, Li Fenggang's uncle, Li Guanming, learned the Liuhe Quan (Six Harmonies Boxing) style from the Cao family, a Hui Muslim family in Botou, and founded the 'Liuhe Men' (Six Harmonies School) in Cangzhou, which later developed into the largest martial arts school in the city. Li Guanming opened the Chengxing Biaoju outside the south gate of Cangzhou, enjoyed high prestige in the martial arts world, and almost never lost an escort. Li Guanming later passed the escort agency to his nephew, Li Fenggang, who had followed his uncle to learn Liuhe boxing and weaponry since childhood and was skilled with double sabers, earning him the nickname 'Shuangdao Jiang' (General of the Double Sabers).
Wang Wu very much wanted to become Li Fenggang's student, but according to the school's rules, the Li family's Liuhe Men only taught those of the Islamic faith. Wang Wu was determined to convert to Islam, but his mother did not agree. According to the 1933 'Cang County Gazetteer,' it is recorded: 'Zhengyi's teacher was Li Fenggang. Fenggang was a follower of Islam, and Zhengyi wanted to study under him. Fenggang would not teach him because he was not of the faith. Zhengyi wanted to join the faith to prove his sincerity, but his mother would not allow it. Zhengyi knelt and pleaded with her repeatedly for over ten years before his mother finally agreed. He then learned everything from Fenggang before going to the capital, where he was initially called Little Wang Wu.' ”
In the early years of the Guangxu reign, at the age of thirty, Wang Wu set up his own business and opened the Yuanshun Biaoju at Zhushikou outside Qianmen in Beijing. According to Liang Qichao's 'Yinbingshi Shihua' (Poetry Talks from the Ice-Drinker's Studio): 'Wang Wu was a chivalrous hero of Youyan who made his living as an escort.' His sphere of influence reached as far north as Shanhaiguan and as far south as Qingjiangpu, and he spent his life helping the weak and punishing the strong. ” The Yuanshun Biaoju gradually became one of the eight major escort agencies in the capital, and Wang Wu became known as 'Dadao Wang Wu' (Big Saber Wang Wu) because of his skill with the single saber. Pingjiang Buxiaosheng's 'Modern Chivalrous Hero Biography,' serialized starting in 1923, is the pioneering work of modern Chinese martial arts novels. The novel features Dadao Wang Wu and Huo Yuanjia as the main characters. Through the depiction of the deep friendship between Wang Wu and Tan Sitong, his chivalrous actions to save Tan Sitong, and his heroic sacrifice during the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance, the heroic image of Dadao Wang Wu became deeply rooted in people's hearts.
The Yuanshun Biaoju faces south, and the main gate was originally very spacious to allow escort carriages to pass through, but now most of it is occupied by a restroom. Only the western half of the original gate remains, and the door knocker on it is the one that Tan Sitong knocked on when he came to visit Dadao Wang Wu.
After entering the courtyard, there was originally a place to park escort carriages and horses. On the west side, there are three courtyards: the first was where Wang Wu performed his ritual washing and dua (prayer), the second and third were the living quarters for the escort guards, and the back courtyard contained the inner office, the storage room for escorted goods, and guest rooms. After the public-private partnership in the 1950s, the descendants of the Wang family only kept the south and north rooms of the back courtyard. The front courtyard became public housing, and after renovations by the housing management office, it is difficult to distinguish the original structure.
Back courtyard
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Summary: This travel note introduces Da Dao Wang Wu's Yuanshun Escort Agency: Beijing Hui Muslim History and Martial Arts. Last weekend, I visited the former site of the Yuanshun Biaoju (escort agency) established by the famous late Qing dynasty chivalrous hero Dadao Wang Wu on Banbi Street, west of Zhushikou outside Qianmen in Beijing. It is useful for readers interested in Beijing History, Hui Muslims, Martial Arts.
Last weekend, I visited the former site of the Yuanshun Biaoju (escort agency) established by the famous late Qing dynasty chivalrous hero Dadao Wang Wu on Banbi Street, west of Zhushikou outside Qianmen in Beijing. Dadao Wang Wu, whose real name was Wang Zibin (1844-1900) and courtesy name was Zhengyi, was a Han Chinese from Cangzhou, Hebei. He loved martial arts from a young age and greatly admired Li Fenggang, the manager of the Chengxing Biaoju in Cangzhou. The Li family came from a Hui Muslim military household background during the Ming dynasty, having moved from Nanjing to settle in Cangzhou during the Yongle reign while 'escorting the emperor,' and their tradition of practicing martial arts has never been interrupted since. In the late Qing dynasty, Li Fenggang's uncle, Li Guanming, learned the Liuhe Quan (Six Harmonies Boxing) style from the Cao family, a Hui Muslim family in Botou, and founded the 'Liuhe Men' (Six Harmonies School) in Cangzhou, which later developed into the largest martial arts school in the city. Li Guanming opened the Chengxing Biaoju outside the south gate of Cangzhou, enjoyed high prestige in the martial arts world, and almost never lost an escort. Li Guanming later passed the escort agency to his nephew, Li Fenggang, who had followed his uncle to learn Liuhe boxing and weaponry since childhood and was skilled with double sabers, earning him the nickname 'Shuangdao Jiang' (General of the Double Sabers).
Wang Wu very much wanted to become Li Fenggang's student, but according to the school's rules, the Li family's Liuhe Men only taught those of the Islamic faith. Wang Wu was determined to convert to Islam, but his mother did not agree. According to the 1933 'Cang County Gazetteer,' it is recorded: 'Zhengyi's teacher was Li Fenggang. Fenggang was a follower of Islam, and Zhengyi wanted to study under him. Fenggang would not teach him because he was not of the faith. Zhengyi wanted to join the faith to prove his sincerity, but his mother would not allow it. Zhengyi knelt and pleaded with her repeatedly for over ten years before his mother finally agreed. He then learned everything from Fenggang before going to the capital, where he was initially called Little Wang Wu.' ”
In the early years of the Guangxu reign, at the age of thirty, Wang Wu set up his own business and opened the Yuanshun Biaoju at Zhushikou outside Qianmen in Beijing. According to Liang Qichao's 'Yinbingshi Shihua' (Poetry Talks from the Ice-Drinker's Studio): 'Wang Wu was a chivalrous hero of Youyan who made his living as an escort.' His sphere of influence reached as far north as Shanhaiguan and as far south as Qingjiangpu, and he spent his life helping the weak and punishing the strong. ” The Yuanshun Biaoju gradually became one of the eight major escort agencies in the capital, and Wang Wu became known as 'Dadao Wang Wu' (Big Saber Wang Wu) because of his skill with the single saber. Pingjiang Buxiaosheng's 'Modern Chivalrous Hero Biography,' serialized starting in 1923, is the pioneering work of modern Chinese martial arts novels. The novel features Dadao Wang Wu and Huo Yuanjia as the main characters. Through the depiction of the deep friendship between Wang Wu and Tan Sitong, his chivalrous actions to save Tan Sitong, and his heroic sacrifice during the invasion of China by the Eight-Nation Alliance, the heroic image of Dadao Wang Wu became deeply rooted in people's hearts.
The Yuanshun Biaoju faces south, and the main gate was originally very spacious to allow escort carriages to pass through, but now most of it is occupied by a restroom. Only the western half of the original gate remains, and the door knocker on it is the one that Tan Sitong knocked on when he came to visit Dadao Wang Wu.
After entering the courtyard, there was originally a place to park escort carriages and horses. On the west side, there are three courtyards: the first was where Wang Wu performed his ritual washing and dua (prayer), the second and third were the living quarters for the escort guards, and the back courtyard contained the inner office, the storage room for escorted goods, and guest rooms. After the public-private partnership in the 1950s, the descendants of the Wang family only kept the south and north rooms of the back courtyard. The front courtyard became public housing, and after renovations by the housing management office, it is difficult to distinguish the original structure.
Back courtyard
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Panjiayuan Antique Market: A Ming Zhengde Arabic-Inscribed Incense Burner and Vase Set
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Panjiayuan Antique Market: A Ming Zhengde Arabic-Inscribed Incense Burner and Vase Set. In late June, Zhongmao Shengjia held a spring auction preview at the Shanggu Antique City in Panjiayuan. It is useful for readers interested in Panjiayuan, Islamic Art, Ming Zhengde.
In late June, Zhongmao Shengjia held a spring auction preview at the Shanggu Antique City in Panjiayuan. I went to admire the exquisite Ming Zhengde-marked Arabic-inscribed incense burner and vase set on display, and I also saw a set of panoramic photos of Istanbul from the late 19th century.
The Ming Zhengde-marked brass Arabic-inscribed three-piece incense set, valued at eight figures, features the bright jujube-red patina characteristic of official Ming Dynasty copperware, commonly known as 'Zhengde Red'. The Arabic calligraphy engraved on the pearl-patterned background consists of phrases commonly used by the faith, and it is truly exquisite. During the Zhengde period, the imperial palace favored items inscribed with Arabic and Persian, most of which were traditional stationery items, and many featured the Quran, Hadith, and praises of Allah.
The three-piece incense set (lu ping san shi) was a classic hall display during the Ming and Qing dynasties, consisting of an incense burner, an incense box, and an incense vase, with an incense shovel and incense chopsticks kept inside the vase. In the past, traditional Hui Muslim families would place the three-piece incense set on a long table against the wall in the center of the main room, and they would burn incense over charcoal on important days such as Eid or Quran-recitation ceremonies. Use the incense chopsticks to pick out incense charcoal from the incense box, light it and bury it in the incense ash in the burner, then use the incense shovel to flatten the surface of the ash.
Two Zhengde-marked Arabic-inscribed incense burners, engraved with the Shahada (the Islamic declaration of faith).
An eight-panel panoramic albumen print of Istanbul from the 1890s.
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Summary: This travel note introduces Panjiayuan Antique Market: A Ming Zhengde Arabic-Inscribed Incense Burner and Vase Set. In late June, Zhongmao Shengjia held a spring auction preview at the Shanggu Antique City in Panjiayuan. It is useful for readers interested in Panjiayuan, Islamic Art, Ming Zhengde.
In late June, Zhongmao Shengjia held a spring auction preview at the Shanggu Antique City in Panjiayuan. I went to admire the exquisite Ming Zhengde-marked Arabic-inscribed incense burner and vase set on display, and I also saw a set of panoramic photos of Istanbul from the late 19th century.
The Ming Zhengde-marked brass Arabic-inscribed three-piece incense set, valued at eight figures, features the bright jujube-red patina characteristic of official Ming Dynasty copperware, commonly known as 'Zhengde Red'. The Arabic calligraphy engraved on the pearl-patterned background consists of phrases commonly used by the faith, and it is truly exquisite. During the Zhengde period, the imperial palace favored items inscribed with Arabic and Persian, most of which were traditional stationery items, and many featured the Quran, Hadith, and praises of Allah.
The three-piece incense set (lu ping san shi) was a classic hall display during the Ming and Qing dynasties, consisting of an incense burner, an incense box, and an incense vase, with an incense shovel and incense chopsticks kept inside the vase. In the past, traditional Hui Muslim families would place the three-piece incense set on a long table against the wall in the center of the main room, and they would burn incense over charcoal on important days such as Eid or Quran-recitation ceremonies. Use the incense chopsticks to pick out incense charcoal from the incense box, light it and bury it in the incense ash in the burner, then use the incense shovel to flatten the surface of the ash.
Two Zhengde-marked Arabic-inscribed incense burners, engraved with the Shahada (the Islamic declaration of faith).
An eight-panel panoramic albumen print of Istanbul from the 1890s.
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Hui and Islamic Artifacts at Poly Art Museum's Porcelain Exhibition
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Hui and Islamic Artifacts at Poly Art Museum's Porcelain Exhibition. In June 2022, the Poly Art Museum opened a comparative exhibition of Yuan and Ming dynasty blue-and-white porcelain from the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln ruins and collections from home and abroad, displaying some artifacts. It is useful for readers interested in Islamic Art, Porcelain, Poly Art Museum.
In June 2022, the Poly Art Museum opened a comparative exhibition of Yuan and Ming dynasty blue-and-white porcelain from the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln ruins and collections from home and abroad, displaying some artifacts related to the Hui Muslims and Islam.
A fragment of a Ming Xuande period Arabic-inscribed wudangzun (a type of vessel without a handle) unearthed at the Zhushan Imperial Kiln in Jingdezhen in 1983, now housed in the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum, mimics the shape and patterns of 14th-century Middle Eastern brass inlaid with silver. The Palace Museum's Wuying Hall displays a Ming Yongle period Arabic-inscribed wudangzun from the former Qing imperial collection; the two pieces are basically the same in shape, but there are subtle differences in the brushwork of the characters and the painting of the scrolling floral patterns. Although the Palace Museum's exhibition label says it is Arabic, it is difficult to tell what is written. It is possible that at the time, they were only imitating the shapes and patterns of similar Middle Eastern objects without mastering the content of the text.
In the Palace Museum exhibition hall, there is a comparison photo of the wudangzun and a 14th-century Egyptian Mamluk dynasty brass stand inlaid with silver from the British Museum, and the shapes are indeed exactly the same.
A fragment of a Ming Zhengde period Arabic-inscribed square basin unearthed at the northern foot of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln in 2002 looks quite large.
A Ming Zhengde period Arabic-inscribed bowl from the collection of Mr. Jin Liyan of Liangqing Shuwu. According to Mr. Jin, the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty (Li Chao Shilu) record that in the third year of the Zhengde reign (1509), the Zhengde Emperor learned about Islam: 'Hearing that Hui Muslims do not eat meat slaughtered by others, but must slaughter it by hand to eat it, and that they have a good heart for reading scriptures, he welcomed them into the palace to serve them as teachers.' "
A Ming Wanli period Persian-inscribed long-necked vase from the collection of Mr. Jin Liyan of Liangqing Shuwu, which features a Persian ruba'i (quatrain) poem. During the Ming Wanli period, Islam was treated very favorably. According to Ma Zhu's Qingzhen Zhinan (Guide to Islam) - Qing Bao Biao, 'The Shenzong Emperor issued an edict to repair mosques throughout the world, honoring them with titles. All those in charge were granted the grace of wearing official caps, exempted from corvee labor, and served to burn incense and pray to the Lord who created heaven, earth, man, spirits, and all things.' The Niujie Mosque in Beijing underwent large-scale expansion during the Wanli period, and the Sanlihe Mosque was also built during the Wanli period.
According to Mr. Jin, the Persian ruba'i (quatrain) poem mentions the great Persian poet Omar Khayyam (1048-1131), who was famous for his ruba'i quatrains.
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Summary: This travel note introduces Hui and Islamic Artifacts at Poly Art Museum's Porcelain Exhibition. In June 2022, the Poly Art Museum opened a comparative exhibition of Yuan and Ming dynasty blue-and-white porcelain from the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln ruins and collections from home and abroad, displaying some artifacts. It is useful for readers interested in Islamic Art, Porcelain, Poly Art Museum.
In June 2022, the Poly Art Museum opened a comparative exhibition of Yuan and Ming dynasty blue-and-white porcelain from the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln ruins and collections from home and abroad, displaying some artifacts related to the Hui Muslims and Islam.
A fragment of a Ming Xuande period Arabic-inscribed wudangzun (a type of vessel without a handle) unearthed at the Zhushan Imperial Kiln in Jingdezhen in 1983, now housed in the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum, mimics the shape and patterns of 14th-century Middle Eastern brass inlaid with silver. The Palace Museum's Wuying Hall displays a Ming Yongle period Arabic-inscribed wudangzun from the former Qing imperial collection; the two pieces are basically the same in shape, but there are subtle differences in the brushwork of the characters and the painting of the scrolling floral patterns. Although the Palace Museum's exhibition label says it is Arabic, it is difficult to tell what is written. It is possible that at the time, they were only imitating the shapes and patterns of similar Middle Eastern objects without mastering the content of the text.
In the Palace Museum exhibition hall, there is a comparison photo of the wudangzun and a 14th-century Egyptian Mamluk dynasty brass stand inlaid with silver from the British Museum, and the shapes are indeed exactly the same.
A fragment of a Ming Zhengde period Arabic-inscribed square basin unearthed at the northern foot of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln in 2002 looks quite large.
A Ming Zhengde period Arabic-inscribed bowl from the collection of Mr. Jin Liyan of Liangqing Shuwu. According to Mr. Jin, the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty (Li Chao Shilu) record that in the third year of the Zhengde reign (1509), the Zhengde Emperor learned about Islam: 'Hearing that Hui Muslims do not eat meat slaughtered by others, but must slaughter it by hand to eat it, and that they have a good heart for reading scriptures, he welcomed them into the palace to serve them as teachers.' "
A Ming Wanli period Persian-inscribed long-necked vase from the collection of Mr. Jin Liyan of Liangqing Shuwu, which features a Persian ruba'i (quatrain) poem. During the Ming Wanli period, Islam was treated very favorably. According to Ma Zhu's Qingzhen Zhinan (Guide to Islam) - Qing Bao Biao, 'The Shenzong Emperor issued an edict to repair mosques throughout the world, honoring them with titles. All those in charge were granted the grace of wearing official caps, exempted from corvee labor, and served to burn incense and pray to the Lord who created heaven, earth, man, spirits, and all things.' The Niujie Mosque in Beijing underwent large-scale expansion during the Wanli period, and the Sanlihe Mosque was also built during the Wanli period.
According to Mr. Jin, the Persian ruba'i (quatrain) poem mentions the great Persian poet Omar Khayyam (1048-1131), who was famous for his ruba'i quatrains.
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Beijing Halal Travel Diary in Spring 2022: Mosques, Muslim Food and City Walks (Part 1)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Beijing Halal Travel Diary in Spring 2022: Mosques, Muslim Food and City Walks (Part 1). I have been recording my Beijing Halal diary since 2016, and it has been 6 years now. It is useful for readers interested in Beijing Halal Travel, Beijing Mosques, Halal Food.
I have been recording my Beijing Halal diary since 2016, and it has been 6 years now. The Halal life in the spring of 2022 was still quite rich and colorful. In March, my mother-in-law came to Beijing and made us 15 types of Urumqi Hui Muslim delicacies. See the diaries '15 Urumqi Hui Muslim Delicacies Made by My Mother-in-law (Part 1)' and '15 Urumqi Hui Muslim Delicacies Made by My Mother-in-law (Part 2)'. April marked the beginning of Ramadan. We had Iftar (the meal to break the fast) buffets at four restaurants—Turkish, Tunisian, Jordanian, and Pakistani—which turned into a culinary tour of the Middle East and South Asia. See the diary 'Eating Turkish, Tunisian, Jordanian, and Pakistani Buffets in Beijing during Ramadan'. In May, dine-in services were suspended, so we ordered some takeout and cooked some home-style dishes. Fortunately, we finally made it through.
March 6, Hailiye at Jingguang Bridge
We ate at Hailiye next to Jingguang Bridge at noon. We had oil-drizzled beef jerky, fried rushan (a type of firm cheese), Shiping tofu, Dajiujia (a stir-fried rice noodle dish made with erkuai), braised beef, stir-fried porcini mushrooms, and Thai lime soda. Their place is always packed on weekday lunchtimes, haha, but there are very few people on weekends. It was my first time eating their stir-fried porcini mushrooms, and it tasted very fragrant.
March 8, Hot pot at home
We had hot pot at home today, using a special dipping sauce bought at the Niujie Halal Supermarket, the only one without MSG.
March 9, Chidao Yakiniku lunch set
I set aside one day every week to go to Chidao Yakiniku for a different lunch set. Today I had the beef curry set.
March 18, Chidao Yakiniku lunch set
Chidao Yakiniku's beef and egg rice set served with General's Order sushi, which has grilled eel on the outside and roasted sweet potato inside; it's very interesting.
March 23, Ali at Ritan Shangjie
I took my mother-in-law to test Ali's pilaf, rice sausage, and lung slices at Ritan Shangjie. It received her approval, and she immediately tasted that their lamb for the pilaf was shipped from Xinjiang, not local. In the end, we all enjoyed it very much. Also, their diluted yogurt, Ayran, is very authentic; one sip and I was back at a weekend bazaar in a Southern Xinjiang county. As a restaurant that can satisfy even local Xinjiang people, Ali is great~
March 27, Lili Yangke outside Guangqumen
An old Hezhou-style restaurant outside Guangqumen has reopened as Lili Yangke, specializing in Dongxiang shouzhuo (hand-grabbed lamb), and the environment is excellent. We ordered Dongxiang shouzhuo, braised lamb, Lanzhou stir-fried lily bulbs, tianbeizi (fermented sweet wheat) yogurt, a mix of highland barley cakes and corn cakes, and a super luxurious eight-treasure tea. Unfortunately, the Dongxiang chicken was sold out, so we will try it next time.
The shouzhuo was quite good; as soon as you eat it, you get the taste of Dongxiang shouzhuo. The braised lamb was a bit salty, so we added a plate of white noodles, which was just right. I love drinking the tianbeizi yogurt. They also have tianbeizi milk tea and Sprite with tianbeizi, which I guess should be very popular with young people. The eight-treasure tea contained large slices of dried pineapple, dried peach, dried kiwi, and dried apricot. The dates used were also dense Hotan dates. It counts as the most luxurious eight-treasure tea I have ever had. The highland barley cakes were very fluffy and tasted good; our whole family loves them.
April 1, Chidao Yakiniku lunch set
Chidao Yakiniku's soy-braised beef set, baked potato with cod roe, and Hokkaido cheese; the cheese was especially delicious.
April 1, Hot pot chicken from Imam Ma's Cangzhou Muguang Eight Great Bowls
Thanks to a Dost (friend) for sending the hot pot chicken from Imam Ma's Cangzhou Muguang Eight Great Bowls; it was especially delicious! The braised flavor was slightly sweet, and I couldn't get enough of it.
April 3, Clear-stewed lamb with naan (flatbread)
April 4, Medina dates bought for Ramadan
On the left are Mabroom dates, which are slender and dark brown with a candy-like texture and moderate sweetness.
In the middle are Safawi dates, which are rectangular and dark black, and relatively soft. These are also the ones that Hajj pilgrims eat more often during their time in Hejaz.
On the right are Ajwa dates, which are round, dark black, chewy, and very sweet. This is also the most famous type of date, mentioned in the Hadith, and commonly known among Hui Muslims as 'Dua dates'. Because it is mentioned in the Hadith that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'Whoever eats seven Ajwa dates every morning will not be harmed by poison or magic on that day.' ' [Sahih Bukhari] It is recorded that all Ajwa dates originally came from a date palm tree planted by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
April 5, Braised beef steak
April 7, Baizuan, a Kashgar restaurant in Shilihe
Iftar at Baizuan, a Kashgar restaurant in Shilihe. We ate lamb leg pilaf, mushrooms with wood ear fungus and meat, and freshly wrapped ququr (small dumplings). The ququr was served in lamb soup with pumpkin inside. As an authentic Xinjiang restaurant, their pilaf allows for unlimited refills. After adding more rice, pairing it with some grilled lamb and grilled lung is another kind of pleasure. Also, their pilaf side dish includes yellow carrots, which gets a thumbs up.
Before leaving, we bought Zaynab's favorite milk naan; the milky, slightly sweet, and soft naan is really too delicious.
April 16, Jinmaozhai Xilepu fried snacks
A new food court opened next to the Xianhui Supermarket on Dongsi Shitiao, and there is a Halal Jinmaozhai Xilepu fried snack shop inside, selling fried chicken, fried skewers, and so on. Yesterday I bought two skewers of fried lamb for Iftar. This shop was opened by the founder of Lao Jinji fried snacks after he was pushed out, and now it's closer to our home.
April 16, Uncle Hao's Iron Pot Stew at Changhong Bridge
Iftar at Uncle Hao's Iron Pot Stew at Changhong Bridge, eating Northeast-style iron pot stewed taimen (Hucho taimen/Siberian salmon). The owner of Qingxiangge opened three shops in this building; the first floor sells crayfish and beef banmian (pulled noodles), and the second floor is for iron pot stew.
Taimen, also known as Siberian salmon, is a large cold-water predatory fish distributed in cold regions from the Volga River to Siberia, and mainly in the Heilongjiang area in China. Taimen are huge, with a body length of over 1 meter, or even reaching 2 meters, and a weight that can reach 50 kilograms. Uncle Hao usually uses 30-kilogram taimen, cut into fish chunks, without pre-marinating.
The stew broth is made by boiling chicken bones without adding chicken essence. We also chose side dishes like golden beans, fresh tofu, and Chinese cabbage, as well as Northeast-style dipping sauce vegetables. Stew for 5 minutes first, then put half a portion of huajuan (steamed flower rolls) on the rack, and stew for another 10 minutes before eating.
Also, their service attitude is really great. The Northeast lady who is the head waitress asks every table how the taste is and how the saltiness is. She is super enthusiastic, which makes one feel warm inside.
April 18, Iftar latiaozi (hand-pulled noodles)
April 21, Braised lamb rice from Baodu Man at the east entrance of Dongsi Wutiao
Iftar, braised lamb rice from Baodu Man at the east entrance of Dongsi Wutiao, with extra meat soup and half a jin of braised lamb; it was so satisfying. Their braised lamb is tougher than the one at Gulou Chimiantang, and the different texture makes for a different experience.
April 22, Family dinner
I made braised beef ribs, and my mom made steamed flatfish.
April 26, Barbican drink
Ten years ago, when I was in college in Wuhan, the summer was stiflingly hot. Besides the 5-mao bowl of osmanthus plum juice in the cafeteria, I would occasionally splurge and buy two bottles of Dubai malt drink at the Halal imported supermarket next to the International Exchange College. Holding the chilled glass bottle in my hand felt like it was cooling me down. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed. I saw them for sale online this time and bought a few bottles. Unfortunately, there was no original flavor, so I only bought lemon flavor. I miss this feeling so much~ However, I don't want to experience the summer in Wuhan again, haha. Every time I go back to Wuhan after graduation, I choose to go in spring or autumn.
April 30, Visiting Changying
Giving out Fitr Zakat, and buying lamb heads at Zhangji.
May 1, Dost invited us for Iftar
Invited by a Dost for Iftar. The Dost's two children were super well-behaved, which increased my and Zaynab's confidence in raising children~ Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah).
May 2, Eid al-Fitr
Eid al-Fitr Mubarak!
Freshly fried youxiang (fried dough) sent to Zaynab by a Dost from Niujie. Sharing the Barakah (blessing), it was very delicious!
May 3, Gulou Chimiantang takeout
Bought cold noodles and 'liver and intestines broken' (chicken liver and chicken sausage) from Gulou Chimiantang to take home, and also drank non-alcoholic wheat beverage. Summer is coming, it's time to eat their sesame paste noodles and scallion oil noodles.
May 6, Beimencang Jinmaozhai takeout
Fried chicken legs, chicken hearts, and chicken ankles from Beimencang Jinmaozhai, and also bought squid-filled samsa (pastry).
May 8, Home-cooked meal
May 8, Huashi Mosque Quanlaishun pancake
Pancake wrapped with beef from the backyard of Huashi Mosque, served with five-grain soy milk. You can't eat this fragrant beef pancake anywhere else.
May 8, Luzhuangzi Guishunzhai in Xihuashi
Bought caozigao (traditional sponge cake) and milk-skin pastries at Luzhuangzi Guishunzhai in Xihuashi to eat for breakfast.
May 8, Chongwenmen New World Maji Handmade Dumplings
I highly recommend Maji Handmade Dumplings in the supermarket on the basement floor of Chongwenmen New World. If I hadn't decided to go to the supermarket to buy something, I would never have discovered it!
Boss Ma is a Hui Muslim from Fushun, Liaoning. Besides selling handmade dumplings with various fillings, he also makes Northeast-style cold noodles and various hand-rolled noodles. What is most admirable is that Boss Ma rolls and cuts every bowl of noodles fresh, instead of preparing them in advance, because the texture of freshly rolled and boiled noodles is really better. I was a little worried about what Boss Ma would do if there were too many people, but because the supermarket is very deserted now, it is actually difficult to encounter a situation where he is too busy.
We bought a bowl of zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste), which is the traditional Northeast egg-based zhajiang. It wasn't made too salty, and it went very well with the hand-rolled noodles. We also packed some fennel dumplings to eat at home.
Because logistics are restricted and there are too few customers, many of their dishes have not been available these past few days. I am looking forward to their Northeast-style pancakes. These were brought by Northeast people who 'crossed the border' (migrated to the Northeast) from their hometown in Shandong. You can eat them plain, or take them home to roll with stir-fried potato shreds and bean sprouts, or roll them with dipping sauce vegetables. For dumplings, you can try the less common beef and sauerkraut filling and zucchini and egg filling. Besides zhajiang, the noodles also include braised beef, minced meat with eggplant, tomato sauce, and sesame paste cold noodles. I hope this wave of the epidemic ends soon, and Boss Ma can get everything started!
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Summary: This travel note introduces Beijing Halal Travel Diary in Spring 2022: Mosques, Muslim Food and City Walks (Part 1). I have been recording my Beijing Halal diary since 2016, and it has been 6 years now. It is useful for readers interested in Beijing Halal Travel, Beijing Mosques, Halal Food.
I have been recording my Beijing Halal diary since 2016, and it has been 6 years now. The Halal life in the spring of 2022 was still quite rich and colorful. In March, my mother-in-law came to Beijing and made us 15 types of Urumqi Hui Muslim delicacies. See the diaries '15 Urumqi Hui Muslim Delicacies Made by My Mother-in-law (Part 1)' and '15 Urumqi Hui Muslim Delicacies Made by My Mother-in-law (Part 2)'. April marked the beginning of Ramadan. We had Iftar (the meal to break the fast) buffets at four restaurants—Turkish, Tunisian, Jordanian, and Pakistani—which turned into a culinary tour of the Middle East and South Asia. See the diary 'Eating Turkish, Tunisian, Jordanian, and Pakistani Buffets in Beijing during Ramadan'. In May, dine-in services were suspended, so we ordered some takeout and cooked some home-style dishes. Fortunately, we finally made it through.
March 6, Hailiye at Jingguang Bridge
We ate at Hailiye next to Jingguang Bridge at noon. We had oil-drizzled beef jerky, fried rushan (a type of firm cheese), Shiping tofu, Dajiujia (a stir-fried rice noodle dish made with erkuai), braised beef, stir-fried porcini mushrooms, and Thai lime soda. Their place is always packed on weekday lunchtimes, haha, but there are very few people on weekends. It was my first time eating their stir-fried porcini mushrooms, and it tasted very fragrant.
March 8, Hot pot at home
We had hot pot at home today, using a special dipping sauce bought at the Niujie Halal Supermarket, the only one without MSG.
March 9, Chidao Yakiniku lunch set
I set aside one day every week to go to Chidao Yakiniku for a different lunch set. Today I had the beef curry set.
March 18, Chidao Yakiniku lunch set
Chidao Yakiniku's beef and egg rice set served with General's Order sushi, which has grilled eel on the outside and roasted sweet potato inside; it's very interesting.
March 23, Ali at Ritan Shangjie
I took my mother-in-law to test Ali's pilaf, rice sausage, and lung slices at Ritan Shangjie. It received her approval, and she immediately tasted that their lamb for the pilaf was shipped from Xinjiang, not local. In the end, we all enjoyed it very much. Also, their diluted yogurt, Ayran, is very authentic; one sip and I was back at a weekend bazaar in a Southern Xinjiang county. As a restaurant that can satisfy even local Xinjiang people, Ali is great~
March 27, Lili Yangke outside Guangqumen
An old Hezhou-style restaurant outside Guangqumen has reopened as Lili Yangke, specializing in Dongxiang shouzhuo (hand-grabbed lamb), and the environment is excellent. We ordered Dongxiang shouzhuo, braised lamb, Lanzhou stir-fried lily bulbs, tianbeizi (fermented sweet wheat) yogurt, a mix of highland barley cakes and corn cakes, and a super luxurious eight-treasure tea. Unfortunately, the Dongxiang chicken was sold out, so we will try it next time.
The shouzhuo was quite good; as soon as you eat it, you get the taste of Dongxiang shouzhuo. The braised lamb was a bit salty, so we added a plate of white noodles, which was just right. I love drinking the tianbeizi yogurt. They also have tianbeizi milk tea and Sprite with tianbeizi, which I guess should be very popular with young people. The eight-treasure tea contained large slices of dried pineapple, dried peach, dried kiwi, and dried apricot. The dates used were also dense Hotan dates. It counts as the most luxurious eight-treasure tea I have ever had. The highland barley cakes were very fluffy and tasted good; our whole family loves them.
April 1, Chidao Yakiniku lunch set
Chidao Yakiniku's soy-braised beef set, baked potato with cod roe, and Hokkaido cheese; the cheese was especially delicious.
April 1, Hot pot chicken from Imam Ma's Cangzhou Muguang Eight Great Bowls
Thanks to a Dost (friend) for sending the hot pot chicken from Imam Ma's Cangzhou Muguang Eight Great Bowls; it was especially delicious! The braised flavor was slightly sweet, and I couldn't get enough of it.
April 3, Clear-stewed lamb with naan (flatbread)
April 4, Medina dates bought for Ramadan
On the left are Mabroom dates, which are slender and dark brown with a candy-like texture and moderate sweetness.
In the middle are Safawi dates, which are rectangular and dark black, and relatively soft. These are also the ones that Hajj pilgrims eat more often during their time in Hejaz.
On the right are Ajwa dates, which are round, dark black, chewy, and very sweet. This is also the most famous type of date, mentioned in the Hadith, and commonly known among Hui Muslims as 'Dua dates'. Because it is mentioned in the Hadith that the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 'Whoever eats seven Ajwa dates every morning will not be harmed by poison or magic on that day.' ' [Sahih Bukhari] It is recorded that all Ajwa dates originally came from a date palm tree planted by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
April 5, Braised beef steak
April 7, Baizuan, a Kashgar restaurant in Shilihe
Iftar at Baizuan, a Kashgar restaurant in Shilihe. We ate lamb leg pilaf, mushrooms with wood ear fungus and meat, and freshly wrapped ququr (small dumplings). The ququr was served in lamb soup with pumpkin inside. As an authentic Xinjiang restaurant, their pilaf allows for unlimited refills. After adding more rice, pairing it with some grilled lamb and grilled lung is another kind of pleasure. Also, their pilaf side dish includes yellow carrots, which gets a thumbs up.
Before leaving, we bought Zaynab's favorite milk naan; the milky, slightly sweet, and soft naan is really too delicious.
April 16, Jinmaozhai Xilepu fried snacks
A new food court opened next to the Xianhui Supermarket on Dongsi Shitiao, and there is a Halal Jinmaozhai Xilepu fried snack shop inside, selling fried chicken, fried skewers, and so on. Yesterday I bought two skewers of fried lamb for Iftar. This shop was opened by the founder of Lao Jinji fried snacks after he was pushed out, and now it's closer to our home.
April 16, Uncle Hao's Iron Pot Stew at Changhong Bridge
Iftar at Uncle Hao's Iron Pot Stew at Changhong Bridge, eating Northeast-style iron pot stewed taimen (Hucho taimen/Siberian salmon). The owner of Qingxiangge opened three shops in this building; the first floor sells crayfish and beef banmian (pulled noodles), and the second floor is for iron pot stew.
Taimen, also known as Siberian salmon, is a large cold-water predatory fish distributed in cold regions from the Volga River to Siberia, and mainly in the Heilongjiang area in China. Taimen are huge, with a body length of over 1 meter, or even reaching 2 meters, and a weight that can reach 50 kilograms. Uncle Hao usually uses 30-kilogram taimen, cut into fish chunks, without pre-marinating.
The stew broth is made by boiling chicken bones without adding chicken essence. We also chose side dishes like golden beans, fresh tofu, and Chinese cabbage, as well as Northeast-style dipping sauce vegetables. Stew for 5 minutes first, then put half a portion of huajuan (steamed flower rolls) on the rack, and stew for another 10 minutes before eating.
Also, their service attitude is really great. The Northeast lady who is the head waitress asks every table how the taste is and how the saltiness is. She is super enthusiastic, which makes one feel warm inside.
April 18, Iftar latiaozi (hand-pulled noodles)
April 21, Braised lamb rice from Baodu Man at the east entrance of Dongsi Wutiao
Iftar, braised lamb rice from Baodu Man at the east entrance of Dongsi Wutiao, with extra meat soup and half a jin of braised lamb; it was so satisfying. Their braised lamb is tougher than the one at Gulou Chimiantang, and the different texture makes for a different experience.
April 22, Family dinner
I made braised beef ribs, and my mom made steamed flatfish.
April 26, Barbican drink
Ten years ago, when I was in college in Wuhan, the summer was stiflingly hot. Besides the 5-mao bowl of osmanthus plum juice in the cafeteria, I would occasionally splurge and buy two bottles of Dubai malt drink at the Halal imported supermarket next to the International Exchange College. Holding the chilled glass bottle in my hand felt like it was cooling me down. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed. I saw them for sale online this time and bought a few bottles. Unfortunately, there was no original flavor, so I only bought lemon flavor. I miss this feeling so much~ However, I don't want to experience the summer in Wuhan again, haha. Every time I go back to Wuhan after graduation, I choose to go in spring or autumn.
April 30, Visiting Changying
Giving out Fitr Zakat, and buying lamb heads at Zhangji.
May 1, Dost invited us for Iftar
Invited by a Dost for Iftar. The Dost's two children were super well-behaved, which increased my and Zaynab's confidence in raising children~ Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah).
May 2, Eid al-Fitr
Eid al-Fitr Mubarak!
Freshly fried youxiang (fried dough) sent to Zaynab by a Dost from Niujie. Sharing the Barakah (blessing), it was very delicious!
May 3, Gulou Chimiantang takeout
Bought cold noodles and 'liver and intestines broken' (chicken liver and chicken sausage) from Gulou Chimiantang to take home, and also drank non-alcoholic wheat beverage. Summer is coming, it's time to eat their sesame paste noodles and scallion oil noodles.
May 6, Beimencang Jinmaozhai takeout
Fried chicken legs, chicken hearts, and chicken ankles from Beimencang Jinmaozhai, and also bought squid-filled samsa (pastry).
May 8, Home-cooked meal
May 8, Huashi Mosque Quanlaishun pancake
Pancake wrapped with beef from the backyard of Huashi Mosque, served with five-grain soy milk. You can't eat this fragrant beef pancake anywhere else.
May 8, Luzhuangzi Guishunzhai in Xihuashi
Bought caozigao (traditional sponge cake) and milk-skin pastries at Luzhuangzi Guishunzhai in Xihuashi to eat for breakfast.
May 8, Chongwenmen New World Maji Handmade Dumplings
I highly recommend Maji Handmade Dumplings in the supermarket on the basement floor of Chongwenmen New World. If I hadn't decided to go to the supermarket to buy something, I would never have discovered it!
Boss Ma is a Hui Muslim from Fushun, Liaoning. Besides selling handmade dumplings with various fillings, he also makes Northeast-style cold noodles and various hand-rolled noodles. What is most admirable is that Boss Ma rolls and cuts every bowl of noodles fresh, instead of preparing them in advance, because the texture of freshly rolled and boiled noodles is really better. I was a little worried about what Boss Ma would do if there were too many people, but because the supermarket is very deserted now, it is actually difficult to encounter a situation where he is too busy.
We bought a bowl of zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste), which is the traditional Northeast egg-based zhajiang. It wasn't made too salty, and it went very well with the hand-rolled noodles. We also packed some fennel dumplings to eat at home.
Because logistics are restricted and there are too few customers, many of their dishes have not been available these past few days. I am looking forward to their Northeast-style pancakes. These were brought by Northeast people who 'crossed the border' (migrated to the Northeast) from their hometown in Shandong. You can eat them plain, or take them home to roll with stir-fried potato shreds and bean sprouts, or roll them with dipping sauce vegetables. For dumplings, you can try the less common beef and sauerkraut filling and zucchini and egg filling. Besides zhajiang, the noodles also include braised beef, minced meat with eggplant, tomato sauce, and sesame paste cold noodles. I hope this wave of the epidemic ends soon, and Boss Ma can get everything started!
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Beijing Halal Travel Diary in Spring 2022: Mosques, Muslim Food and City Walks (Part 2)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Beijing Halal Travel Diary in Spring 2022: Mosques, Muslim Food and City Walks (Part 2). Shouzhuafan (hand-grabbed rice) takeout from Yanlanlou at Dongsi Shitiao. It is useful for readers interested in Beijing Halal Travel, Beijing Mosques, Halal Food.
May 10, braised lamb leg.
May 11, Yanlanlou takeout.
Shouzhuafan (hand-grabbed rice) takeout from Yanlanlou at Dongsi Shitiao.
May 11, Gulou Chimian takeout.
Egg sauce noodles takeout from Gulou Chimian; you can choose to boil the noodles yourself.
May 15, Longxianghui takeout.
Semi-DIY yangrou paomo (crumbled flatbread in lamb soup) from Longxianghui, a Gansu Pingliang restaurant on Dongsi North Street. The vermicelli, lamb, broth, green onions, and cilantro are all packed separately. After bringing it home, boil the broth, add the vermicelli and lamb for 20 seconds, then serve and top with green onions, cilantro, and chili sauce. Also bought iced apricot skin tea, which is perfect for such nice weather in Beijing!
May 15, Dapanji (big plate chicken).
Before working from home, we bought a five-jin free-range black-clawed rooster from Changying. Zainabu used half of it to make Dapanji, using a secret seasoning passed down in her family for decades. Even I don't know the recipe, haha, but it is truly delicious.
May 24, Longxianghui takeout.
Summer cooling delicacies from Longxianghui on Dongsi North Street: cold-dressed beef, niujinmian (beef tendon noodles), liangpizi (cold skin noodles), tianbeizi (fermented oat dessert), and iced tianbeizi milk tea.
May 24, minced meat shouzhuafan.
Minced meat shouzhuafan made by Zainabu.
May 29, Jinying meatball soup takeout.
Beef marrow bones, jiaomaji (numbing spicy chicken), shouzhuafan, and meatball soup from Jinying. We had a great meal; their jiaomaji this time was excellent and very numbing. Ten years ago when I was in college, I would return to Beijing for summer break and go to the meatball soup shop several times a week for shouzhuafan; I could never get enough of it.
May 29, Roubingwan takeout.
Premium meat pie from Roubingwan in Niujie. From the crust to the meat and the flavor, it is the gold standard of Beijing meat pies. Every time we eat it, Zainabu and I can't stop praising it, but it must be eaten hot right out of the pan.
May 30, old Beijing beef stew noodles.
I made old Beijing beef stew noodles today using beef brisket I bought from Douban Maji earlier. Personally, I think it tastes even better than what I've had at Xinyuezhai or Baodu Xiaobaimao—and the method is actually quite simple.
May 31, homemade yogurt.
Zainabu's homemade yogurt, made with Xiyu Chun yogurt as a starter and Sanyuan fresh milk. The taste is just like Xiyu Chun, and it's thick and viscous.
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Summary: This travel note introduces Beijing Halal Travel Diary in Spring 2022: Mosques, Muslim Food and City Walks (Part 2). Shouzhuafan (hand-grabbed rice) takeout from Yanlanlou at Dongsi Shitiao. It is useful for readers interested in Beijing Halal Travel, Beijing Mosques, Halal Food.
May 10, braised lamb leg.
May 11, Yanlanlou takeout.
Shouzhuafan (hand-grabbed rice) takeout from Yanlanlou at Dongsi Shitiao.
May 11, Gulou Chimian takeout.
Egg sauce noodles takeout from Gulou Chimian; you can choose to boil the noodles yourself.
May 15, Longxianghui takeout.
Semi-DIY yangrou paomo (crumbled flatbread in lamb soup) from Longxianghui, a Gansu Pingliang restaurant on Dongsi North Street. The vermicelli, lamb, broth, green onions, and cilantro are all packed separately. After bringing it home, boil the broth, add the vermicelli and lamb for 20 seconds, then serve and top with green onions, cilantro, and chili sauce. Also bought iced apricot skin tea, which is perfect for such nice weather in Beijing!
May 15, Dapanji (big plate chicken).
Before working from home, we bought a five-jin free-range black-clawed rooster from Changying. Zainabu used half of it to make Dapanji, using a secret seasoning passed down in her family for decades. Even I don't know the recipe, haha, but it is truly delicious.
May 24, Longxianghui takeout.
Summer cooling delicacies from Longxianghui on Dongsi North Street: cold-dressed beef, niujinmian (beef tendon noodles), liangpizi (cold skin noodles), tianbeizi (fermented oat dessert), and iced tianbeizi milk tea.
May 24, minced meat shouzhuafan.
Minced meat shouzhuafan made by Zainabu.
May 29, Jinying meatball soup takeout.
Beef marrow bones, jiaomaji (numbing spicy chicken), shouzhuafan, and meatball soup from Jinying. We had a great meal; their jiaomaji this time was excellent and very numbing. Ten years ago when I was in college, I would return to Beijing for summer break and go to the meatball soup shop several times a week for shouzhuafan; I could never get enough of it.
May 29, Roubingwan takeout.
Premium meat pie from Roubingwan in Niujie. From the crust to the meat and the flavor, it is the gold standard of Beijing meat pies. Every time we eat it, Zainabu and I can't stop praising it, but it must be eaten hot right out of the pan.
May 30, old Beijing beef stew noodles.
I made old Beijing beef stew noodles today using beef brisket I bought from Douban Maji earlier. Personally, I think it tastes even better than what I've had at Xinyuezhai or Baodu Xiaobaimao—and the method is actually quite simple.
May 31, homemade yogurt.
Zainabu's homemade yogurt, made with Xiyu Chun yogurt as a starter and Sanyuan fresh milk. The taste is just like Xiyu Chun, and it's thick and viscous.
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My Hui and Islamic Collection: Muslim Artifacts from Republican China
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces My Hui and Islamic Collection: Muslim Artifacts from Republican China. Unable to leave Beijing for over a year, I started hunting for old items related to Hui Muslims online, and now I am sharing them with everyone one by one. I will start by posting a few from the Republic of China era. It is useful for readers interested in Islamic Collectibles, Hui Muslims, Republican China.
Unable to leave Beijing for over a year, I started hunting for old items related to Hui Muslims online, and now I am sharing them with everyone one by one. I will start by posting a few from the Republic of China era.
A Zhengxingde tea canister from the Republic of China era; its condition is still decent, and it contains a lot of information. It is written inside that the Zhengxingde headquarters at the time was at Zhugan Lane outside the North Gate of Tianjin, and the branch was on the east side of Lizhan Avenue in the French Concession. At that time, Zhengxingde had branches in Beiping, Baoding, and Cangxian, while its tea-scenting factories were distributed in Fuzhou, Sukou, Hangzhou, Chun'an, Huizhou, Huangshan, Huoshan, and Jieyuan.
It is also written on it that the tea canister was self-made by the Zhengxingde Canister Manufacturing Department and printed by the Zhicheng Flower Iron Printing Paper Factory inside the North Gate of Tianjin.
A "Hui Muslim-made" hurricane lamp. Although I haven't found the origin of this hurricane lamp, it is indeed very unique. German-style hurricane lamps were widely equipped in the military during the Republic of China era; not only the Nationalist army but even the Red Army were equipped with them. My hurricane lamp might have been used by the Hui Muslim Detachment at that time and followed them into battle.
First, you can see that "Meizuishi" and the Meizuishi trademark are written on the glass shade of the hurricane lamp. Meizuishi was a famous German trading firm during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, which distributed a large number of hurricane lamps in China. The hurricane lamp I hunted for is basically the same in shape as the three-hoop Meizuishi hurricane lamp from the same period of the Republic of China, but the characters on the base are completely different.
Generally, the base of a Meizuishi hurricane lamp would have "Meizuishi" or "Meizuishi Made in Germany" written on it, along with the German word "FEUERHAND" and the Firehand trademark. Feuerhand (Firehand) was the world's largest manufacturer of hurricane lamps during the Republic of China era, basically synonymous with hurricane lamps, and on the right, there would be the model of the lamp, generally 201, 252, 270, etc. At the very top, it would say "MADE IN GERMANY" in English, but the one I hunted for is not like this.
The base of the hurricane lamp I hunted for says "Warship Brand, Hui Muslim-made," and the trademark in the middle is unclear; it also seems to be a warship at sea. I searched for a long time but could not find a hurricane lamp brand called "Warship." Further up, it says "HWAHSO," which seems to be a transliteration of the Firehand hurricane lamp, and above that, it says "MADE IN CHINA."
Qingzhen Xiangyicheng Southern-style tribute pastries from "Taolizhuang, West of Zhangbei County Town."
Taolizhuang is located on the Bashang Grassland in Zhangjiakou. It was originally a pasture for the Chahar Mongol tribe. After the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims began to move there to reclaim land. The current ancient mosque in Xichengyao, Taolizhuang, was built during the Yongzheng reign.
A postcard of the Changtong Road Mosque in Changchun around 1935. Changchun was the capital of the puppet Manchukuo state, Xinjing, at that time, and the Changtong Road Mosque was also the main mosque of Islam in the puppet Manchukuo state.
During the puppet Manchukuo period, Japan issued many postcards of the Changchun Changtong Road Mosque. The one I hunted for is relatively clear; the words on the door, "Manchuria Islamic Association Xinjing Branch," can be seen clearly, and you can also see the electric wires pulled in the mosque and the horse-tethering posts at the entrance. The Manchuria Islamic Association was established in 1934, with Kawamura Kyodo as president, and it had 146 branches at that time. In 1936, it was renamed the Manchuria Muslim Association, increasing to 182 branches. In 1938, it was reorganized by the Japanese Kwantung Army, the presidency was abolished, and Wang Dianzhong, a Hui Muslim and general in the puppet Manchukuo army from Yingkou, was appointed as the director-general. The puppet Manchukuo government's Ministry of Public Security allocated funds, and by 1942, the number of branches increased to 192.
The postcard was produced in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, and the brand is called "TAISHO." This brand has a pigeon trademark, which is different from the eagle trademark of Taisho Pharmaceutical's "TAISHO," so I haven't found out which brand it actually is.
The Changtong Road Mosque was first built in 1824 and has been expanded many times since; it is a rare Qing Dynasty building in Changchun. The earliest Hui Muslims who moved to Changchun were called the "Shandong Group." The Han and Li families from Hanjiachai, Tai'an, Shandong, were the first to arrive in Changchunpu, where the Changchun government office was located, after 1800 to settle down. After the Changchun government office moved to Kuanchengzi in 1825, the Han and Li families also moved into the city. Since then, Hui Muslims from Shandong and Hebei have continuously moved to Changchun.
A military postcard used by the invading Japanese army. The front shows the main hall of the Hohhot Great Mosque taken by an embedded reporter, with "(Mongolia Hohhot) mosque Islamic Prayer Hall" written on the right, and "Postcard" and "Military Mail" written on the back. In 1937, Prince De established the Mongol United Autonomous Government in Guisui, renaming Guisui City to Hohhot City, abbreviated as Hohhot, until it was changed back to Guisui City after Japan's defeat in 1945.
In the photo I took of the main hall of the Hohhot Mosque, you can see that the couplets and the Tasmiya (the phrase 'In the name of Allah') plaque inside the main hall have not changed today, but the Mihrab (prayer niche) and the doors on both sides no longer exist.
Packaging for Ruixiangge sanitary incense, with the address at No. 27, Xiaoshikou, Northeast of Huashi, outside Chongwenmen, Beijing.
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Summary: This travel note introduces My Hui and Islamic Collection: Muslim Artifacts from Republican China. Unable to leave Beijing for over a year, I started hunting for old items related to Hui Muslims online, and now I am sharing them with everyone one by one. I will start by posting a few from the Republic of China era. It is useful for readers interested in Islamic Collectibles, Hui Muslims, Republican China.
Unable to leave Beijing for over a year, I started hunting for old items related to Hui Muslims online, and now I am sharing them with everyone one by one. I will start by posting a few from the Republic of China era.
A Zhengxingde tea canister from the Republic of China era; its condition is still decent, and it contains a lot of information. It is written inside that the Zhengxingde headquarters at the time was at Zhugan Lane outside the North Gate of Tianjin, and the branch was on the east side of Lizhan Avenue in the French Concession. At that time, Zhengxingde had branches in Beiping, Baoding, and Cangxian, while its tea-scenting factories were distributed in Fuzhou, Sukou, Hangzhou, Chun'an, Huizhou, Huangshan, Huoshan, and Jieyuan.
It is also written on it that the tea canister was self-made by the Zhengxingde Canister Manufacturing Department and printed by the Zhicheng Flower Iron Printing Paper Factory inside the North Gate of Tianjin.
A "Hui Muslim-made" hurricane lamp. Although I haven't found the origin of this hurricane lamp, it is indeed very unique. German-style hurricane lamps were widely equipped in the military during the Republic of China era; not only the Nationalist army but even the Red Army were equipped with them. My hurricane lamp might have been used by the Hui Muslim Detachment at that time and followed them into battle.
First, you can see that "Meizuishi" and the Meizuishi trademark are written on the glass shade of the hurricane lamp. Meizuishi was a famous German trading firm during the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, which distributed a large number of hurricane lamps in China. The hurricane lamp I hunted for is basically the same in shape as the three-hoop Meizuishi hurricane lamp from the same period of the Republic of China, but the characters on the base are completely different.
Generally, the base of a Meizuishi hurricane lamp would have "Meizuishi" or "Meizuishi Made in Germany" written on it, along with the German word "FEUERHAND" and the Firehand trademark. Feuerhand (Firehand) was the world's largest manufacturer of hurricane lamps during the Republic of China era, basically synonymous with hurricane lamps, and on the right, there would be the model of the lamp, generally 201, 252, 270, etc. At the very top, it would say "MADE IN GERMANY" in English, but the one I hunted for is not like this.
The base of the hurricane lamp I hunted for says "Warship Brand, Hui Muslim-made," and the trademark in the middle is unclear; it also seems to be a warship at sea. I searched for a long time but could not find a hurricane lamp brand called "Warship." Further up, it says "HWAHSO," which seems to be a transliteration of the Firehand hurricane lamp, and above that, it says "MADE IN CHINA."
Qingzhen Xiangyicheng Southern-style tribute pastries from "Taolizhuang, West of Zhangbei County Town."
Taolizhuang is located on the Bashang Grassland in Zhangjiakou. It was originally a pasture for the Chahar Mongol tribe. After the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty, Hui Muslims began to move there to reclaim land. The current ancient mosque in Xichengyao, Taolizhuang, was built during the Yongzheng reign.
A postcard of the Changtong Road Mosque in Changchun around 1935. Changchun was the capital of the puppet Manchukuo state, Xinjing, at that time, and the Changtong Road Mosque was also the main mosque of Islam in the puppet Manchukuo state.
During the puppet Manchukuo period, Japan issued many postcards of the Changchun Changtong Road Mosque. The one I hunted for is relatively clear; the words on the door, "Manchuria Islamic Association Xinjing Branch," can be seen clearly, and you can also see the electric wires pulled in the mosque and the horse-tethering posts at the entrance. The Manchuria Islamic Association was established in 1934, with Kawamura Kyodo as president, and it had 146 branches at that time. In 1936, it was renamed the Manchuria Muslim Association, increasing to 182 branches. In 1938, it was reorganized by the Japanese Kwantung Army, the presidency was abolished, and Wang Dianzhong, a Hui Muslim and general in the puppet Manchukuo army from Yingkou, was appointed as the director-general. The puppet Manchukuo government's Ministry of Public Security allocated funds, and by 1942, the number of branches increased to 192.
The postcard was produced in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan, and the brand is called "TAISHO." This brand has a pigeon trademark, which is different from the eagle trademark of Taisho Pharmaceutical's "TAISHO," so I haven't found out which brand it actually is.
The Changtong Road Mosque was first built in 1824 and has been expanded many times since; it is a rare Qing Dynasty building in Changchun. The earliest Hui Muslims who moved to Changchun were called the "Shandong Group." The Han and Li families from Hanjiachai, Tai'an, Shandong, were the first to arrive in Changchunpu, where the Changchun government office was located, after 1800 to settle down. After the Changchun government office moved to Kuanchengzi in 1825, the Han and Li families also moved into the city. Since then, Hui Muslims from Shandong and Hebei have continuously moved to Changchun.
A military postcard used by the invading Japanese army. The front shows the main hall of the Hohhot Great Mosque taken by an embedded reporter, with "(Mongolia Hohhot) mosque Islamic Prayer Hall" written on the right, and "Postcard" and "Military Mail" written on the back. In 1937, Prince De established the Mongol United Autonomous Government in Guisui, renaming Guisui City to Hohhot City, abbreviated as Hohhot, until it was changed back to Guisui City after Japan's defeat in 1945.
In the photo I took of the main hall of the Hohhot Mosque, you can see that the couplets and the Tasmiya (the phrase 'In the name of Allah') plaque inside the main hall have not changed today, but the Mihrab (prayer niche) and the doors on both sides no longer exist.
Packaging for Ruixiangge sanitary incense, with the address at No. 27, Xiaoshikou, Northeast of Huashi, outside Chongwenmen, Beijing.
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A Qing-Dynasty Salar Muslim Minaret in Beijing: Hidden Muslim Heritage
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces A Qing-Dynasty Salar Muslim Minaret in Beijing: Hidden Muslim Heritage. I went for a walk at the Beijing Chinese Ethnic Culture Park (Zhonghua Minzu Yuan) last weekend and was surprised to find a Qing Dynasty minaret of the Salar people in the North Park. It is useful for readers interested in Salar Muslims, Beijing Mosque, Minaret.
I went for a walk at the Beijing Chinese Ethnic Culture Park (Zhonghua Minzu Yuan) last weekend and was surprised to find a Qing Dynasty minaret of the Salar people in the North Park. I read the introduction, which says it was relocated from Shangbaizhuang Village, Baizhuang Township, Xunhua in 2003. This practice violates the principles of protecting immovable cultural relics, causing the loss of the historical information and cultural significance of the immovable relics, and I personally do not agree with it. However, looking at the reality, before the Salar mosque architectural complex was selected as a national protected site in 2013, some Qing Dynasty mosque historical buildings were successively demolished and rebuilt by the local community; if this minaret had not been relocated, it might have also faced the possibility of being demolished.
I am sharing here the Salar minarets I photographed previously.
The minaret of Qingshuihe East Mosque
The minaret of Mengda Mosque
The minaret of Tashapo Mosque
The minaret of Labian Mosque
The minaret of Zhangga Mosque
The minaret of Kewa Mosque
The minaret of Ahetan Mosque
In 2003, the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park also relocated a Qing Dynasty Salar libalou (fence-style building) from Mengda Village in Xunhua, moving it along with the furniture. Now the west side is the original building, and the east side is a new construction modeled after the west side. However, placing a tangping (a traditional Islamic ewer for ritual washing) on the table seems out of place; there should be an incense burner on the table instead.
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Summary: This travel note introduces A Qing-Dynasty Salar Muslim Minaret in Beijing: Hidden Muslim Heritage. I went for a walk at the Beijing Chinese Ethnic Culture Park (Zhonghua Minzu Yuan) last weekend and was surprised to find a Qing Dynasty minaret of the Salar people in the North Park. It is useful for readers interested in Salar Muslims, Beijing Mosque, Minaret.
I went for a walk at the Beijing Chinese Ethnic Culture Park (Zhonghua Minzu Yuan) last weekend and was surprised to find a Qing Dynasty minaret of the Salar people in the North Park. I read the introduction, which says it was relocated from Shangbaizhuang Village, Baizhuang Township, Xunhua in 2003. This practice violates the principles of protecting immovable cultural relics, causing the loss of the historical information and cultural significance of the immovable relics, and I personally do not agree with it. However, looking at the reality, before the Salar mosque architectural complex was selected as a national protected site in 2013, some Qing Dynasty mosque historical buildings were successively demolished and rebuilt by the local community; if this minaret had not been relocated, it might have also faced the possibility of being demolished.
I am sharing here the Salar minarets I photographed previously.
The minaret of Qingshuihe East Mosque
The minaret of Mengda Mosque
The minaret of Tashapo Mosque
The minaret of Labian Mosque
The minaret of Zhangga Mosque
The minaret of Kewa Mosque
The minaret of Ahetan Mosque
In 2003, the Chinese Ethnic Culture Park also relocated a Qing Dynasty Salar libalou (fence-style building) from Mengda Village in Xunhua, moving it along with the furniture. Now the west side is the original building, and the east side is a new construction modeled after the west side. However, placing a tangping (a traditional Islamic ewer for ritual washing) on the table seems out of place; there should be an incense burner on the table instead.
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Mosque Stele at Beijing Wuta Temple: Ma Linyi, Ma Xiyuan and Muslim Heritage
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Mosque Stele at Beijing Wuta Temple: Ma Linyi, Ma Xiyuan and Muslim Heritage. Outside the northwest gate of the Beijing Zoo, there is the Wuta Si (Five Pagoda Mosque) built during the Ming Dynasty, which became the Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum after 1987. It is useful for readers interested in Wuta Temple, Mosque Stele, Beijing Muslims.
Outside the northwest gate of the Beijing Zoo, there is the Wuta Si (Five Pagoda Mosque) built during the Ming Dynasty, which became the Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum after 1987. June 11th happened to be the Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, and Zaynab and I went to visit the museum. In a corner of the stele forest, we discovered a precious stele from the Republic of China era belonging to a mosque. It records how in 1934, the famous educator of the Republic of China, Ma Linyi, and Ma Xiyuan, the father of the famous Peking opera master Ma Lianliang, funded the students and teachers of Islamic studies at the Sanlihe Mosque outside Fuchengmen in Beijing.
After returning home and looking up some information, I found that most articles introducing the Sanlihe Mosque do not seem to mention this stele. I also do not know why this stele was not kept in the mosque but was moved to the museum instead. I will transcribe the inscription here to share with everyone. There are a few characters I cannot see clearly, so I ask for everyone's help in identifying them:
Because our mosque has always lacked funds to support the teachers and students of Islamic studies, we have constantly felt the difficulty. Now, thanks to Minister Ma Zhenwu from Hunan and Mr. Ma Xiyuan, a board member of this mosque, we have jointly purchased a property at the southwest corner of our mosque, totaling twelve rooms of various sizes, as detailed in the contract. The price was five hundred silver yuan, with each party paying half. All expenses for tax deeds, erecting the stele, repairs, etc., totaling over two hundred yuan, were shared by the board members of this community. From now on, this property shall forever belong to this mosque and may not be sold or mortgaged. The monthly rental income shall be used to provide subsidies for the teachers and students of Islamic studies at this mosque and may not be used for other purposes. The contract documents and finances shall be managed by the current Imam and the board members. Every year during the major festival of Eid al-Fitr, the Imam or board members of this mosque shall lead the students to recite the Quran at the two families' cemeteries, a tradition to be kept forever. Furthermore, the board members have collectively agreed to hand over the contract documents and finances when appointing a new Imam; at that time, the manager will hand over the contract documents and finances to the current Imam to manage.
Minister Zhenwu's cemetery is at Fenghuang [location] in [location] village, about two li west of Sanlihe Mosque; Mr. Xiyuan's cemetery is on the north side of the road at the west end of this street, recorded as [location].
Inside the mosque, the original [donations] were 70 yuan... Hengji mietie (charitable donation) 5 yuan... Zhang Songshan mietie 5 yuan... Ma Peilin mietie 5 yuan... Wan Yuwang mietie 2 yuan, Xi Yuxing mietie 2 yuan, Ma Dewang mietie 2 yuan, Li Yongxiang mietie 2 yuan, Feng Shengshan mietie 1 yuan, Liu Zhong mietie 1 yuan, Cang Yuan[X] mietie 1 yuan, Yang Denghua mietie 1 yuan, Yang Tangrui mietie 1 yuan, Wan Qirui mietie 3 yuan, and over 10 yuan from individual households. Signed by the board members.
Erected in May of the 23rd year of the Republic of China.
The 'Minister Ma Zhenwu from Hunan' mentioned in the stele is the famous educator Ma Linyi. Ma Linyi was born in Shaoyang, Hunan, in 1864, and his father was the great Islamic scholar Imam Ma Yanxi. He passed the imperial examination in 1902, was sent to Japan for study in 1904, and later returned to Hunan to actively run schools. In 1906, he founded the Qingzhen Xiejin Primary School in Shaoyang, and later added the Xiejin Middle School, which were the earliest modern schools for Hui Muslims in Hunan.
In 1908, Ma Linyi was transferred to the Qing Dynasty Ministry of Education as a secretary, and thus came to Beijing. In 1908, Wang Kuan founded the Jingshi Qingzhen First Primary School inside the Niujie Mosque, and Ma Linyi actively planned it and served as the supervisor. He applied for subsidies from the Beijing Education Bureau in the name of the school and was finally approved to receive 40 taels per month as operating funds for the school. In 1909, Ma Linyi again assisted Wang Kuan in reporting to the Beijing Education Supervision Bureau to establish the Islamic Education Association.
In 1912, while serving as Vice Minister of Education, Ma Linyi founded the China Islamic Progressive Association with the support of Sun Yat-sen and served as its president. He changed his courtesy name from 'Zhenwu' to 'Zhenwu' (using a different character for 'wu'), meaning 'revitalizing the five ethnic groups'. Between 1912 and 1919, Ma Linyi spent 7 years running schools in Gansu, founding over one hundred schools for Hui Muslims and cultivating a large number of talents. In 1919, he was transferred to be the Director of the Zhili Education Department, where he secured 300,000 yuan for the Hui Muslim education fund, making a huge contribution.
In the 1920s, Ma Linyi held various positions in the Nationalist Government, including Minister of Education. After the success of the Northern Expedition in 1928, Hui Muslim intellectuals in Beijing were determined to establish their own middle school so that Hui Muslim youth could continue their studies after graduating from primary school. In the same year, Ma Linyi participated in the founding of the Qingzhen Middle School on the site of the old Niujie garrison office and served as vice chairman, receiving support from various Nationalist Party figures in Beijing. In 1929, Ma Linyi served as a school board member of the Beiping Chengda Normal School, actively updating the curriculum and improving teaching methods, which allowed Chengda Normal School to develop into a modern school. In his later years, Ma Linyi devoted himself to the faith and served as an advisor to Wang Jingzhai for his translation of the Quran.
In 1938, Ma Linyi passed away in Beiping and was buried in the Sanlihe Hui Muslim cemetery.
The 'Mr. Ma Xiyuan, a board member of this mosque' mentioned in the stele is the father of the Peking opera master Ma Lianliang. Ma Xiyuan was born in 1868, with ancestral roots in Shandong. His father, Ma Yongxiang, settled in Beijing during the Xianfeng period and opened a teahouse opposite the Fuchengmen Arrow Tower, known as the 'Menma Teahouse'. The Menma Teahouse had a stage for music, and Peking opera enthusiasts and famous performers often came to sing there. It was very lively and a famous venue for Peking opera. Influenced by Peking opera, Ma Xiyuan sent his son Ma Lianliang to the Xiliancheng opera troupe to learn acting, which eventually made Ma Lianliang a master of his generation, the founder of the Ma school of old male roles, and the head of the 'Four Great Male Role Actors'.
Ma Xiyuan himself was very pious, never missing his five daily prayers, and he sent his son Ma Lianliang to the Sanlihe Mosque to study the Quran when he was 5 years old. In 1930, Ma Lianliang bought the entire courtyard at No. 7 Dongdoufu Lane outside Chongwenmen and renovated the west room of the front courtyard into a prayer hall for Ma Xiyuan to perform his five daily prayers, which was very rare in Hui Muslim families at that time.
Ma Xiyuan was enthusiastic about public welfare for the faith and was known as 'Ma the Philanthropist'. In 1908, he participated in the founding of the Qingzhen Public Fifth Primary School inside the Huashi Mosque outside Chongwenmen. It was renamed the Qingzhen Culture Primary School in 1912 and the Beiping Qingzhen Second Primary School in 1929. Ma Xiyuan actively donated funds and served as chairman of the board. In 1928, Hui Muslim youth in the Niujie area founded the private Zhongcai Primary School in Madao Hutong. It received the praise and support of Ma Xiyuan, who served as a school board member and lent the school an organ he had treasured for many years for music teaching. Every Jumu'ah (Friday), Ma Xiyuan would cook porridge at his doorstep to give as charity to poor Hui Muslims, and he would also give out warm clothes in the winter. In 1935, Ma Xiyuan passed away due to illness and was buried in the Sanlihe Hui Muslim cemetery.
I will also share a postcard of a watercolor painting of the Sanlihe Mosque issued in 1956 from my collection. On the back, there is a New Year's greeting written by a student to their teacher 66 years ago. The artist of this painting is Guan Guangzhi, a first-generation master of watercolor painting in China, who painted many landscapes of the ancient capital, Beijing.
I took photos of the Sanlihe Mosque before, but unfortunately, it was in the afternoon and there was some backlight. I will go back to take photos again when the mosque reopens.
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Summary: This travel note introduces Mosque Stele at Beijing Wuta Temple: Ma Linyi, Ma Xiyuan and Muslim Heritage. Outside the northwest gate of the Beijing Zoo, there is the Wuta Si (Five Pagoda Mosque) built during the Ming Dynasty, which became the Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum after 1987. It is useful for readers interested in Wuta Temple, Mosque Stele, Beijing Muslims.
Outside the northwest gate of the Beijing Zoo, there is the Wuta Si (Five Pagoda Mosque) built during the Ming Dynasty, which became the Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum after 1987. June 11th happened to be the Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, and Zaynab and I went to visit the museum. In a corner of the stele forest, we discovered a precious stele from the Republic of China era belonging to a mosque. It records how in 1934, the famous educator of the Republic of China, Ma Linyi, and Ma Xiyuan, the father of the famous Peking opera master Ma Lianliang, funded the students and teachers of Islamic studies at the Sanlihe Mosque outside Fuchengmen in Beijing.
After returning home and looking up some information, I found that most articles introducing the Sanlihe Mosque do not seem to mention this stele. I also do not know why this stele was not kept in the mosque but was moved to the museum instead. I will transcribe the inscription here to share with everyone. There are a few characters I cannot see clearly, so I ask for everyone's help in identifying them:
Because our mosque has always lacked funds to support the teachers and students of Islamic studies, we have constantly felt the difficulty. Now, thanks to Minister Ma Zhenwu from Hunan and Mr. Ma Xiyuan, a board member of this mosque, we have jointly purchased a property at the southwest corner of our mosque, totaling twelve rooms of various sizes, as detailed in the contract. The price was five hundred silver yuan, with each party paying half. All expenses for tax deeds, erecting the stele, repairs, etc., totaling over two hundred yuan, were shared by the board members of this community. From now on, this property shall forever belong to this mosque and may not be sold or mortgaged. The monthly rental income shall be used to provide subsidies for the teachers and students of Islamic studies at this mosque and may not be used for other purposes. The contract documents and finances shall be managed by the current Imam and the board members. Every year during the major festival of Eid al-Fitr, the Imam or board members of this mosque shall lead the students to recite the Quran at the two families' cemeteries, a tradition to be kept forever. Furthermore, the board members have collectively agreed to hand over the contract documents and finances when appointing a new Imam; at that time, the manager will hand over the contract documents and finances to the current Imam to manage.
Minister Zhenwu's cemetery is at Fenghuang [location] in [location] village, about two li west of Sanlihe Mosque; Mr. Xiyuan's cemetery is on the north side of the road at the west end of this street, recorded as [location].
Inside the mosque, the original [donations] were 70 yuan... Hengji mietie (charitable donation) 5 yuan... Zhang Songshan mietie 5 yuan... Ma Peilin mietie 5 yuan... Wan Yuwang mietie 2 yuan, Xi Yuxing mietie 2 yuan, Ma Dewang mietie 2 yuan, Li Yongxiang mietie 2 yuan, Feng Shengshan mietie 1 yuan, Liu Zhong mietie 1 yuan, Cang Yuan[X] mietie 1 yuan, Yang Denghua mietie 1 yuan, Yang Tangrui mietie 1 yuan, Wan Qirui mietie 3 yuan, and over 10 yuan from individual households. Signed by the board members.
Erected in May of the 23rd year of the Republic of China.
The 'Minister Ma Zhenwu from Hunan' mentioned in the stele is the famous educator Ma Linyi. Ma Linyi was born in Shaoyang, Hunan, in 1864, and his father was the great Islamic scholar Imam Ma Yanxi. He passed the imperial examination in 1902, was sent to Japan for study in 1904, and later returned to Hunan to actively run schools. In 1906, he founded the Qingzhen Xiejin Primary School in Shaoyang, and later added the Xiejin Middle School, which were the earliest modern schools for Hui Muslims in Hunan.
In 1908, Ma Linyi was transferred to the Qing Dynasty Ministry of Education as a secretary, and thus came to Beijing. In 1908, Wang Kuan founded the Jingshi Qingzhen First Primary School inside the Niujie Mosque, and Ma Linyi actively planned it and served as the supervisor. He applied for subsidies from the Beijing Education Bureau in the name of the school and was finally approved to receive 40 taels per month as operating funds for the school. In 1909, Ma Linyi again assisted Wang Kuan in reporting to the Beijing Education Supervision Bureau to establish the Islamic Education Association.
In 1912, while serving as Vice Minister of Education, Ma Linyi founded the China Islamic Progressive Association with the support of Sun Yat-sen and served as its president. He changed his courtesy name from 'Zhenwu' to 'Zhenwu' (using a different character for 'wu'), meaning 'revitalizing the five ethnic groups'. Between 1912 and 1919, Ma Linyi spent 7 years running schools in Gansu, founding over one hundred schools for Hui Muslims and cultivating a large number of talents. In 1919, he was transferred to be the Director of the Zhili Education Department, where he secured 300,000 yuan for the Hui Muslim education fund, making a huge contribution.
In the 1920s, Ma Linyi held various positions in the Nationalist Government, including Minister of Education. After the success of the Northern Expedition in 1928, Hui Muslim intellectuals in Beijing were determined to establish their own middle school so that Hui Muslim youth could continue their studies after graduating from primary school. In the same year, Ma Linyi participated in the founding of the Qingzhen Middle School on the site of the old Niujie garrison office and served as vice chairman, receiving support from various Nationalist Party figures in Beijing. In 1929, Ma Linyi served as a school board member of the Beiping Chengda Normal School, actively updating the curriculum and improving teaching methods, which allowed Chengda Normal School to develop into a modern school. In his later years, Ma Linyi devoted himself to the faith and served as an advisor to Wang Jingzhai for his translation of the Quran.
In 1938, Ma Linyi passed away in Beiping and was buried in the Sanlihe Hui Muslim cemetery.
The 'Mr. Ma Xiyuan, a board member of this mosque' mentioned in the stele is the father of the Peking opera master Ma Lianliang. Ma Xiyuan was born in 1868, with ancestral roots in Shandong. His father, Ma Yongxiang, settled in Beijing during the Xianfeng period and opened a teahouse opposite the Fuchengmen Arrow Tower, known as the 'Menma Teahouse'. The Menma Teahouse had a stage for music, and Peking opera enthusiasts and famous performers often came to sing there. It was very lively and a famous venue for Peking opera. Influenced by Peking opera, Ma Xiyuan sent his son Ma Lianliang to the Xiliancheng opera troupe to learn acting, which eventually made Ma Lianliang a master of his generation, the founder of the Ma school of old male roles, and the head of the 'Four Great Male Role Actors'.
Ma Xiyuan himself was very pious, never missing his five daily prayers, and he sent his son Ma Lianliang to the Sanlihe Mosque to study the Quran when he was 5 years old. In 1930, Ma Lianliang bought the entire courtyard at No. 7 Dongdoufu Lane outside Chongwenmen and renovated the west room of the front courtyard into a prayer hall for Ma Xiyuan to perform his five daily prayers, which was very rare in Hui Muslim families at that time.
Ma Xiyuan was enthusiastic about public welfare for the faith and was known as 'Ma the Philanthropist'. In 1908, he participated in the founding of the Qingzhen Public Fifth Primary School inside the Huashi Mosque outside Chongwenmen. It was renamed the Qingzhen Culture Primary School in 1912 and the Beiping Qingzhen Second Primary School in 1929. Ma Xiyuan actively donated funds and served as chairman of the board. In 1928, Hui Muslim youth in the Niujie area founded the private Zhongcai Primary School in Madao Hutong. It received the praise and support of Ma Xiyuan, who served as a school board member and lent the school an organ he had treasured for many years for music teaching. Every Jumu'ah (Friday), Ma Xiyuan would cook porridge at his doorstep to give as charity to poor Hui Muslims, and he would also give out warm clothes in the winter. In 1935, Ma Xiyuan passed away due to illness and was buried in the Sanlihe Hui Muslim cemetery.
I will also share a postcard of a watercolor painting of the Sanlihe Mosque issued in 1956 from my collection. On the back, there is a New Year's greeting written by a student to their teacher 66 years ago. The artist of this painting is Guan Guangzhi, a first-generation master of watercolor painting in China, who painted many landscapes of the ancient capital, Beijing.
I took photos of the Sanlihe Mosque before, but unfortunately, it was in the afternoon and there was some backlight. I will go back to take photos again when the mosque reopens.
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Beihai Park Huihuiying Mosque: A Beijing Muslim Heritage Travel Note
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Beihai Park Huihuiying Mosque: A Beijing Muslim Heritage Travel Note. During the Qing Dynasty, there was a mosque in Beijing built by imperial decree: the Huihuiying Mosque located on West Chang'an Street, which was also the only mosque built by the Qing government. It is useful for readers interested in Beihai Park, Beijing Mosque, Hui Muslims.
During the Qing Dynasty, there was a mosque in Beijing built by imperial decree: the Huihuiying Mosque located on West Chang'an Street, which was also the only mosque built by the Qing government. Regrettably, the main hall of the Huihuiying Mosque collapsed due to disrepair in the 1900s and was completely demolished by Yuan Shikai in the early years of the Republic of China. However, in Beihai Park, there is a building with a shape and era very similar to the main hall of the Huihuiying Mosque, which allows us to imagine the former magnificence of the Huihuiying Mosque: the Hall of Ultimate Bliss (Jile Shijie Dian) in Xiaoxitian.
In 1759, after the Qianlong Emperor pacified the Great and Small Khojas of the White Mountain Sect, he summoned the Hui Muslims who had surrendered, led by the 'Eight Peers of the Hui Region', to the capital. The high-ranking nobles and beks (local officials) among these people were managed by the Lifanyuan (Court of Colonial Affairs) and lived in exclusive residences, while the ordinary Hui Muslims were organized into the 'Hui People's Zuo Ling' (Hui Muslim Company) under the Left Wing Fifth Regiment of the Plain White Banner of the Imperial Household Department, known in Manchu as 'hoise niru', and were settled in the Huiying (Hui Muslim Camp) outside the West Chang'an Gate.
Construction of the Huiying began in 1759; it originally had 147 rooms, and later, as more Hui Muslim craftsmen and artisans arrived in the capital, it was expanded in 1763 to reach 310 rooms. After the Huiying was built, the Qianlong Emperor had a mosque built on its west side, which was completed in 1764. The Qianlong Emperor inscribed the 'Stele Record of the Imperial-Built Hui mosque' and placed it in the mosque, writing: 'The Hui Muslims gather here at the appointed times, and the beks who come to the capital for their annual audience all worship with joy, marveling at something never seen before in the Western Regions.' Until the bek system was abolished in 1884, this was the place where beks from all over Xinjiang completed their worship during their annual visits to the capital.
Regarding photographs of the main hall of the Huihuiying Mosque, the earliest one currently available was taken in 1870 by the Scottish physician Dr. John Dudgeon. The mosque's main hall in the photo is a square pavilion building with a double-eaved, four-cornered pyramidal roof, which is unique among all the mosques in Beijing.
According to records, the Qianlong Emperor had several double-eaved, four-cornered pyramidal roof square pavilion buildings built in Beijing. Among them, the Hall of Ultimate Bliss in Beihai and the Huihuiying Mosque were almost identical in shape, both being 'nine open bays with seven hidden', meaning they had ten pillars and nine bays, with the outermost two bays being a veranda, making the actual building seven bays wide. Furthermore, the eras of the two buildings are also very close. The Hall of Ultimate Bliss was built in 1768, only four years after the completion of the Huihuiying Mosque, and it is possible that they even shared the same construction team.
However, there are still some differences between the two buildings. As a building constructed by the Qianlong Emperor to celebrate his mother's birthday, the Hall of Ultimate Bliss stands 26.9 meters tall and is the largest square pavilion palace building in China, while the Huihuiying Mosque was slightly smaller in scale. The Hall of Ultimate Bliss is covered with yellow glazed tiles with green edges and features high-ranking golden dragon and seal-style paintings between the beams, while the Huihuiying Mosque had green glazed tiles, and the grade of its paintings was likely relatively lower.
In short, if you happen to be taking a stroll in Beihai Park, you can still go see the Hall of Ultimate Bliss and imagine the building that was once very similar to it—the main hall of the Huihuiying Mosque.
Additionally, from an old photograph taken in front of the north gate of the Huihuiying Mosque's main hall, one can see exquisite openwork window lattices, which are also very close to the window lattices of the Hall of Ultimate Bliss.
In 1912, Yuan Shikai was elected President and chose Zhongnanhai as the Presidential Palace. Soon after, Zhu Qiqian, Minister of the Interior, presided over the renovation of the Baoyue Tower at the southern end of Zhongnanhai into the new gate of the Presidential Palace, Xinhua Gate, while also expanding the street in front of the palace and building a decorative wall across the street. Because it was adjacent to the Baoyue Tower, both the gate and the main hall of the Huihuiying Mosque were forced to be demolished. After the main hall was demolished, the congregants had nowhere to pray, so they rebuilt a small hall on the original site.
Because the Republic of China stopped issuing stipends to the Banner people in its early years, the Huihuiying community lived in poverty. The rebuilt main hall was very small, consisting of two connected shed-roofed rooms, and the rear mihrab (niche indicating the direction of prayer) also had a shed roof, lacking the traditional dome of a mosque. Since the original north gate was blocked by the decorative wall, the mosque had to change its entrance to face south, and the stone arch carved with continuous lotus patterns from the original gate was placed above the new gate.
After the liberation, the Huihuiying Mosque was occupied by the guard regiment for a long time until the demolition began on the south side of West Chang'an Street in 2009. On June 8, 2010, the Republic-era main hall and gate of the Huihuiying Mosque were demolished. In 2011, the Xicheng District Cultural Committee rebuilt the mosque 200 meters west of the original site, and the 'Stele Record of the Imperial-Built Hui mosque' inscribed by the Qianlong Emperor was placed back in the courtyard. Regrettably, the new mosque was not built according to the original design, and the only remaining stone arch was placed on the mihrab of the main hall. Today, the new mosque has been built for more than ten years, but it has never been opened.
Although we cannot enter the Huihuiying Mosque to see the stone arch, we can still see very similar continuous lotus stone arches on the glazed archways around the Hall of Ultimate Bliss in Beihai, although because the Hall of Ultimate Bliss is a Buddhist building, the lotus carvings on the stone arches have a few more of the Eight Buddhist Treasures.
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Summary: This travel note introduces Beihai Park Huihuiying Mosque: A Beijing Muslim Heritage Travel Note. During the Qing Dynasty, there was a mosque in Beijing built by imperial decree: the Huihuiying Mosque located on West Chang'an Street, which was also the only mosque built by the Qing government. It is useful for readers interested in Beihai Park, Beijing Mosque, Hui Muslims.
During the Qing Dynasty, there was a mosque in Beijing built by imperial decree: the Huihuiying Mosque located on West Chang'an Street, which was also the only mosque built by the Qing government. Regrettably, the main hall of the Huihuiying Mosque collapsed due to disrepair in the 1900s and was completely demolished by Yuan Shikai in the early years of the Republic of China. However, in Beihai Park, there is a building with a shape and era very similar to the main hall of the Huihuiying Mosque, which allows us to imagine the former magnificence of the Huihuiying Mosque: the Hall of Ultimate Bliss (Jile Shijie Dian) in Xiaoxitian.
In 1759, after the Qianlong Emperor pacified the Great and Small Khojas of the White Mountain Sect, he summoned the Hui Muslims who had surrendered, led by the 'Eight Peers of the Hui Region', to the capital. The high-ranking nobles and beks (local officials) among these people were managed by the Lifanyuan (Court of Colonial Affairs) and lived in exclusive residences, while the ordinary Hui Muslims were organized into the 'Hui People's Zuo Ling' (Hui Muslim Company) under the Left Wing Fifth Regiment of the Plain White Banner of the Imperial Household Department, known in Manchu as 'hoise niru', and were settled in the Huiying (Hui Muslim Camp) outside the West Chang'an Gate.
Construction of the Huiying began in 1759; it originally had 147 rooms, and later, as more Hui Muslim craftsmen and artisans arrived in the capital, it was expanded in 1763 to reach 310 rooms. After the Huiying was built, the Qianlong Emperor had a mosque built on its west side, which was completed in 1764. The Qianlong Emperor inscribed the 'Stele Record of the Imperial-Built Hui mosque' and placed it in the mosque, writing: 'The Hui Muslims gather here at the appointed times, and the beks who come to the capital for their annual audience all worship with joy, marveling at something never seen before in the Western Regions.' Until the bek system was abolished in 1884, this was the place where beks from all over Xinjiang completed their worship during their annual visits to the capital.
Regarding photographs of the main hall of the Huihuiying Mosque, the earliest one currently available was taken in 1870 by the Scottish physician Dr. John Dudgeon. The mosque's main hall in the photo is a square pavilion building with a double-eaved, four-cornered pyramidal roof, which is unique among all the mosques in Beijing.
According to records, the Qianlong Emperor had several double-eaved, four-cornered pyramidal roof square pavilion buildings built in Beijing. Among them, the Hall of Ultimate Bliss in Beihai and the Huihuiying Mosque were almost identical in shape, both being 'nine open bays with seven hidden', meaning they had ten pillars and nine bays, with the outermost two bays being a veranda, making the actual building seven bays wide. Furthermore, the eras of the two buildings are also very close. The Hall of Ultimate Bliss was built in 1768, only four years after the completion of the Huihuiying Mosque, and it is possible that they even shared the same construction team.
However, there are still some differences between the two buildings. As a building constructed by the Qianlong Emperor to celebrate his mother's birthday, the Hall of Ultimate Bliss stands 26.9 meters tall and is the largest square pavilion palace building in China, while the Huihuiying Mosque was slightly smaller in scale. The Hall of Ultimate Bliss is covered with yellow glazed tiles with green edges and features high-ranking golden dragon and seal-style paintings between the beams, while the Huihuiying Mosque had green glazed tiles, and the grade of its paintings was likely relatively lower.
In short, if you happen to be taking a stroll in Beihai Park, you can still go see the Hall of Ultimate Bliss and imagine the building that was once very similar to it—the main hall of the Huihuiying Mosque.
Additionally, from an old photograph taken in front of the north gate of the Huihuiying Mosque's main hall, one can see exquisite openwork window lattices, which are also very close to the window lattices of the Hall of Ultimate Bliss.
In 1912, Yuan Shikai was elected President and chose Zhongnanhai as the Presidential Palace. Soon after, Zhu Qiqian, Minister of the Interior, presided over the renovation of the Baoyue Tower at the southern end of Zhongnanhai into the new gate of the Presidential Palace, Xinhua Gate, while also expanding the street in front of the palace and building a decorative wall across the street. Because it was adjacent to the Baoyue Tower, both the gate and the main hall of the Huihuiying Mosque were forced to be demolished. After the main hall was demolished, the congregants had nowhere to pray, so they rebuilt a small hall on the original site.
Because the Republic of China stopped issuing stipends to the Banner people in its early years, the Huihuiying community lived in poverty. The rebuilt main hall was very small, consisting of two connected shed-roofed rooms, and the rear mihrab (niche indicating the direction of prayer) also had a shed roof, lacking the traditional dome of a mosque. Since the original north gate was blocked by the decorative wall, the mosque had to change its entrance to face south, and the stone arch carved with continuous lotus patterns from the original gate was placed above the new gate.
After the liberation, the Huihuiying Mosque was occupied by the guard regiment for a long time until the demolition began on the south side of West Chang'an Street in 2009. On June 8, 2010, the Republic-era main hall and gate of the Huihuiying Mosque were demolished. In 2011, the Xicheng District Cultural Committee rebuilt the mosque 200 meters west of the original site, and the 'Stele Record of the Imperial-Built Hui mosque' inscribed by the Qianlong Emperor was placed back in the courtyard. Regrettably, the new mosque was not built according to the original design, and the only remaining stone arch was placed on the mihrab of the main hall. Today, the new mosque has been built for more than ten years, but it has never been opened.
Although we cannot enter the Huihuiying Mosque to see the stone arch, we can still see very similar continuous lotus stone arches on the glazed archways around the Hall of Ultimate Bliss in Beihai, although because the Hall of Ultimate Bliss is a Buddhist building, the lotus carvings on the stone arches have a few more of the Eight Buddhist Treasures.
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Imperially Granted Faming Mosque: The Last Surviving Stone Stele in Beijing
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Imperially Granted Faming Mosque: The Last Surviving Stone Stele in Beijing. In front of the main hall of the Dongsi Mosque in Beijing, there is a stone tablet erected in 1579 (the seventh year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty) titled 'The Hundred-Word Eulogy of the Pure and True. It is useful for readers interested in Faming Mosque, Stone Stele, Beijing Muslims.
In front of the main hall of the Dongsi Mosque in Beijing, there is a stone tablet erected in 1579 (the seventh year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty) titled 'The Hundred-Word Eulogy of the Pure and True Dharma-Illuminating' (Qingzhen Faming Baizi Shengzan). The content of the inscription is largely similar to the 'Imperial Hundred-Word Eulogy of the Most Holy' (Yuzhi Zhisheng Baizi Zan) from the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty. The signature reads 'Written by the teacher of the ancient Yan faith, who bathed and purified himself to describe it, and donated his salary for the carving,' and the side of the tablet is inscribed with 'Donated by You Kai, Regional Military Commissioner of the Shandong Regional Military Commission.' This stone tablet, which does not look particularly conspicuous, is the only remaining relic of the Faming Mosque, which was bestowed by imperial decree during the Ming Dynasty. It is said that after a fire at Faming Mosque in the early Qing Dynasty, the stone tablet was moved to the Dongsi Mosque.
Faming Mosque was located at No. 43, Beiertiao, Jiaodaokou, inside Andingmen; its old address was No. 22, Datiertiao, Andingmen, which is why it was also called the Datiertiao Mosque. It is said that Faming Mosque was first built in 1348 (the eighth year of the Zhizheng reign of the Yuan Dynasty) and was initially called a mosque. After being rebuilt in 1448 (the thirteenth year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty), it was bestowed the name Faming Mosque by imperial decree. Together with the Dongsi Mosque, the Niujie Mosque, and the Pushou Mosque inside Fuchengmen, it was known as one of the 'Four Great Official Mosques of Ming Dynasty Beijing'. Official mosques refer to those where the Department of Sacrificial Rites under the Ministry of Rites issued 'Zhafu' (official certificates of appointment) to the imams of the mosques. According to Wang Daiyu's 'Zhengjiao Zhenquan: Qunshu Jikao' (True Interpretation of the Orthodox Faith: Collected Examinations of Various Books), after receiving the Zhafu, the imam would 'wear official robes and headwear to honor his body, and was also permitted to be exempt from corvée labor.' "
Faming Mosque was rebuilt many times during the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods, but it still maintained its Ming Dynasty layout, which was quite similar to the Dongsi Mosque. On the 'Complete Map of the Capital during the Qianlong Reign' (Qianlong Jingcheng Quantu), completed in 1750 (the fifteenth year of the Qianlong reign), one can see that the main body of Faming Mosque consisted of a main hall, northern and southern lecture halls, and a minaret (bangkelou). Like the Dongsi Mosque, the main hall of Faming Mosque consisted of a front porch, a middle hall with a hip roof, and a rear kiln-style hall, but its scale was slightly smaller.
In addition, the National Library of China holds a rubbing of the 'Stele Record of the Reconstruction of the Imperial Faming Mosque' from 1580 (the eighth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty), which can be viewed on the National Library's official website. The person who wrote the tablet header was You Kai, the same as for the 'Hundred-Word Eulogy of the Pure and True Dharma-Illuminating' in the Dongsi Mosque, but within a year he had been promoted to 'Imperial Envoy and Vice Regional Military Commissioner of the Shandong Regional Military Commission.' In fact, the imperial construction of official mosques in Ming Dynasty Beijing was related to the Hui Muslim military personnel in the regional military commission and garrison system.
The person who wrote the tablet, Lin Qicai, was a cousin of the great Ming Dynasty thinker Li Zhi. Lin Qicai's ancestral home was Jinjiang, Fujian, and he became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) in the thirty-eighth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1559). According to the 'Fengchi Lin-Li Genealogy,' Lin Qicai's second-generation ancestor, Lin Nu, 'married a Semu woman... and subsequently followed her faith, receiving the precepts of the Qingjing Mosque sect.' When Lin Qicai wrote the tablet, he signed it as 'Lin Qicai, a Jinshi by imperial favor, Fengyi Grand Master, former Director of the Ministry of Revenue, and Assistant Director of the Seal Office (Shangbaosi Sicheng).' 'Shangbaosi Sicheng' (Assistant Director of the Seal Office), according to the 'History of Ming,' was a 'rank 6b official... in charge of imperial seals, tallies, and stamps, and distinguishing their usage.' "
In addition, the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage also holds two rubbings of the 'Stele Record of the Reconstruction of Faming Mosque' from 1880 and 1921. The 1880 stele record notes that it was built by the Heshun Timber Factory at the time, with funds donated by Ma Deming from Beixinqiao East, and that two plaques were hung in the mosque: 'Built in the Ming, Repaired in the Qing' and 'Founded in the Previous Dynasty.' The 1921 stele record was written by Xia Deqing from Daxing, an army colonel and commander of the southern route of the Jingzhao Garrison, with the calligraphy by Xu Yili from Hangxian, the Jingzhao Yin (Mayor of Beijing), and the header written by Chen Zhenjia from Daxing, a first-class clerk at the Shanxi Hedong Circuit Administrative Office.
In 1966, Faming Mosque was occupied by a factory and later converted into a school. In 1984, the 600-year-old mosque was demolished by the Jiaodaokou Middle School to make way for a teaching building and playground. Now, this site has become the Andingmen campus of the No. 22 Middle School and a dormitory for the Sixth Hospital.
Behind it is Jiaodaokou Beitiao, where the school playground can be seen.
The only old house next to the playground; it is unknown if it was an old building of Faming Mosque.
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Summary: This travel note introduces Imperially Granted Faming Mosque: The Last Surviving Stone Stele in Beijing. In front of the main hall of the Dongsi Mosque in Beijing, there is a stone tablet erected in 1579 (the seventh year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty) titled 'The Hundred-Word Eulogy of the Pure and True. It is useful for readers interested in Faming Mosque, Stone Stele, Beijing Muslims.
In front of the main hall of the Dongsi Mosque in Beijing, there is a stone tablet erected in 1579 (the seventh year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty) titled 'The Hundred-Word Eulogy of the Pure and True Dharma-Illuminating' (Qingzhen Faming Baizi Shengzan). The content of the inscription is largely similar to the 'Imperial Hundred-Word Eulogy of the Most Holy' (Yuzhi Zhisheng Baizi Zan) from the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty. The signature reads 'Written by the teacher of the ancient Yan faith, who bathed and purified himself to describe it, and donated his salary for the carving,' and the side of the tablet is inscribed with 'Donated by You Kai, Regional Military Commissioner of the Shandong Regional Military Commission.' This stone tablet, which does not look particularly conspicuous, is the only remaining relic of the Faming Mosque, which was bestowed by imperial decree during the Ming Dynasty. It is said that after a fire at Faming Mosque in the early Qing Dynasty, the stone tablet was moved to the Dongsi Mosque.
Faming Mosque was located at No. 43, Beiertiao, Jiaodaokou, inside Andingmen; its old address was No. 22, Datiertiao, Andingmen, which is why it was also called the Datiertiao Mosque. It is said that Faming Mosque was first built in 1348 (the eighth year of the Zhizheng reign of the Yuan Dynasty) and was initially called a mosque. After being rebuilt in 1448 (the thirteenth year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty), it was bestowed the name Faming Mosque by imperial decree. Together with the Dongsi Mosque, the Niujie Mosque, and the Pushou Mosque inside Fuchengmen, it was known as one of the 'Four Great Official Mosques of Ming Dynasty Beijing'. Official mosques refer to those where the Department of Sacrificial Rites under the Ministry of Rites issued 'Zhafu' (official certificates of appointment) to the imams of the mosques. According to Wang Daiyu's 'Zhengjiao Zhenquan: Qunshu Jikao' (True Interpretation of the Orthodox Faith: Collected Examinations of Various Books), after receiving the Zhafu, the imam would 'wear official robes and headwear to honor his body, and was also permitted to be exempt from corvée labor.' "
Faming Mosque was rebuilt many times during the Ming, Qing, and Republican periods, but it still maintained its Ming Dynasty layout, which was quite similar to the Dongsi Mosque. On the 'Complete Map of the Capital during the Qianlong Reign' (Qianlong Jingcheng Quantu), completed in 1750 (the fifteenth year of the Qianlong reign), one can see that the main body of Faming Mosque consisted of a main hall, northern and southern lecture halls, and a minaret (bangkelou). Like the Dongsi Mosque, the main hall of Faming Mosque consisted of a front porch, a middle hall with a hip roof, and a rear kiln-style hall, but its scale was slightly smaller.
In addition, the National Library of China holds a rubbing of the 'Stele Record of the Reconstruction of the Imperial Faming Mosque' from 1580 (the eighth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty), which can be viewed on the National Library's official website. The person who wrote the tablet header was You Kai, the same as for the 'Hundred-Word Eulogy of the Pure and True Dharma-Illuminating' in the Dongsi Mosque, but within a year he had been promoted to 'Imperial Envoy and Vice Regional Military Commissioner of the Shandong Regional Military Commission.' In fact, the imperial construction of official mosques in Ming Dynasty Beijing was related to the Hui Muslim military personnel in the regional military commission and garrison system.
The person who wrote the tablet, Lin Qicai, was a cousin of the great Ming Dynasty thinker Li Zhi. Lin Qicai's ancestral home was Jinjiang, Fujian, and he became a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) in the thirty-eighth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1559). According to the 'Fengchi Lin-Li Genealogy,' Lin Qicai's second-generation ancestor, Lin Nu, 'married a Semu woman... and subsequently followed her faith, receiving the precepts of the Qingjing Mosque sect.' When Lin Qicai wrote the tablet, he signed it as 'Lin Qicai, a Jinshi by imperial favor, Fengyi Grand Master, former Director of the Ministry of Revenue, and Assistant Director of the Seal Office (Shangbaosi Sicheng).' 'Shangbaosi Sicheng' (Assistant Director of the Seal Office), according to the 'History of Ming,' was a 'rank 6b official... in charge of imperial seals, tallies, and stamps, and distinguishing their usage.' "
In addition, the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage also holds two rubbings of the 'Stele Record of the Reconstruction of Faming Mosque' from 1880 and 1921. The 1880 stele record notes that it was built by the Heshun Timber Factory at the time, with funds donated by Ma Deming from Beixinqiao East, and that two plaques were hung in the mosque: 'Built in the Ming, Repaired in the Qing' and 'Founded in the Previous Dynasty.' The 1921 stele record was written by Xia Deqing from Daxing, an army colonel and commander of the southern route of the Jingzhao Garrison, with the calligraphy by Xu Yili from Hangxian, the Jingzhao Yin (Mayor of Beijing), and the header written by Chen Zhenjia from Daxing, a first-class clerk at the Shanxi Hedong Circuit Administrative Office.
In 1966, Faming Mosque was occupied by a factory and later converted into a school. In 1984, the 600-year-old mosque was demolished by the Jiaodaokou Middle School to make way for a teaching building and playground. Now, this site has become the Andingmen campus of the No. 22 Middle School and a dormitory for the Sixth Hospital.
Behind it is Jiaodaokou Beitiao, where the school playground can be seen.
The only old house next to the playground; it is unknown if it was an old building of Faming Mosque.
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From the Ilkhanate to Yuan Dadu: A Sufi Traveler and Beijing Muslim Heritage
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces From the Ilkhanate to Yuan Dadu: A Sufi Traveler and Beijing Muslim Heritage. Regarding the Muslims who came to Beijing from Central and Western Asia during the Yuan Dynasty, the most famous are the tombs of the Shaykhs in the small courtyard on the south side of the Niujie Mosque, where Ahmad. It is useful for readers interested in Yuan Dadu, Sufi Heritage, Beijing Muslims.
Regarding the Muslims who came to Beijing from Central and Western Asia during the Yuan Dynasty, the most famous are the tombs of the Shaykhs in the small courtyard on the south side of the Niujie Mosque, where Ahmad Burtani, who passed away in 1280, and Ali Imad al-Din, who passed away in 1283, are buried. In fact, the Qingzhen Pushou Mosque inside Fuchengmen also preserves a Yuan Dynasty tombstone of a Muslim who came to Yuan Dadu from the Ilkhanate, and the inscription contains precious records about Sufis of the Yuan Dynasty.
The tombs of the sages from the Western Regions of the Yuan Dynasty at the Niujie Mosque.
According to the interpretation by Ma Baoquan in 'An Overlooked Yuan Dynasty Arabic and Persian Tombstone of Hui Muslims in Beijing—The Tombstone of an Ilkhanate Person Formerly Collected by Beijing Qingzhen Pushou Mosque', the inscription first uses Arabic to engrave the prayer for protection, the Basmala, verses from the Quran, and Hadith, and then uses Persian to briefly introduce the life of the tombstone's owner. The owner of the tombstone was a young man from a place called Qanul in the Ilkhanate (1256-1335). He came to Yuan Dadu (Dughdugh) together with his brothers Darvish, Jan Ali, and X. Darvish. A series of names are listed afterwards: Darvish Yulad, Javahir Ahmad, Man Darvish, Fangh Darvish, Shaykh Muhammad, Aghalaqsan Ahmad, Imam Mula Ahmad, Haj Darvish, and others.
According to the memorial 'Petition Regarding Hui Muslim Households in the Capital Not Paying Taxes' from the Yuan Dynasty, by 1263, the number of Hui Muslims in Beijing had reached 2,953 households, and most of them were wealthy merchants. In 1285, the Yuan Dynasty completed the construction of Yuan Dadu and issued an imperial decree to move residents from the old city of Zhongdu of the Jin Dynasty to Yuan Dadu, leading a large number of Hui Muslim officials, merchants, and craftsmen to settle in Yuan Dadu.
The inscription very preciously mentions several 'Darvish', which means Sufi practitioners, referred to as 'Diliweishi' in the 'Yuan Dianzhang' (Statutes of the Yuan Dynasty). Yang Zhijiu introduced in 'Draft History of the Hui Muslims in the Yuan Dynasty' that when Chen Cheng arrived in Herat, Afghanistan, in 1414 (the 12th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty), he met local Sufi ascetics. He recorded in 'Xiyu Fanguo Zhi' (Record of the Barbarian Countries in the Western Regions) that 'there are those who abandon their family businesses and livelihoods, with disheveled hair and bare feet, wearing tattered clothes or sheepskins, holding strange staffs, with bones hanging from their bodies, looking very strange, not avoiding cold or heat, begging on the road, muttering to themselves when meeting people, appearing pitiful, as if it is very difficult for them to survive.' 'Some gather at people's graves, or live in caves, calling it spiritual practice.' 'They are called Dilimishi.' "
In addition, according to the 'Travels of Ibn Battuta' from the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Ibn Battuta met local Sufi practitioners in both Guangzhou and Hangzhou. He visited an old man in Guangzhou who was practicing in a cave, who was very strong despite not eating or drinking. When he was in Hangzhou, he stayed in the home of an Egyptian merchant, and this family had built a magnificent Daotang (Sufi lodge) for Sufi practitioners to live in.
Qingzhen Pushou Mosque is located on Jinshifang Street in the Xicheng District of Beijing, which was called Jinchengfang Street during the Yuan Dynasty. Although it preserves a precious Yuan Dynasty tombstone, no records have been found so far indicating that the Pushou Mosque was built during the Yuan Dynasty. Because a plaque with the seal 'Built in the Fourth Year of Xuande of the Great Ming' once hung above the Chuihuamen (hanging flower gate) of the mosque, it is generally believed that the Pushou Mosque was founded in 1429 (the fourth year of the Xuande reign of the Ming Dynasty), and it was renovated many times during the Zhengton, Wanli, Tianqi, and Chongzhen reigns of the Ming Dynasty.
During the Ming Dynasty, the Pushou Mosque, along with the Niujie Mosque, the Dongsi Mosque, and the Faming Mosque inside Andingmen, were known as the four great official mosques of Beijing in the Ming Dynasty, and held a very high status. According to the inscription on the 'Record of the Reconstruction of the Mosque' from 1521 (the 16th year of the Zhengde reign) at the Dingzhou Mosque, during the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty, Wuping Bo (Count of Wuping) Chen Xun sought help from the congregation at the Pushou Mosque to renovate the Dingzhou Mosque and received great support, as the mosque was filled with 'gentry and scholars' at that time.
After the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the Pushou Mosque gradually fell into disrepair, and it was renovated between 1931 and 1934 with funds donated by Jiang Baiwan from Nanjing. After 1966, the mosque was closed again and converted into a workshop for the Jinlong Watchband Factory, and it was restored after 1982. After the demolition of Jinshifang Street in 2008, the mosque was torn down, and it was rebuilt into its current form between 2010 and 2014, but it has remained closed ever since.
There are two stone tablets in front of the main hall of the Pushou Mosque; the one on the south side is in Chinese, mainly praising the merits of those who donated funds to renovate the mosque, signed by 'Jincheng Shushi Ma Zhiji', and the back has the words 'Renovated in the Sixth Year of Tianqi'. The one on the north side is an Arabic tablet, and the writing has already eroded and become illegible.
The Pushou Mosque I photographed in 2006 when I was in middle school; two years later, in 2008, it was demolished and rebuilt.
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Summary: This travel note introduces From the Ilkhanate to Yuan Dadu: A Sufi Traveler and Beijing Muslim Heritage. Regarding the Muslims who came to Beijing from Central and Western Asia during the Yuan Dynasty, the most famous are the tombs of the Shaykhs in the small courtyard on the south side of the Niujie Mosque, where Ahmad. It is useful for readers interested in Yuan Dadu, Sufi Heritage, Beijing Muslims.
Regarding the Muslims who came to Beijing from Central and Western Asia during the Yuan Dynasty, the most famous are the tombs of the Shaykhs in the small courtyard on the south side of the Niujie Mosque, where Ahmad Burtani, who passed away in 1280, and Ali Imad al-Din, who passed away in 1283, are buried. In fact, the Qingzhen Pushou Mosque inside Fuchengmen also preserves a Yuan Dynasty tombstone of a Muslim who came to Yuan Dadu from the Ilkhanate, and the inscription contains precious records about Sufis of the Yuan Dynasty.
The tombs of the sages from the Western Regions of the Yuan Dynasty at the Niujie Mosque.
According to the interpretation by Ma Baoquan in 'An Overlooked Yuan Dynasty Arabic and Persian Tombstone of Hui Muslims in Beijing—The Tombstone of an Ilkhanate Person Formerly Collected by Beijing Qingzhen Pushou Mosque', the inscription first uses Arabic to engrave the prayer for protection, the Basmala, verses from the Quran, and Hadith, and then uses Persian to briefly introduce the life of the tombstone's owner. The owner of the tombstone was a young man from a place called Qanul in the Ilkhanate (1256-1335). He came to Yuan Dadu (Dughdugh) together with his brothers Darvish, Jan Ali, and X. Darvish. A series of names are listed afterwards: Darvish Yulad, Javahir Ahmad, Man Darvish, Fangh Darvish, Shaykh Muhammad, Aghalaqsan Ahmad, Imam Mula Ahmad, Haj Darvish, and others.
According to the memorial 'Petition Regarding Hui Muslim Households in the Capital Not Paying Taxes' from the Yuan Dynasty, by 1263, the number of Hui Muslims in Beijing had reached 2,953 households, and most of them were wealthy merchants. In 1285, the Yuan Dynasty completed the construction of Yuan Dadu and issued an imperial decree to move residents from the old city of Zhongdu of the Jin Dynasty to Yuan Dadu, leading a large number of Hui Muslim officials, merchants, and craftsmen to settle in Yuan Dadu.
The inscription very preciously mentions several 'Darvish', which means Sufi practitioners, referred to as 'Diliweishi' in the 'Yuan Dianzhang' (Statutes of the Yuan Dynasty). Yang Zhijiu introduced in 'Draft History of the Hui Muslims in the Yuan Dynasty' that when Chen Cheng arrived in Herat, Afghanistan, in 1414 (the 12th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty), he met local Sufi ascetics. He recorded in 'Xiyu Fanguo Zhi' (Record of the Barbarian Countries in the Western Regions) that 'there are those who abandon their family businesses and livelihoods, with disheveled hair and bare feet, wearing tattered clothes or sheepskins, holding strange staffs, with bones hanging from their bodies, looking very strange, not avoiding cold or heat, begging on the road, muttering to themselves when meeting people, appearing pitiful, as if it is very difficult for them to survive.' 'Some gather at people's graves, or live in caves, calling it spiritual practice.' 'They are called Dilimishi.' "
In addition, according to the 'Travels of Ibn Battuta' from the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Ibn Battuta met local Sufi practitioners in both Guangzhou and Hangzhou. He visited an old man in Guangzhou who was practicing in a cave, who was very strong despite not eating or drinking. When he was in Hangzhou, he stayed in the home of an Egyptian merchant, and this family had built a magnificent Daotang (Sufi lodge) for Sufi practitioners to live in.
Qingzhen Pushou Mosque is located on Jinshifang Street in the Xicheng District of Beijing, which was called Jinchengfang Street during the Yuan Dynasty. Although it preserves a precious Yuan Dynasty tombstone, no records have been found so far indicating that the Pushou Mosque was built during the Yuan Dynasty. Because a plaque with the seal 'Built in the Fourth Year of Xuande of the Great Ming' once hung above the Chuihuamen (hanging flower gate) of the mosque, it is generally believed that the Pushou Mosque was founded in 1429 (the fourth year of the Xuande reign of the Ming Dynasty), and it was renovated many times during the Zhengton, Wanli, Tianqi, and Chongzhen reigns of the Ming Dynasty.
During the Ming Dynasty, the Pushou Mosque, along with the Niujie Mosque, the Dongsi Mosque, and the Faming Mosque inside Andingmen, were known as the four great official mosques of Beijing in the Ming Dynasty, and held a very high status. According to the inscription on the 'Record of the Reconstruction of the Mosque' from 1521 (the 16th year of the Zhengde reign) at the Dingzhou Mosque, during the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty, Wuping Bo (Count of Wuping) Chen Xun sought help from the congregation at the Pushou Mosque to renovate the Dingzhou Mosque and received great support, as the mosque was filled with 'gentry and scholars' at that time.
After the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, the Pushou Mosque gradually fell into disrepair, and it was renovated between 1931 and 1934 with funds donated by Jiang Baiwan from Nanjing. After 1966, the mosque was closed again and converted into a workshop for the Jinlong Watchband Factory, and it was restored after 1982. After the demolition of Jinshifang Street in 2008, the mosque was torn down, and it was rebuilt into its current form between 2010 and 2014, but it has remained closed ever since.
There are two stone tablets in front of the main hall of the Pushou Mosque; the one on the south side is in Chinese, mainly praising the merits of those who donated funds to renovate the mosque, signed by 'Jincheng Shushi Ma Zhiji', and the back has the words 'Renovated in the Sixth Year of Tianqi'. The one on the north side is an Arabic tablet, and the writing has already eroded and become illegible.
The Pushou Mosque I photographed in 2006 when I was in middle school; two years later, in 2008, it was demolished and rebuilt.
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Selimiye Mosque in Edirne: Ottoman Architecture, Islamic History and Halal Travel
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Selimiye Mosque in Edirne: Ottoman Architecture, Islamic History and Halal Travel. The Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii) in Edirne was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Selim II (reigned 1566-1574) and built by the imperial chief architect Mimar Sinan between 1567 and 1575. It is useful for readers interested in Selimiye Mosque, Ottoman Architecture, Turkey Travel.
The Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii) in Edirne was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Selim II (reigned 1566-1574) and built by the imperial chief architect Mimar Sinan between 1567 and 1575. It is hailed as a supreme achievement in the history of Ottoman architecture, a masterpiece of 16th-century Ottoman Islamic art, and the undisputed representative work of Mimar Sinan. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011.
On June 22, 1567, Selim II traveled from Istanbul to Edirne to sign a peace treaty with Austria; it is said that the order to build the mosque was given at this time.
The entire complex (Külliye) consists of 9 parts: the mosque, a courtyard with a fountain, the Dar’ül-Kurra Quran School (Foundation Museum), the Dar'ül-Hadis Hadith School (Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art), the Arasta Bazaar, a primary school, a clock tower (Muvakkithane), the outer courtyard of the mosque, and a library. It is the most prominent building complex in the old city of Edirne.
The mosque, the Quran school, and the Hadith school are located within a 190-meter by 130-meter wall, with the mosque in the center and the schools to the southwest and southeast, respectively. The clock tower is to the northwest, and the bazaar and primary school are to the west.
From UNESCO World Heritage Centre documents.
Exterior of the mosque.
The area where the mosque stands was originally the site of the first palace built in Edirne by the fourth Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid I (reigned 1389-1402). After the Ottoman Empire moved its capital from Edirne to Istanbul in 1453, the old palace gradually became a military headquarters and later a square.
In 1567, soldiers were sent to Edirne to participate in the construction of the mosque. In 1568, timber merchants around Edirne began to supply the mosque construction at full capacity. Meanwhile, large quantities of marble were transported to Edirne by warships from Marmara Island and the Kavala quarries in northern Greece, a process that continued until 1572.
By 1572, the eight supporting arches of the mosque were completed, and the construction of the dome officially began. To highlight the centralization of the Ottoman Empire, Mimar Sinan wanted the Selimiye Mosque to appear as a unified whole from both inside and outside, unlike earlier Ottoman mosques composed of many small domes or semi-domes. Therefore, he decided to build a massive central dome that would surpass the Hagia Sophia. The dome was officially completed in 1575, standing 42.3 meters high with a diameter of 31.5 meters and weighing 20 tons.
At the same time, Mimar Sinan abandoned the traditional Ottoman mosque design of minarets of varying heights, instead building four minarets in the front courtyard, each 71 meters tall. These four vertically symmetrical minarets shoot toward the sky like rockets from the corners of the courtyard, setting off the massive dome rising from the center. They dominate the city's skyline and give the entire mosque a sense of immense majesty.
Overall, the decoration of the mosque's facade is relatively simple, lacking the intricate carvings found in Seljuk and other Iranian architecture. Instead, the layout of the facade is determined by the structure itself, which is a hallmark of Mimar Sinan's architecture and is considered by later generations to be the classical aesthetic of Ottoman architecture of this period.
From UNESCO World Heritage Centre documents.
The main gate of the mosque's prayer hall features a Muqarnas structure. Muqarnas, also known as Ahoopāy in Iranian architecture, is a form of decorative vaulting in Islamic architecture. Muqarnas is sometimes called a "honeycomb vault" or "stalactite vault." It first appeared in Iran and entered Turkey with the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century. The purpose of this structure is to create a relatively smooth and decorative transition area in the exposed structural space between walls and ceilings.
Courtyard.
The courtyard in front of the mosque's prayer hall covers 2,475 square meters, surrounded by a cloister of 18 domes, with a fountain for wudu (ablution) in the center. The marble columns in the courtyard were brought from ruins in Cyprus, Aydincik near the Kapıdağ Peninsula, and Syria. Mimar Sinan designed the front porch near the courtyard gate to be relatively narrow and low to emphasize the grandeur of the mosque's prayer hall.
Mimar Sinan made a bold innovation with the fountain; in this sixteen-sided marble fountain, we can see compositions and very interesting details never before seen in Ottoman fountains of that time.
This is the largest ablution fountain Mimar Sinan ever built, and its decoration is very different from traditional ones. Each marble slab has a wide and deep contour band on the lower part, with a pointed-arch mirror stone in the middle, and openwork geometric carvings on the upper part. Above that is a crown-shaped stone slab with "Rumi patterns" (a style of stylized floral/leaf motifs). Sinan designed special supports for the bottom edge of the fountain based on the lines of each faucet.
According to historical records, in 1572, Mimar Sinan ordered water to be supplied to the fountain from Kayalar village.
Interior of the mosque.
In the Selimiye Mosque, Mimar Sinan utilized an octagonal support system, with 8 columns supporting the massive central dome. During the Bulgarian siege of Edirne in 1913, the mosque's dome was hit by Bulgarian artillery. Because the dome was extremely sturdy, it suffered only minor damage. Later, Atatürk ordered that the traces of the shelling be preserved as a warning to future generations.
The mihrab (prayer niche) is located in a rear apse that protrudes from the prayer hall, providing enough depth for sunlight to enter from three sides of the windows. The white marble-carved mihrab is a spectacular work of its time. Unfortunately, the original 16th-century calligraphy on the semi-dome above the mihrab did not survive; what we see today is a 1985 restoration in the Baroque style.
The tiles around the mihrab were specially ordered by Mimar Sinan from Iznik between 1572 and 1575 and were the highest quality tiles in the Ottoman Empire at the time. The calligraphy on the tiles was created by Karahisari Molla Hasan, a student and adopted son of the famous 16th-century Ottoman calligrapher Ahmed Karahisari.
The use of Iznik tiles made Mimar Sinan not only an outstanding architect but also an excellent artist. In the interior design, Mimar Sinan tried to avoid overwhelming the architecture with decoration, so the tiles were distributed in specific areas as a finishing touch. Dominated by blue and white, the Iznik tiles accented with coral red are typical of the second half of the 16th century. These tiles are extremely rich in content; there are 101 different types of tulip patterns alone, and they were the best in the 16th century in terms of both glaze and quality.
The minbar (pulpit) of the Selimiye Mosque occupies a very important place among classical Ottoman artworks. The minbar is carved from a single block of white marble and has 25 steps, with an extremely elegant design. The beauty produced by the fusion of these geometric shapes is the artistic crystallization that Mimar Sinan pursued throughout his life.
Directly opposite the mihrab is the stone platform where the muezzin stands to call the adhan (call to prayer), supported by 12 white marble columns. The thick columns to the southwest of the platform are composed of vertical, slender rectangular panels, which contain the stairs for the muezzin to climb. The platform has walnut railings, and the underside is decorated with gold-leaf Chinese-style cloud knots, an important example of decoration from the classical Ottoman period. The dark blue background is covered with naturalistic dagger-shaped leaves, chrysanthemums, and Chinese-style clouds. The passion flower pattern on the blue background was brought to Anatolia by Central Asian Turkic people in the 8th-9th centuries and symbolizes eternity.
There is a fountain on the first level of the platform, with an inverted tulip pattern on the top. The tulip holds great significance in Turkish and Islamic art as well as in Islamic faith. Because the sum of the numerical values of the letters in the words "tulip" and "Allah" is 66, people believe that the tulip can symbolize the uniqueness and beauty of Allah; sometimes people even write the word "Allah" in the shape of a tulip.
Quran School (Museum).
The Selimiye Quran School is quite unique among Sinan's works. It features a dual-school layout with the Dar'ül-Kurra Quran School and the Dar'ül-Hadis Hadith School, which are symmetrical to the main mosque. Furthermore, it is the only Quran school built by Sinan that features a honeycomb Muqarnas gate.
The school consists of a large classroom, a series of small student rooms, and a water room surrounding a rectangular courtyard. The main mosque can be seen from both courtyards.
The Hadith school was built between 1567 and 1574, and the first lecturer (Muderris) was appointed in 1570-71 with a daily salary of 60 dirhams. In addition, there was 1 assistant lecturer (Muid) with a daily salary of 9 dirhams, 15 students with a daily salary of 4 dirhams, and 1 doorman (Bevvab), 1 administrator (Ferraş), and 1 cleaner, each with a daily salary of 3 dirhams.
The Quran school had 1 sheikh with a daily salary of 40 dirhams, 10 Hafiz (those who have memorized the Quran) with a daily salary of 2 dirhams, and 1 doorman, 1 administrator, and 1 cleaner, each with a daily salary of 2 dirhams.
In 1925, Atatürk ordered the Hadith school to be converted into the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, and the Quran school later became the Foundation Museum, which operates to this day.
In the large classroom of the Quran school, teachers taught students the rules and methods of Quran recitation and listened to and corrected the students' mistakes. Students attended 5 classes a day, 4 days a week. After completing all courses, they would earn the title of Hafiz, becoming someone who could recite the Quran proficiently.
Students studying in a room at the Quran school. In the Ottoman education system, one could enroll in a Quran school after graduating from primary school. The school's curriculum focused mainly on repetitive recitation and discussion. In addition, students learned marble carving and the art of calligraphy, with all funding provided by the Ottoman Sultan's foundation.
Iznik ceramics used in the Selimiye Mosque.
The ancient city of Iznik is located on the shores of Lake Iznik, 90 kilometers southeast of Istanbul. In the late 15th century, it became the center of ceramic production for the Ottoman Empire.
The earliest visible Iznik ceramics were found in the imperial kitchens of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul in 1489. Due to the Ottoman rulers' love for Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, Iznik ceramics combined traditional Ottoman arabesque patterns with Chinese elements. The style of early Iznik ceramics is known as "Rumi-Hatayi," where "Rumi" represents Ottoman arabesque patterns and "Hatayi" represents Chinese floral patterns.
Early Iznik ceramics were only cobalt blue; after the 16th century, gray-green and lavender were gradually introduced as soft tones. In the late 16th century, Mimar Sinan used Iznik tiles extensively in his architecture, replacing gray-green with bright green and lavender with bright red. The first building with red Iznik tiles was the Süleymaniye Mosque, built by Mimar Sinan in Istanbul in 1557.
In 1557, Kara Mehmed Çelebi became the chief painter of the Ottoman court. He introduced a floral style consisting of tulips, carnations, roses, and hyacinths into Iznik ceramics, making the patterns on the ceramics more natural.
The wooden windows of the Bayezid II Mosque in Edirne (1484-1488) use a Turkish geometric woodworking art called "kundekari," which also features Thuluth calligraphy.
Kundekari uses small pieces of wood that are interlocked and fixed together through special joints, without the use of nails or glue. The wood used is usually sturdy apple, pear, walnut, or cedar, and is often inlaid with pearls, tortoiseshell, ivory, or metals like gold and silver. Kundekari is heat-resistant and moisture-proof, protecting wooden panels from warping due to temperature and humidity changes, so it is mainly used for doors, windows, cabinets, and mosque cupboards.
The Sultan Bayezid II Complex (Sultan II Bayezid Külliyesi) is located on the north bank of the Tunca River in the northwestern suburbs of Edirne and was commissioned by the eighth Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid II (reigned 1481-1512). Bayezid II was the son of Mehmed the Conqueror and was known as "the Just." During his reign, he worked hard to maintain internal government affairs and defeated the Republic of Venice externally, leading the Ottoman Empire into a prosperous phase.
18th-century Hilye (calligraphic description of the Prophet) calligraphy in a glass bottle at the Old Mosque (Eski Cami) in Edirne. Built in 1414, the Old Mosque is the oldest mosque in Edirne and one of the last multi-domed mosques to use the early Ottoman Seljuk style, marking a farewell to early Ottoman architectural styles.
Thuluth calligraphy written by Mustafa Rasim in 1787 at the Old Mosque in Edirne, featuring verses praising the mosque by the local Edirne poet Akif (the son of the calligrapher).
18th-century brass door handle with a palm tree design at the Üç Şerefeli Mosque (Three-Balcony Mosque) in Edirne. The Üç Şerefeli Mosque was built between 1438 and 1447 and was the first central-domed mosque and the first mosque with a portico in Ottoman history, providing great inspiration to Mimar Sinan. The Üç Şerefeli Mosque suffered from fire and earthquakes in the mid-18th century and was subsequently restored.
1478 Thuluth calligraphy stone tablet at the Evliya Kasım Paşa Mosque in Edirne. It records that Kasım Paşa built this mosque in the year 883 of the Hijri calendar. Kasım Paşa was a famous Ottoman general who served as the commander of the European part of the Ottoman Empire. Between 1443 and 1444, he commanded the Ottoman army against the multinational crusader forces of Poland, Hungary, and others in Serbia and Bulgaria. The mosque was closed after 1950 due to the construction of a dam. Since then, it has been continuously damaged by floods and is now abandoned.
19th-century certificates from the Great Mosque of Kütahya; the first was written by Mustafa Sukru, and the second by Ahmed Hamdi. The Great Mosque of Kütahya was built between 1381 and 1410 and is the most important mosque in Kütahya.
1845 Naskh-script Quran from the Lal Huseyin Pasha Mosque in Kütahya, written by Hafiz Mustafa Sabri.
18th-19th century Naskh-script Quran from the Sari Mosque in Edirne.
15th-century tiles from the Şah Melek Mosque in Edirne. The Şah Melek Mosque was commissioned by the blind Şah Melek Pasha in 1429 and is famous for the tiles laid inside. Şah Melek Pasha played an important role in the succession war between the princes of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and later became an important figure in the courts of Sultan Mehmed I and Murad II.
15th-century tiles from the Muradiye Mosque in Edirne. The Muradiye Mosque was commissioned by the sixth Ottoman Sultan, Murad II (reigned 1421-1444), in 1436. This site was originally part of a Sufi Mevlevi order complex and was later converted into a mosque.
The interior of the mosque is famous for its beautiful tiles. Before being stolen in 2001, there were 479 tiles in the prayer hall with 54 different designs, 15 of which appeared only once, showing the strong influence of Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain. The blue-and-white hexagonal tiles are the earliest examples of Ottoman underglaze tiles. Because the arrangement of some tiles lacks coherence, some scholars believe that some of them were moved from the Ottoman palace in Edirne in the north.
A beautiful inlaid wooden table.
18th-century pearl and ivory inlaid Quran stand from the Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque in Istanbul.
1882 stone tablet from the Selcuk Hatun Mosque in Edirne.
Stone carvings in the Selimiye Quran School Museum.
Arasta Bazaar.
The Arasta Bazaar is 225 meters long, runs parallel to the southwest wall of the mosque, and generates income for the mosque by renting out 124 shops. The bazaar has three large gates, one of which connects to the mosque courtyard via stairs.
Some believe the Arasta Bazaar was built by Davud Aga, Mimar Sinan's successor as imperial chief architect, while others believe it was designed by Mimar Sinan to cover the retaining wall supporting the mosque on the southwest slope and was eventually completed by Davud Aga. This is because Mimar Sinan was very skilled at designing and building structures adapted to sloping terrain.
Between 1863 and 1868, Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, was exiled to Edirne by the Ottoman Empire with his family and lived near the Selimiye Mosque. During this period, he wrote numerous works, proclaimed the Bahá'í Faith to countries around the world, and formally broke with another leader, Mirza Yahya, which was a major event in Bahá'í history.
At the bazaar in Edirne, I bought the local specialty, crescent-shaped almond cookies called Kavala kurabiyesi. Kavala is now an important seaport in northern Greece, which was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1371 to 1913. During the population exchange between Turkey and Greece in 1922, tens of thousands of Turks left Kavala to settle in Edirne, bringing this cookie with them to Edirne.
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Summary: This travel note introduces Selimiye Mosque in Edirne: Ottoman Architecture, Islamic History and Halal Travel. The Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii) in Edirne was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Selim II (reigned 1566-1574) and built by the imperial chief architect Mimar Sinan between 1567 and 1575. It is useful for readers interested in Selimiye Mosque, Ottoman Architecture, Turkey Travel.
The Selimiye Mosque (Selimiye Camii) in Edirne was commissioned by Ottoman Sultan Selim II (reigned 1566-1574) and built by the imperial chief architect Mimar Sinan between 1567 and 1575. It is hailed as a supreme achievement in the history of Ottoman architecture, a masterpiece of 16th-century Ottoman Islamic art, and the undisputed representative work of Mimar Sinan. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011.
On June 22, 1567, Selim II traveled from Istanbul to Edirne to sign a peace treaty with Austria; it is said that the order to build the mosque was given at this time.
The entire complex (Külliye) consists of 9 parts: the mosque, a courtyard with a fountain, the Dar’ül-Kurra Quran School (Foundation Museum), the Dar'ül-Hadis Hadith School (Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art), the Arasta Bazaar, a primary school, a clock tower (Muvakkithane), the outer courtyard of the mosque, and a library. It is the most prominent building complex in the old city of Edirne.
The mosque, the Quran school, and the Hadith school are located within a 190-meter by 130-meter wall, with the mosque in the center and the schools to the southwest and southeast, respectively. The clock tower is to the northwest, and the bazaar and primary school are to the west.
From UNESCO World Heritage Centre documents.
Exterior of the mosque.
The area where the mosque stands was originally the site of the first palace built in Edirne by the fourth Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid I (reigned 1389-1402). After the Ottoman Empire moved its capital from Edirne to Istanbul in 1453, the old palace gradually became a military headquarters and later a square.
In 1567, soldiers were sent to Edirne to participate in the construction of the mosque. In 1568, timber merchants around Edirne began to supply the mosque construction at full capacity. Meanwhile, large quantities of marble were transported to Edirne by warships from Marmara Island and the Kavala quarries in northern Greece, a process that continued until 1572.
By 1572, the eight supporting arches of the mosque were completed, and the construction of the dome officially began. To highlight the centralization of the Ottoman Empire, Mimar Sinan wanted the Selimiye Mosque to appear as a unified whole from both inside and outside, unlike earlier Ottoman mosques composed of many small domes or semi-domes. Therefore, he decided to build a massive central dome that would surpass the Hagia Sophia. The dome was officially completed in 1575, standing 42.3 meters high with a diameter of 31.5 meters and weighing 20 tons.
At the same time, Mimar Sinan abandoned the traditional Ottoman mosque design of minarets of varying heights, instead building four minarets in the front courtyard, each 71 meters tall. These four vertically symmetrical minarets shoot toward the sky like rockets from the corners of the courtyard, setting off the massive dome rising from the center. They dominate the city's skyline and give the entire mosque a sense of immense majesty.
Overall, the decoration of the mosque's facade is relatively simple, lacking the intricate carvings found in Seljuk and other Iranian architecture. Instead, the layout of the facade is determined by the structure itself, which is a hallmark of Mimar Sinan's architecture and is considered by later generations to be the classical aesthetic of Ottoman architecture of this period.
From UNESCO World Heritage Centre documents.
The main gate of the mosque's prayer hall features a Muqarnas structure. Muqarnas, also known as Ahoopāy in Iranian architecture, is a form of decorative vaulting in Islamic architecture. Muqarnas is sometimes called a "honeycomb vault" or "stalactite vault." It first appeared in Iran and entered Turkey with the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century. The purpose of this structure is to create a relatively smooth and decorative transition area in the exposed structural space between walls and ceilings.
Courtyard.
The courtyard in front of the mosque's prayer hall covers 2,475 square meters, surrounded by a cloister of 18 domes, with a fountain for wudu (ablution) in the center. The marble columns in the courtyard were brought from ruins in Cyprus, Aydincik near the Kapıdağ Peninsula, and Syria. Mimar Sinan designed the front porch near the courtyard gate to be relatively narrow and low to emphasize the grandeur of the mosque's prayer hall.
Mimar Sinan made a bold innovation with the fountain; in this sixteen-sided marble fountain, we can see compositions and very interesting details never before seen in Ottoman fountains of that time.
This is the largest ablution fountain Mimar Sinan ever built, and its decoration is very different from traditional ones. Each marble slab has a wide and deep contour band on the lower part, with a pointed-arch mirror stone in the middle, and openwork geometric carvings on the upper part. Above that is a crown-shaped stone slab with "Rumi patterns" (a style of stylized floral/leaf motifs). Sinan designed special supports for the bottom edge of the fountain based on the lines of each faucet.
According to historical records, in 1572, Mimar Sinan ordered water to be supplied to the fountain from Kayalar village.
Interior of the mosque.
In the Selimiye Mosque, Mimar Sinan utilized an octagonal support system, with 8 columns supporting the massive central dome. During the Bulgarian siege of Edirne in 1913, the mosque's dome was hit by Bulgarian artillery. Because the dome was extremely sturdy, it suffered only minor damage. Later, Atatürk ordered that the traces of the shelling be preserved as a warning to future generations.
The mihrab (prayer niche) is located in a rear apse that protrudes from the prayer hall, providing enough depth for sunlight to enter from three sides of the windows. The white marble-carved mihrab is a spectacular work of its time. Unfortunately, the original 16th-century calligraphy on the semi-dome above the mihrab did not survive; what we see today is a 1985 restoration in the Baroque style.
The tiles around the mihrab were specially ordered by Mimar Sinan from Iznik between 1572 and 1575 and were the highest quality tiles in the Ottoman Empire at the time. The calligraphy on the tiles was created by Karahisari Molla Hasan, a student and adopted son of the famous 16th-century Ottoman calligrapher Ahmed Karahisari.
The use of Iznik tiles made Mimar Sinan not only an outstanding architect but also an excellent artist. In the interior design, Mimar Sinan tried to avoid overwhelming the architecture with decoration, so the tiles were distributed in specific areas as a finishing touch. Dominated by blue and white, the Iznik tiles accented with coral red are typical of the second half of the 16th century. These tiles are extremely rich in content; there are 101 different types of tulip patterns alone, and they were the best in the 16th century in terms of both glaze and quality.
The minbar (pulpit) of the Selimiye Mosque occupies a very important place among classical Ottoman artworks. The minbar is carved from a single block of white marble and has 25 steps, with an extremely elegant design. The beauty produced by the fusion of these geometric shapes is the artistic crystallization that Mimar Sinan pursued throughout his life.
Directly opposite the mihrab is the stone platform where the muezzin stands to call the adhan (call to prayer), supported by 12 white marble columns. The thick columns to the southwest of the platform are composed of vertical, slender rectangular panels, which contain the stairs for the muezzin to climb. The platform has walnut railings, and the underside is decorated with gold-leaf Chinese-style cloud knots, an important example of decoration from the classical Ottoman period. The dark blue background is covered with naturalistic dagger-shaped leaves, chrysanthemums, and Chinese-style clouds. The passion flower pattern on the blue background was brought to Anatolia by Central Asian Turkic people in the 8th-9th centuries and symbolizes eternity.
There is a fountain on the first level of the platform, with an inverted tulip pattern on the top. The tulip holds great significance in Turkish and Islamic art as well as in Islamic faith. Because the sum of the numerical values of the letters in the words "tulip" and "Allah" is 66, people believe that the tulip can symbolize the uniqueness and beauty of Allah; sometimes people even write the word "Allah" in the shape of a tulip.
Quran School (Museum).
The Selimiye Quran School is quite unique among Sinan's works. It features a dual-school layout with the Dar'ül-Kurra Quran School and the Dar'ül-Hadis Hadith School, which are symmetrical to the main mosque. Furthermore, it is the only Quran school built by Sinan that features a honeycomb Muqarnas gate.
The school consists of a large classroom, a series of small student rooms, and a water room surrounding a rectangular courtyard. The main mosque can be seen from both courtyards.
The Hadith school was built between 1567 and 1574, and the first lecturer (Muderris) was appointed in 1570-71 with a daily salary of 60 dirhams. In addition, there was 1 assistant lecturer (Muid) with a daily salary of 9 dirhams, 15 students with a daily salary of 4 dirhams, and 1 doorman (Bevvab), 1 administrator (Ferraş), and 1 cleaner, each with a daily salary of 3 dirhams.
The Quran school had 1 sheikh with a daily salary of 40 dirhams, 10 Hafiz (those who have memorized the Quran) with a daily salary of 2 dirhams, and 1 doorman, 1 administrator, and 1 cleaner, each with a daily salary of 2 dirhams.
In 1925, Atatürk ordered the Hadith school to be converted into the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art, and the Quran school later became the Foundation Museum, which operates to this day.
In the large classroom of the Quran school, teachers taught students the rules and methods of Quran recitation and listened to and corrected the students' mistakes. Students attended 5 classes a day, 4 days a week. After completing all courses, they would earn the title of Hafiz, becoming someone who could recite the Quran proficiently.
Students studying in a room at the Quran school. In the Ottoman education system, one could enroll in a Quran school after graduating from primary school. The school's curriculum focused mainly on repetitive recitation and discussion. In addition, students learned marble carving and the art of calligraphy, with all funding provided by the Ottoman Sultan's foundation.
Iznik ceramics used in the Selimiye Mosque.
The ancient city of Iznik is located on the shores of Lake Iznik, 90 kilometers southeast of Istanbul. In the late 15th century, it became the center of ceramic production for the Ottoman Empire.
The earliest visible Iznik ceramics were found in the imperial kitchens of the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul in 1489. Due to the Ottoman rulers' love for Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, Iznik ceramics combined traditional Ottoman arabesque patterns with Chinese elements. The style of early Iznik ceramics is known as "Rumi-Hatayi," where "Rumi" represents Ottoman arabesque patterns and "Hatayi" represents Chinese floral patterns.
Early Iznik ceramics were only cobalt blue; after the 16th century, gray-green and lavender were gradually introduced as soft tones. In the late 16th century, Mimar Sinan used Iznik tiles extensively in his architecture, replacing gray-green with bright green and lavender with bright red. The first building with red Iznik tiles was the Süleymaniye Mosque, built by Mimar Sinan in Istanbul in 1557.
In 1557, Kara Mehmed Çelebi became the chief painter of the Ottoman court. He introduced a floral style consisting of tulips, carnations, roses, and hyacinths into Iznik ceramics, making the patterns on the ceramics more natural.
The wooden windows of the Bayezid II Mosque in Edirne (1484-1488) use a Turkish geometric woodworking art called "kundekari," which also features Thuluth calligraphy.
Kundekari uses small pieces of wood that are interlocked and fixed together through special joints, without the use of nails or glue. The wood used is usually sturdy apple, pear, walnut, or cedar, and is often inlaid with pearls, tortoiseshell, ivory, or metals like gold and silver. Kundekari is heat-resistant and moisture-proof, protecting wooden panels from warping due to temperature and humidity changes, so it is mainly used for doors, windows, cabinets, and mosque cupboards.
The Sultan Bayezid II Complex (Sultan II Bayezid Külliyesi) is located on the north bank of the Tunca River in the northwestern suburbs of Edirne and was commissioned by the eighth Ottoman Sultan, Bayezid II (reigned 1481-1512). Bayezid II was the son of Mehmed the Conqueror and was known as "the Just." During his reign, he worked hard to maintain internal government affairs and defeated the Republic of Venice externally, leading the Ottoman Empire into a prosperous phase.
18th-century Hilye (calligraphic description of the Prophet) calligraphy in a glass bottle at the Old Mosque (Eski Cami) in Edirne. Built in 1414, the Old Mosque is the oldest mosque in Edirne and one of the last multi-domed mosques to use the early Ottoman Seljuk style, marking a farewell to early Ottoman architectural styles.
Thuluth calligraphy written by Mustafa Rasim in 1787 at the Old Mosque in Edirne, featuring verses praising the mosque by the local Edirne poet Akif (the son of the calligrapher).
18th-century brass door handle with a palm tree design at the Üç Şerefeli Mosque (Three-Balcony Mosque) in Edirne. The Üç Şerefeli Mosque was built between 1438 and 1447 and was the first central-domed mosque and the first mosque with a portico in Ottoman history, providing great inspiration to Mimar Sinan. The Üç Şerefeli Mosque suffered from fire and earthquakes in the mid-18th century and was subsequently restored.
1478 Thuluth calligraphy stone tablet at the Evliya Kasım Paşa Mosque in Edirne. It records that Kasım Paşa built this mosque in the year 883 of the Hijri calendar. Kasım Paşa was a famous Ottoman general who served as the commander of the European part of the Ottoman Empire. Between 1443 and 1444, he commanded the Ottoman army against the multinational crusader forces of Poland, Hungary, and others in Serbia and Bulgaria. The mosque was closed after 1950 due to the construction of a dam. Since then, it has been continuously damaged by floods and is now abandoned.
19th-century certificates from the Great Mosque of Kütahya; the first was written by Mustafa Sukru, and the second by Ahmed Hamdi. The Great Mosque of Kütahya was built between 1381 and 1410 and is the most important mosque in Kütahya.
1845 Naskh-script Quran from the Lal Huseyin Pasha Mosque in Kütahya, written by Hafiz Mustafa Sabri.
18th-19th century Naskh-script Quran from the Sari Mosque in Edirne.
15th-century tiles from the Şah Melek Mosque in Edirne. The Şah Melek Mosque was commissioned by the blind Şah Melek Pasha in 1429 and is famous for the tiles laid inside. Şah Melek Pasha played an important role in the succession war between the princes of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and later became an important figure in the courts of Sultan Mehmed I and Murad II.
15th-century tiles from the Muradiye Mosque in Edirne. The Muradiye Mosque was commissioned by the sixth Ottoman Sultan, Murad II (reigned 1421-1444), in 1436. This site was originally part of a Sufi Mevlevi order complex and was later converted into a mosque.
The interior of the mosque is famous for its beautiful tiles. Before being stolen in 2001, there were 479 tiles in the prayer hall with 54 different designs, 15 of which appeared only once, showing the strong influence of Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain. The blue-and-white hexagonal tiles are the earliest examples of Ottoman underglaze tiles. Because the arrangement of some tiles lacks coherence, some scholars believe that some of them were moved from the Ottoman palace in Edirne in the north.
A beautiful inlaid wooden table.
18th-century pearl and ivory inlaid Quran stand from the Yıldız Hamidiye Mosque in Istanbul.
1882 stone tablet from the Selcuk Hatun Mosque in Edirne.
Stone carvings in the Selimiye Quran School Museum.
Arasta Bazaar.
The Arasta Bazaar is 225 meters long, runs parallel to the southwest wall of the mosque, and generates income for the mosque by renting out 124 shops. The bazaar has three large gates, one of which connects to the mosque courtyard via stairs.
Some believe the Arasta Bazaar was built by Davud Aga, Mimar Sinan's successor as imperial chief architect, while others believe it was designed by Mimar Sinan to cover the retaining wall supporting the mosque on the southwest slope and was eventually completed by Davud Aga. This is because Mimar Sinan was very skilled at designing and building structures adapted to sloping terrain.
Between 1863 and 1868, Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, was exiled to Edirne by the Ottoman Empire with his family and lived near the Selimiye Mosque. During this period, he wrote numerous works, proclaimed the Bahá'í Faith to countries around the world, and formally broke with another leader, Mirza Yahya, which was a major event in Bahá'í history.
At the bazaar in Edirne, I bought the local specialty, crescent-shaped almond cookies called Kavala kurabiyesi. Kavala is now an important seaport in northern Greece, which was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1371 to 1913. During the population exchange between Turkey and Greece in 1922, tens of thousands of Turks left Kavala to settle in Edirne, bringing this cookie with them to Edirne.
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Crimean Tatar Halal Travel Guide: Food, Mosques and Muslim Heritage in the Old Capital
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Crimean Tatar Halal Travel Guide: Food, Mosques and Muslim Heritage in the Old Capital. In the summer of 2019, I went to Bakhchysarai, an ancient city in the mountains of the Crimean Peninsula. It is useful for readers interested in Crimean Tatars, Halal Food, Muslim Heritage.
In the summer of 2019, I went to Bakhchysarai, an ancient city in the mountains of the Crimean Peninsula. Bakhchysarai was established by the Crimean Tatars and became the capital of the Crimean Khanate in 1532. Although it became an ordinary town after Russia occupied the Crimean Khanate in 1783, it remains the cultural center of the Crimean Tatars, preserving their unique culture and customs.
The Crimean Tatars are a Turkic-speaking Muslim ethnic group that formed during the Golden Horde period. In May 1944, the Soviet Union deported all 240,000 Crimean Tatars from the Crimean Peninsula to Uzbekistan and other remote regions. A large number of Crimean Tatars died on the way to exile from cold, hunger, disease, and exhaustion. Even after reaching their destinations, many were forced to work hard in "Gulag" collective farms. For nearly half a century after that, there were almost no Crimean Tatars on the Crimean Peninsula.
After long-term efforts by the Crimean Tatar civil rights movement, the Soviet Union finally recognized the deportation of the Crimean Tatars as illegal in 1989, and the Crimean Tatars finally gained the right to return to their homeland. Today, 250,000 Crimean Tatars have returned to their homeland, working hard to rebuild their lives, overcoming social and economic obstacles, and continuously passing on their culture.
The dietary culture of the Crimean Tatars is closely related to their history. Because the Crimean Khanate was a long-term vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, it has many Ottoman-related foods, such as Turkish coffee, Baklava (Turkish dessert), and Dolma (stuffed grape leaves). After being exiled to Uzbekistan in 1944, a large number of Uzbek dishes were added to the Crimean Tatar diet, including Plov (pilaf), Lagman (hand-pulled noodles), Samsa (baked meat buns), Manti (steamed dumplings), and Lepyoshka (flatbread), among others. In addition, the Crimean Tatars have some unique delicacies, one of which is Chebureki (deep-fried meat pastry), known as a Crimean Tatar national delicacy. Next, I will share what I ate this time with everyone.
Regarding the historical sites of the Crimean Tatars, see "The Former Capital of the Crimean Khanate - Bakhchysarai".
Staying at a Crimean Tatar estate
I stayed at a very beautiful traditional Crimean Tatar house called Bahitgul Boutique-Hotel this time. They serve traditional Crimean Tatar meals, so I basically ate breakfast at my accommodation. Moreover, the view while eating there is particularly good, overlooking the entire ancient capital.
Breakfast
The first breakfast consisted of Lagman (hand-pulled noodles), Omlet (omelet), Lepyoshka (flatbread), and traditional coffee. The coffee comes from the Ottoman Empire, and the Lagman comes from the exile in Uzbekistan.
The second breakfast consisted of Tatar Ash (small Crimean Tatar dumplings) dipped in yogurt, Kasha v Assortimente (assorted porridge), and Bliny (thin pancakes) dipped in jam.
Samsa at the bazaar
I ate Samsa (baked meat buns) at the bazaar, but unfortunately, time was a bit tight and I didn't get to explore the bazaar properly.
Restaurant
I ate Plov (pilaf), Dolma (stuffed grape leaves), and Shashlik (lamb skewers) at a Crimean Tatar restaurant; the Shashlik was incredibly tender and fragrant.
"Dolma" is widely distributed in the Middle East, and its origin is currently unclear; it may have originated from the Ottoman court. According to the records of Persian court chefs, Dolma has several different wrapping methods, including grape leaves, cabbage leaves, cucumbers, eggplants, and apples, while the fillings include minced meat, fried mint, rice, and saffron.
Dessert shop
I bought desserts at a Crimean Tatar dessert shop in the ancient city, which are basically the same as the Baklava popular in former Ottoman regions (Turkey, the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Levant, etc.). The first row on the iron tray in Figure 3 says "hazelnut," and the second row says "caramel."
Baklava is said to come from the Ottoman court. Every year on the 15th of Ramadan, the Ottoman Sultan would distribute Baklava in trays to the Janissaries during a procession; this ceremony is also called "Baklava Alayı". The consumption of Baklava by Crimean Tatars is also related to the history of the Crimean Khanate as a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire.
Estate restaurant
At an estate-style Crimean Tatar restaurant at the foot of the mountain, I ate Brynza s Maslinami (sheep cheese with olives), Deniz Kebab (grilled salmon), Manti (steamed dumplings), and the Crimean Tatar specialty Chebureki (deep-fried meat pastry).
Chebureki (deep-fried meat pastry) is a unique national food of the Crimean Tatars. It can be made with lamb or beef, served with onions and black pepper, and the dough is very thin. Manti (steamed dumplings) were brought back by the Crimean Tatars after they were forced into exile in Uzbekistan in 1944.
This restaurant also has a small shop on the first floor, where I bought a Tubeteika (traditional skullcap).
Small shop at the mosque
I bought various magnets, brooches, and small flags with Crimean Tatar symbols at the Orta Mosque (Orta Cami), and also bought a small leather hat. The Crimean Tatar muezzin who sold the items was very enthusiastic; he took the initiative to show me around the mosque and told me which angle was best for selfies.
Orta Mosque was built in 1674 and was once an important Jumu'ah (Friday congregational) mosque for the Crimean Khanate, but the minaret and some surrounding buildings were later severely damaged and were not rebuilt and restored until 2012.
Kalpak wool hat
I bought a wool hat called Kalpak by the Crimean Tatars in a shop; it is the most classic winter hat for Crimean Tatars. This word is the same as the name of the felt hat worn by the Kyrgyz people, but the shape is different.
What Crimean Tatars looked like wearing a Kalpak in 1862
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Summary: This travel note introduces Crimean Tatar Halal Travel Guide: Food, Mosques and Muslim Heritage in the Old Capital. In the summer of 2019, I went to Bakhchysarai, an ancient city in the mountains of the Crimean Peninsula. It is useful for readers interested in Crimean Tatars, Halal Food, Muslim Heritage.
In the summer of 2019, I went to Bakhchysarai, an ancient city in the mountains of the Crimean Peninsula. Bakhchysarai was established by the Crimean Tatars and became the capital of the Crimean Khanate in 1532. Although it became an ordinary town after Russia occupied the Crimean Khanate in 1783, it remains the cultural center of the Crimean Tatars, preserving their unique culture and customs.
The Crimean Tatars are a Turkic-speaking Muslim ethnic group that formed during the Golden Horde period. In May 1944, the Soviet Union deported all 240,000 Crimean Tatars from the Crimean Peninsula to Uzbekistan and other remote regions. A large number of Crimean Tatars died on the way to exile from cold, hunger, disease, and exhaustion. Even after reaching their destinations, many were forced to work hard in "Gulag" collective farms. For nearly half a century after that, there were almost no Crimean Tatars on the Crimean Peninsula.
After long-term efforts by the Crimean Tatar civil rights movement, the Soviet Union finally recognized the deportation of the Crimean Tatars as illegal in 1989, and the Crimean Tatars finally gained the right to return to their homeland. Today, 250,000 Crimean Tatars have returned to their homeland, working hard to rebuild their lives, overcoming social and economic obstacles, and continuously passing on their culture.
The dietary culture of the Crimean Tatars is closely related to their history. Because the Crimean Khanate was a long-term vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, it has many Ottoman-related foods, such as Turkish coffee, Baklava (Turkish dessert), and Dolma (stuffed grape leaves). After being exiled to Uzbekistan in 1944, a large number of Uzbek dishes were added to the Crimean Tatar diet, including Plov (pilaf), Lagman (hand-pulled noodles), Samsa (baked meat buns), Manti (steamed dumplings), and Lepyoshka (flatbread), among others. In addition, the Crimean Tatars have some unique delicacies, one of which is Chebureki (deep-fried meat pastry), known as a Crimean Tatar national delicacy. Next, I will share what I ate this time with everyone.
Regarding the historical sites of the Crimean Tatars, see "The Former Capital of the Crimean Khanate - Bakhchysarai".
Staying at a Crimean Tatar estate
I stayed at a very beautiful traditional Crimean Tatar house called Bahitgul Boutique-Hotel this time. They serve traditional Crimean Tatar meals, so I basically ate breakfast at my accommodation. Moreover, the view while eating there is particularly good, overlooking the entire ancient capital.
Breakfast
The first breakfast consisted of Lagman (hand-pulled noodles), Omlet (omelet), Lepyoshka (flatbread), and traditional coffee. The coffee comes from the Ottoman Empire, and the Lagman comes from the exile in Uzbekistan.
The second breakfast consisted of Tatar Ash (small Crimean Tatar dumplings) dipped in yogurt, Kasha v Assortimente (assorted porridge), and Bliny (thin pancakes) dipped in jam.
Samsa at the bazaar
I ate Samsa (baked meat buns) at the bazaar, but unfortunately, time was a bit tight and I didn't get to explore the bazaar properly.
Restaurant
I ate Plov (pilaf), Dolma (stuffed grape leaves), and Shashlik (lamb skewers) at a Crimean Tatar restaurant; the Shashlik was incredibly tender and fragrant.
"Dolma" is widely distributed in the Middle East, and its origin is currently unclear; it may have originated from the Ottoman court. According to the records of Persian court chefs, Dolma has several different wrapping methods, including grape leaves, cabbage leaves, cucumbers, eggplants, and apples, while the fillings include minced meat, fried mint, rice, and saffron.
Dessert shop
I bought desserts at a Crimean Tatar dessert shop in the ancient city, which are basically the same as the Baklava popular in former Ottoman regions (Turkey, the Caucasus, the Balkans, the Levant, etc.). The first row on the iron tray in Figure 3 says "hazelnut," and the second row says "caramel."
Baklava is said to come from the Ottoman court. Every year on the 15th of Ramadan, the Ottoman Sultan would distribute Baklava in trays to the Janissaries during a procession; this ceremony is also called "Baklava Alayı". The consumption of Baklava by Crimean Tatars is also related to the history of the Crimean Khanate as a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire.
Estate restaurant
At an estate-style Crimean Tatar restaurant at the foot of the mountain, I ate Brynza s Maslinami (sheep cheese with olives), Deniz Kebab (grilled salmon), Manti (steamed dumplings), and the Crimean Tatar specialty Chebureki (deep-fried meat pastry).
Chebureki (deep-fried meat pastry) is a unique national food of the Crimean Tatars. It can be made with lamb or beef, served with onions and black pepper, and the dough is very thin. Manti (steamed dumplings) were brought back by the Crimean Tatars after they were forced into exile in Uzbekistan in 1944.
This restaurant also has a small shop on the first floor, where I bought a Tubeteika (traditional skullcap).
Small shop at the mosque
I bought various magnets, brooches, and small flags with Crimean Tatar symbols at the Orta Mosque (Orta Cami), and also bought a small leather hat. The Crimean Tatar muezzin who sold the items was very enthusiastic; he took the initiative to show me around the mosque and told me which angle was best for selfies.
Orta Mosque was built in 1674 and was once an important Jumu'ah (Friday congregational) mosque for the Crimean Khanate, but the minaret and some surrounding buildings were later severely damaged and were not rebuilt and restored until 2012.
Kalpak wool hat
I bought a wool hat called Kalpak by the Crimean Tatars in a shop; it is the most classic winter hat for Crimean Tatars. This word is the same as the name of the felt hat worn by the Kyrgyz people, but the shape is different.
What Crimean Tatars looked like wearing a Kalpak in 1862
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South of Kunming Halal Travel Guide: Liren, Yuxi Daying and Eshan Dabaiyi (Part 1)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces South of Kunming Halal Travel Guide: Liren, Yuxi Daying and Eshan Dabaiyi (Part 1). Author: Zainab. It is useful for readers interested in Yunnan Travel, Hui Muslims, China Mosques.
Author: Zainab
From October 4th to 6th, our family rented a car from Kunming to travel to Yuxi, Tonghai, Jianshui, Shadian, Kaiyuan, and Mengzi. This first article covers our departure from Kunming and our visits to three Hui Muslim villages: Liren in Xishan, Daying in Yuxi, and Dabaiyi in Eshan.
I. Departure from Kunming
We flew from Xishuangbanna to Kunming on the afternoon of October 3rd, took the airport subway line to the terminal station at Tangzixiang, and after walking a few steps, we arrived at Zhenghe Beef Restaurant. The owner was incredibly welcoming, and the food was so delicious that my parents, who have lived in Urumqi for fifty or sixty years, couldn't stop praising it and immediately fell in love with Kunming.
Some of their meat dishes were written on a board, but for vegetable dishes, we had to choose directly from the restaurant's classic display case. We ordered crispy red beans, stir-fried bitter greens, stir-fried piao mushrooms (a type of local fungus), mashed potatoes with mint (laonai yangyu), stir-fried meat with bean curd, and steamed beef with rice flour. The owner also gave us some meat broth on the house. It was the first time our whole family had eaten crispy red beans, and everyone loved them. The piao mushrooms had a texture like meat and were very fresh and delicious. Laonai yangyu is the Yunnan version of mashed potatoes; it tastes very savory. The bean curd is more tender than tofu and has a very mild flavor, so the meat mixed with it is seasoned relatively strongly. We all agreed that the best dish they made was the steamed beef with rice flour. They were very generous with the meat, unlike some shops that use so much starch you can't even taste the meat.
On the morning of October 4th, we ate Dali ersi (rice noodles) and papaya water with rose jam and chilled shrimp at the entrance of the Yixi Gong Mosque in Kunming, beginning our three-day trip to Kunming, Yuxi, and Honghe.
In the late 19th century, as the Hui Muslim caravans traveling through Kunming and Dali to Myanmar and Thailand flourished, Hui Muslims from western Yunnan, such as those from Weishan in Dali, began to settle in the Qingyun Street area of Kunming. In 1899 (the 25th year of the Guangxu reign), the Hui Muslims of western Yunnan in Kunming, together with the Xingshunhe firm established by Yuxi Hui Muslims, pooled their funds to build the Chongshan Gongsuo (Chongshan Public Office) at the east end of Qingyun Street. Afterward, Hui Muslims from Dali merged the Zhuiyuan Hall, Chengyi Hall, and Baozhen Hall with the Chongshan Gongsuo. In 1919, it was renamed Chongshan She (Chongshan Society) by order of Yunnan Provincial Governor Tang Jiyao, officially renamed Yixi Gong Mosque in 1942, and was known as the Kunming Overseas Chinese Mosque in 1951.
II. Kunming Haikou Liren Mosque
After picking up our car at Kunming Station, our first stop was the Haikou Liren Mosque in the Xishan District of Kunming, 46 kilometers away from the station.
Liren was originally called Heihuzhai, and it is said that Muslims have lived there since the Yuan Dynasty. Liren Mosque was first built in 1645 (the second year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty), destroyed in 1856 (the sixth year of the Xianfeng reign), rebuilt in 1872 (the second year of the Tongzhi reign), and expanded in 1896 (the 22nd year of the Guangxu reign) with funds raised by "Lady Yang the Third," a local heroine. It was newly designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Kunming in 2020.
The main gate of the mosque also serves as a minaret, designed in the traditional Yunnan style: the lower part is a single-eave gate tower with a hip-and-gable roof, and the upper part is a hexagonal pavilion with a pointed roof, inside which hangs a bronze bell used for the call to prayer.
Inside the main prayer hall, there is an exquisite mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca) featuring traditional Yunnan-style calligraphy, as well as a traditional-style minbar (pulpit) built in 1945, inscribed with "Qingzhen Shengyu Tai" (Pure and True Holy Preaching Platform) and dated "the 34th year of the Republic of China," which is very rare.
The flower beds built in 1940 look very elegant.
According to records, Xu Xiake passed through Liren Village in 1638 (the 11th year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty), so there is a sign inside the mosque marking it as a "Xu Xiake Travel Route Landmark."
III. Yuxi Daying Village
Continuing 52 kilometers south from Haikou Liren Mosque, we arrived at the Daying Mosque in Yuxi.
The mosque's main gate was rebuilt in 1914 as a two-story gate tower with an inward-facing eight-character screen wall. The upper level has four corners, and the lower level has eight corners, featuring exquisite decorative dougong (bracket sets), carved beams, painted rafters, and upturned eaves. Entering the gate, one finds the Xingmeng Lou (Awakening Dream Tower/minaret), a three-eave, four-cornered, pointed-roof pavilion standing 30 meters tall.
The main hall of Daying Mosque has been expanded many times. The front hall was built in 1605 (the 33rd year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty) and completed in 1617 (the 46th year of the Wanli reign). The middle hall was expanded during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, and the rear hall was expanded in 1985, with a total capacity of 2,000 people.
While visiting the market in Daying, we bought some local crispy roast duck at a 30-year-old shop. The lean duck is much better than Beijing roast duck, though the accompanying sauce is not as good as the one in Nanjing.
During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, the Hui Muslims of Daying, Yuxi, were famous for their caravans "traveling abroad" to trade in Myanmar and Thailand. The most famous of these was Xingshunhe, founded by Ma Youling in 1846. Ma Youling initially bought yarn in Kunming, transported it to Yuxi to exchange for cloth, and then dyed the cloth with local indigo into blue or black fabric for sale. During the Guangxu reign, upon learning that Chiang Mai, Thailand, had foreign indigo that produced better dyeing results, Ma Youling began organizing caravans to Chiang Mai to purchase foreign indigo, which he then sold in Kunming after dyeing the cloth. In the late Guangxu period, Xingshunhe grew larger and larger, dealing in cloth, straw hats, foreign indigo, and Sichuan salt, and opened branches all over Yunnan. Later, to facilitate caravan transport, they switched to lighter goods such as deer antler, musk, tortoise-deer glue, tiger glue, and tiger bone, opening branches in major cities like Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Hankou, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.
Old Hui Muslim houses in Daying Village.
The front of the house is inscribed with "Yingchen Li," and on the right, it says "the Yihai Year of the Republic of China," which is 1935.
At the entrance of Daying Village stands a Qing Dynasty bluestone memorial archway, erected in 1896 (the 22nd year of the Guangxu reign) by order of the Guangxu Emperor to honor the highly respected Hui Muslim centenarian Ma Xuekuan and his wife, Madam Ma. It is a Yuxi municipal-level cultural relic protection unit.
The archway has three gates. The middle gate is inscribed with "Imperial Decree of Commendation," the front says "A Centenarian of Peace," and the back says "Gate of Chastity and Longevity." The inner sides of the pillars have a couplet: "Reaching the age of one hundred, competing to praise the supreme longevity; the imperial decree commends virtue and age, permitting the construction of this lofty arch." The side gates also have couplets: "Ten thousand miles of dragon light engrave the virtuous people, a hundred years of crane marks signify the extraordinary." And: "Life is not full, but you have fulfilled it; it is hard to meet in the world, yet I have encountered it." "
Two watchtowers were likely built in the past to defend against bandits.
IV. Eshan Dabaiyi Village
Continuing 42 kilometers south from Daying, Yuxi, we arrived at Dabaiyi Village in Eshan County.
The founding date of Dabaiyi Mosque is unknown. It was rebuilt many times during the Kangxi, Qianlong, and Tongzhi reigns, destroyed by an earthquake in 1913, rebuilt in 1915, and the call-to-prayer tower was rebuilt in 1935.
The call-to-prayer tower, also known as the Awakening Dream Tower, was built in 1935. The first floor's facade is in a Western gate tower style, while the second floor is a traditional Chinese hexagonal pavilion with a pointed roof. Currently, the first-floor gate tower has been renovated, with only the middle door frame remaining.
The front hall of the main prayer hall was built in 1915, and the rear hall was expanded in 1980. Very interestingly, the roof uses yellow glazed tiles to spell out the three characters for "Mosque" (Qingzhen Si).
Dabaiyi in Eshan is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese. From the donation list for the construction of the mosque's teaching building in 1996, it can be seen that the donating overseas Chinese came from many regions, including Chiang Mai, Mae Sai, Bangkok, Wang Yang, He Fei, Da Duan, Mae Salong, Man Tang, Su Ming, and Lampang in Thailand, as well as Tachileik and Kengtung in Myanmar.
The history of Dabaiyi Hui Muslim caravans "traveling abroad" to trade in Myanmar and Thailand is very long. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, Dabaiyi Hui Muslims would lead caravans every year, carrying local cloth, yellow tobacco, wool felt, and daily necessities through Simao and Pu'er to trade in Kengtung and Tachileik in Myanmar, and Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in Thailand, bringing back goods such as indigo, deer antler, ivory, tiger bone, and cattle and sheep hides. Some Dabaiyi Hui Muslims settled down in Thailand and Myanmar, opening shops and marrying local women. Some stayed because of rampant bandits on the road, fearing their property would be looted.
At noon, we ate stir-fried cowpeas with meat, stewed squash, cold sliced meat, and stir-fried chayote at the Yipinxuan Restaurant at the entrance of Dabaiyi Village in Eshan. Their cold sliced meat was not very good. After eating, we entered the village and saw a private kitchen run in an old courtyard; the environment was so good that I regretted my choice!
Next to the Dabaiyi Mosque is a traditional courtyard with a Western-style gate tower at the entrance, inscribed with "Dingxingxiang," which I suspect might be the name of the caravan firm their family opened during the Qing Dynasty or the Republic of China. The environment inside the courtyard was very good and felt very refreshing. When we went, there was only a grandmother with her grandchildren, and the family seemed very happy. The traditional bluestone bricks had been replaced with terrazzo, giving a sense of overlapping eras. Corn was hanging in the courtyard, and walnuts and sunflower seeds were drying under the windows, giving it a very strong sense of daily life.
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Summary: This travel note introduces South of Kunming Halal Travel Guide: Liren, Yuxi Daying and Eshan Dabaiyi (Part 1). Author: Zainab. It is useful for readers interested in Yunnan Travel, Hui Muslims, China Mosques.
Author: Zainab
From October 4th to 6th, our family rented a car from Kunming to travel to Yuxi, Tonghai, Jianshui, Shadian, Kaiyuan, and Mengzi. This first article covers our departure from Kunming and our visits to three Hui Muslim villages: Liren in Xishan, Daying in Yuxi, and Dabaiyi in Eshan.
I. Departure from Kunming
We flew from Xishuangbanna to Kunming on the afternoon of October 3rd, took the airport subway line to the terminal station at Tangzixiang, and after walking a few steps, we arrived at Zhenghe Beef Restaurant. The owner was incredibly welcoming, and the food was so delicious that my parents, who have lived in Urumqi for fifty or sixty years, couldn't stop praising it and immediately fell in love with Kunming.
Some of their meat dishes were written on a board, but for vegetable dishes, we had to choose directly from the restaurant's classic display case. We ordered crispy red beans, stir-fried bitter greens, stir-fried piao mushrooms (a type of local fungus), mashed potatoes with mint (laonai yangyu), stir-fried meat with bean curd, and steamed beef with rice flour. The owner also gave us some meat broth on the house. It was the first time our whole family had eaten crispy red beans, and everyone loved them. The piao mushrooms had a texture like meat and were very fresh and delicious. Laonai yangyu is the Yunnan version of mashed potatoes; it tastes very savory. The bean curd is more tender than tofu and has a very mild flavor, so the meat mixed with it is seasoned relatively strongly. We all agreed that the best dish they made was the steamed beef with rice flour. They were very generous with the meat, unlike some shops that use so much starch you can't even taste the meat.
On the morning of October 4th, we ate Dali ersi (rice noodles) and papaya water with rose jam and chilled shrimp at the entrance of the Yixi Gong Mosque in Kunming, beginning our three-day trip to Kunming, Yuxi, and Honghe.
In the late 19th century, as the Hui Muslim caravans traveling through Kunming and Dali to Myanmar and Thailand flourished, Hui Muslims from western Yunnan, such as those from Weishan in Dali, began to settle in the Qingyun Street area of Kunming. In 1899 (the 25th year of the Guangxu reign), the Hui Muslims of western Yunnan in Kunming, together with the Xingshunhe firm established by Yuxi Hui Muslims, pooled their funds to build the Chongshan Gongsuo (Chongshan Public Office) at the east end of Qingyun Street. Afterward, Hui Muslims from Dali merged the Zhuiyuan Hall, Chengyi Hall, and Baozhen Hall with the Chongshan Gongsuo. In 1919, it was renamed Chongshan She (Chongshan Society) by order of Yunnan Provincial Governor Tang Jiyao, officially renamed Yixi Gong Mosque in 1942, and was known as the Kunming Overseas Chinese Mosque in 1951.
II. Kunming Haikou Liren Mosque
After picking up our car at Kunming Station, our first stop was the Haikou Liren Mosque in the Xishan District of Kunming, 46 kilometers away from the station.
Liren was originally called Heihuzhai, and it is said that Muslims have lived there since the Yuan Dynasty. Liren Mosque was first built in 1645 (the second year of the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty), destroyed in 1856 (the sixth year of the Xianfeng reign), rebuilt in 1872 (the second year of the Tongzhi reign), and expanded in 1896 (the 22nd year of the Guangxu reign) with funds raised by "Lady Yang the Third," a local heroine. It was newly designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Kunming in 2020.
The main gate of the mosque also serves as a minaret, designed in the traditional Yunnan style: the lower part is a single-eave gate tower with a hip-and-gable roof, and the upper part is a hexagonal pavilion with a pointed roof, inside which hangs a bronze bell used for the call to prayer.
Inside the main prayer hall, there is an exquisite mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca) featuring traditional Yunnan-style calligraphy, as well as a traditional-style minbar (pulpit) built in 1945, inscribed with "Qingzhen Shengyu Tai" (Pure and True Holy Preaching Platform) and dated "the 34th year of the Republic of China," which is very rare.
The flower beds built in 1940 look very elegant.
According to records, Xu Xiake passed through Liren Village in 1638 (the 11th year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty), so there is a sign inside the mosque marking it as a "Xu Xiake Travel Route Landmark."
III. Yuxi Daying Village
Continuing 52 kilometers south from Haikou Liren Mosque, we arrived at the Daying Mosque in Yuxi.
The mosque's main gate was rebuilt in 1914 as a two-story gate tower with an inward-facing eight-character screen wall. The upper level has four corners, and the lower level has eight corners, featuring exquisite decorative dougong (bracket sets), carved beams, painted rafters, and upturned eaves. Entering the gate, one finds the Xingmeng Lou (Awakening Dream Tower/minaret), a three-eave, four-cornered, pointed-roof pavilion standing 30 meters tall.
The main hall of Daying Mosque has been expanded many times. The front hall was built in 1605 (the 33rd year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty) and completed in 1617 (the 46th year of the Wanli reign). The middle hall was expanded during the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty, and the rear hall was expanded in 1985, with a total capacity of 2,000 people.
While visiting the market in Daying, we bought some local crispy roast duck at a 30-year-old shop. The lean duck is much better than Beijing roast duck, though the accompanying sauce is not as good as the one in Nanjing.
During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, the Hui Muslims of Daying, Yuxi, were famous for their caravans "traveling abroad" to trade in Myanmar and Thailand. The most famous of these was Xingshunhe, founded by Ma Youling in 1846. Ma Youling initially bought yarn in Kunming, transported it to Yuxi to exchange for cloth, and then dyed the cloth with local indigo into blue or black fabric for sale. During the Guangxu reign, upon learning that Chiang Mai, Thailand, had foreign indigo that produced better dyeing results, Ma Youling began organizing caravans to Chiang Mai to purchase foreign indigo, which he then sold in Kunming after dyeing the cloth. In the late Guangxu period, Xingshunhe grew larger and larger, dealing in cloth, straw hats, foreign indigo, and Sichuan salt, and opened branches all over Yunnan. Later, to facilitate caravan transport, they switched to lighter goods such as deer antler, musk, tortoise-deer glue, tiger glue, and tiger bone, opening branches in major cities like Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Hankou, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.
Old Hui Muslim houses in Daying Village.
The front of the house is inscribed with "Yingchen Li," and on the right, it says "the Yihai Year of the Republic of China," which is 1935.
At the entrance of Daying Village stands a Qing Dynasty bluestone memorial archway, erected in 1896 (the 22nd year of the Guangxu reign) by order of the Guangxu Emperor to honor the highly respected Hui Muslim centenarian Ma Xuekuan and his wife, Madam Ma. It is a Yuxi municipal-level cultural relic protection unit.
The archway has three gates. The middle gate is inscribed with "Imperial Decree of Commendation," the front says "A Centenarian of Peace," and the back says "Gate of Chastity and Longevity." The inner sides of the pillars have a couplet: "Reaching the age of one hundred, competing to praise the supreme longevity; the imperial decree commends virtue and age, permitting the construction of this lofty arch." The side gates also have couplets: "Ten thousand miles of dragon light engrave the virtuous people, a hundred years of crane marks signify the extraordinary." And: "Life is not full, but you have fulfilled it; it is hard to meet in the world, yet I have encountered it." "
Two watchtowers were likely built in the past to defend against bandits.
IV. Eshan Dabaiyi Village
Continuing 42 kilometers south from Daying, Yuxi, we arrived at Dabaiyi Village in Eshan County.
The founding date of Dabaiyi Mosque is unknown. It was rebuilt many times during the Kangxi, Qianlong, and Tongzhi reigns, destroyed by an earthquake in 1913, rebuilt in 1915, and the call-to-prayer tower was rebuilt in 1935.
The call-to-prayer tower, also known as the Awakening Dream Tower, was built in 1935. The first floor's facade is in a Western gate tower style, while the second floor is a traditional Chinese hexagonal pavilion with a pointed roof. Currently, the first-floor gate tower has been renovated, with only the middle door frame remaining.
The front hall of the main prayer hall was built in 1915, and the rear hall was expanded in 1980. Very interestingly, the roof uses yellow glazed tiles to spell out the three characters for "Mosque" (Qingzhen Si).
Dabaiyi in Eshan is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese. From the donation list for the construction of the mosque's teaching building in 1996, it can be seen that the donating overseas Chinese came from many regions, including Chiang Mai, Mae Sai, Bangkok, Wang Yang, He Fei, Da Duan, Mae Salong, Man Tang, Su Ming, and Lampang in Thailand, as well as Tachileik and Kengtung in Myanmar.
The history of Dabaiyi Hui Muslim caravans "traveling abroad" to trade in Myanmar and Thailand is very long. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, Dabaiyi Hui Muslims would lead caravans every year, carrying local cloth, yellow tobacco, wool felt, and daily necessities through Simao and Pu'er to trade in Kengtung and Tachileik in Myanmar, and Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in Thailand, bringing back goods such as indigo, deer antler, ivory, tiger bone, and cattle and sheep hides. Some Dabaiyi Hui Muslims settled down in Thailand and Myanmar, opening shops and marrying local women. Some stayed because of rampant bandits on the road, fearing their property would be looted.
At noon, we ate stir-fried cowpeas with meat, stewed squash, cold sliced meat, and stir-fried chayote at the Yipinxuan Restaurant at the entrance of Dabaiyi Village in Eshan. Their cold sliced meat was not very good. After eating, we entered the village and saw a private kitchen run in an old courtyard; the environment was so good that I regretted my choice!
Next to the Dabaiyi Mosque is a traditional courtyard with a Western-style gate tower at the entrance, inscribed with "Dingxingxiang," which I suspect might be the name of the caravan firm their family opened during the Qing Dynasty or the Republic of China. The environment inside the courtyard was very good and felt very refreshing. When we went, there was only a grandmother with her grandchildren, and the family seemed very happy. The traditional bluestone bricks had been replaced with terrazzo, giving a sense of overlapping eras. Corn was hanging in the courtyard, and walnuts and sunflower seeds were drying under the windows, giving it a very strong sense of daily life.
Collapse Read »
South of Kunming Halal Travel Guide: Liren, Yuxi Daying and Eshan Dabaiyi (Part 2)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces South of Kunming Halal Travel Guide: Liren, Yuxi Daying and Eshan Dabaiyi (Part 2). Another Republic of China-era gate next to the Dabaiyi Mosque, inscribed with 'Wobo Shanfang' (Mountain Villa of Resting Waves), featuring beautiful traditional Arabic calligraphy of a dua, with a pair of. It is useful for readers interested in Yunnan Travel, Hui Muslims, China Mosques.
Another Republic of China-era gate next to the Dabaiyi Mosque, inscribed with 'Wobo Shanfang' (Mountain Villa of Resting Waves), featuring beautiful traditional Arabic calligraphy of a dua, with a pair of horse-tethering stones on both sides of the gate, one with a lion and the other with an elephant.
Other old houses
Residential gate lintel
Collapse Read »
Summary: This travel note introduces South of Kunming Halal Travel Guide: Liren, Yuxi Daying and Eshan Dabaiyi (Part 2). Another Republic of China-era gate next to the Dabaiyi Mosque, inscribed with 'Wobo Shanfang' (Mountain Villa of Resting Waves), featuring beautiful traditional Arabic calligraphy of a dua, with a pair of. It is useful for readers interested in Yunnan Travel, Hui Muslims, China Mosques.
Another Republic of China-era gate next to the Dabaiyi Mosque, inscribed with 'Wobo Shanfang' (Mountain Villa of Resting Waves), featuring beautiful traditional Arabic calligraphy of a dua, with a pair of horse-tethering stones on both sides of the gate, one with a lion and the other with an elephant.
Other old houses
Residential gate lintel
Collapse Read »
Tatars in Kazan: Mosques, Muslim Heritage and City Life (Part 1)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Tatars in Kazan: Mosques, Muslim Heritage and City Life (Part 1). As the former capital of the Kazan Khanate, the city of Kazan was completely destroyed after being conquered by Ivan the Terrible in 1552. It is useful for readers interested in Kazan Travel, Tatar Muslims, Islamic Heritage.
As the former capital of the Kazan Khanate, the city of Kazan was completely destroyed after being conquered by Ivan the Terrible in 1552. In 1556, the Russians built a new city of Kazan, settling 7,000 Russians within it, while the remaining Tatars settled on the banks of Lake Kaban to the southwest of the city, gradually forming the Old Tatar Quarter (Staro-Tatarskaya Sloboda).
The early Old Tatar Quarter consisted of wooden buildings, which were very prone to fires. During the reign of Catherine the Great (reigned 1762-1796), the city of Kazan was rebuilt using brick and stone, gradually forming the current appearance of the Old Tatar historical district.
The scope of the Old Tatar Quarter in Kazan.
Although part of the district was converted into an industrial zone during the Soviet era, the current Old Tatar historical district still covers 88 hectares and preserves 75 historical buildings from the 18th to the 20th centuries, including mosques in the traditional Tatar style, mansions of wealthy Tatar merchants, and theaters. I have previously shared the 13 historical buildings of traditional-style mosques preserved in the community (see "Traditional Mosques of the Kazan Tatars"), and this time I will share my experience of eating and exploring in the Old Tatar historical district.
Tatarskaya Usadba (Tatar Manor).
This time I stayed in a traditional Tatar manor on the banks of Lake Kaban, which was originally the residence of the 19th-century Tatar merchant Khamit Sabitov. The manor offers both accommodation and dining. Because I did not book their main meals in advance, I only had breakfast, which was also in the traditional Tatar style.
Bekken, a Tatar specialty pie, is made with sour cream dough and filled with cabbage and egg.
Sochni cake with frosting and Pirozhki (Eastern European stuffed buns).
Tatar cultural festival "Pechen Bazar" (Hay Market).
I was very lucky to attend the Tatar cultural festival "Pechen Bazar" (Hay Market) in Kazan this time. The festival was held on the banks of Lake Kaban for two days, August 17th and 18th, with various Tatar designers, poets, musicians, and filmmakers showcasing and sharing their work; it was especially lively.
First, I will share what I ate at the festival. The first stall was traditional Tatar tea. You could see many ingredients in the tea, such as thyme, linden leaves, chamomile flowers, oregano leaves, mint leaves, and sage. You could also see the uncle throwing pine cones directly into the tea stove, which was especially fragrant.
I really like the drawing on the cup, it is Tatar trendy!
This stall sold traditional Tatar desserts, which are a bit like Turkish desserts and go very well with tea.
This stall sold jam.
I ate cakes made by Tatar girls and also drank lemonade.
Stalls with various Tatar snacks.
Many Tatar artisans also came this time.
I bought two wooden puppets made by a Tatar brother; they are images of Tatar youth.
A Tatar youth is making Arabic calligraphy on the spot with thread.
A Tatar auntie was selling headpieces for Kazan Tatar women, decorated with pearls, which looked very beautiful.
A stall selling honey. This festival invited some Tatars living in the countryside to sell the honey, cheese, and sausages they made themselves, which was also very interesting.
I bought three hats at the festival. The first felt hat (VOYLOCHNAYA TYUBETEYKA) came from a Tatar brand that makes leather and wool felt products, which is quite interesting. And the two girls in the picture below are dressed so beautifully!
The second hat stall; I really should have bought this traditional Tatar vest at that time.
The third hat stall.
A stall at the festival selling traditional Kazan Tatar flower hats, and also selling traditional Kazan Tatar clothing; I was very tempted.
Live music performance; on the right, you can see the traditional Tatar house where I stayed.
The uncle is an architect who builds mosques, sharing how to build a mosque.
A young Tatar female poet is reading poetry.
The clothing worn by the host is the formal wear of urban Kazan Tatars in the early 20th century.
It was a live demonstration on how to tie a headscarf. I took a look and it was quite complicated, requiring many steps.
The dessert stall with the longest queue at the entire festival.
This stall is a Tatar creative brand that follows a sweet Islamic style.
A stall selling books on Tatar culture.
In the evening, they were showing a documentary about the Kazan Tatars, but unfortunately, I couldn't understand it.
Chak-Chak Museum.
The Chak-Chak Museum in Kazan is one of the most intuitive places to experience traditional Tatar culture. The museum itself is located in a Tatar wooden house in the Kazan Tatar historical district, and the interior well restores the home decor of a traditional Tatar family, which is especially atmospheric. If there are 6 people, they can teach you how to make Chak-Chak on the spot. Because I was alone, I booked a tasting and guided tour on the official website (https://www.muzeino.ru/), and the museum staff will email you to confirm whether to use English or Russian.
The experience that day was great. After arriving at the museum at the appointed time, a Tatar lady with fluent English was already waiting for me. The whole process was really like being a guest in a Tatar home. The lady told me various Tatar legends, daily customs, and cultural traditions, and then explained in detail the production process of the national dessert, Chak-Chak.
Chak-Chak is very similar to Sachima (a sweet fried dough treat). It is made by mixing flour with milk and eggs, deep-frying it, and then pouring honey over it. Chak-Chak is popular in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. It is said to have originated from the ancient Bulgar Khanate. In addition, there are similar desserts among the Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Uzbek people. Chak-Chak is an important food at Kazan Tatar weddings. In the past, every Kazan Tatar woman had to learn how to make Chak-Chak, usually taught by a mother to her daughter or a grandmother to her granddaughter.
Afterwards, the Tatar lady made me some Tatar tea and, while letting me taste traditional Tatar desserts, told me about Tatar clothing, silver jewelry, embroidery, and other handicrafts. We had a very happy chat.
The museum before restoration.
Magnets bought at the museum.
Dom Tatarskoi Kulinarii (House of Tatar Cuisine).
When I was in Kazan, I ate at the famous traditional Tatar restaurant Dom Tatarskoi Kulinarii (House of Tatar Cuisine) on Bauman Pedestrian Street. The restaurant opened in 1969. The founder was Yunus Akhmetzyanov, a Tatar cuisine expert and author of "Dishes of Tatar cuisine," who remained the head chef until 1984.
It is a pity that the horse sausage was sold out when I went, so I ordered another type of beef sausage called "Kuchmeche Kolbasasy," which contains heart, liver, and lung in addition to meat. I also ordered a Bulgar stewed lamb, which is placed in parchment paper and served with roasted apples, honey, and crushed nuts. Bulgar is an ancient millennium-old capital in Tatarstan and the spiritual home of the Kazan Tatars.
For soup, I ordered Tatar Azu (Tatar beef casserole soup), and also drank sea buckthorn tea, which contained honey and cinnamon in addition to sea buckthorn.
Teatr Natsionalnoi Kukhni (Tatar Restaurant).
In the evening, I ate at the restaurant Teatr Natsionalnoi Kukhni in another Tatar manor on the banks of Lake Kaban, which was once the residence of the wealthy Tatar merchant Bikmukhametov. I ordered horse meat salad, pumpkin cream soup with dried apricots and cream cheese, and stewed fresh horse meat, Kullama. Kullama is the Tatar version of the Kazakh national dish Beshbarmak (five-finger stew).
Tubatay Fast Food Restaurant.
Tubatay (Tyubetey) is a fast-food restaurant that sells traditional Tatar dishes, and there is also a branch in the ancient city of Bulgar. "Tubatay" means the characteristic round hat of the Tatars.
I ordered Manti (steamed dumplings), a specialty meat pie Belesh (made with sour cream dough and filled with beef, potatoes, and onions), Tatar clear soup dumplings Pilmen served with sour cream Smetana, and Tatar tea.
Large Tatar specialty halal supermarket.
Next to where I stayed, there was a large Tatar specialty halal supermarket. The variety of traditional Tatar desserts was dazzling, so I bought some to eat back at my accommodation.
The Kazan Tatar version of horse sausage; the horse meat flavor is much stronger than the Uzbek way of making horse sausage.
Kumis (fermented mare's milk), which is more sour than the Kazakh version.
It is called Smetannik, which means sour cream. The outside is made of butter dough (Sdobnoye testo), and the middle is sour cream, which is super delicious.
This nut cake is called Oriental dessert (vostochnaya sladost).
Central Market.
The Central Market in Kazan, where mushrooms are sold in the summer.
Tatar round hat bought at the Central Market.
Small shop in the mosque.
Two Tatar magnets bought at the Märcani Mosque, showing the rural life of the Volga Tatars, one hunting rabbits and the other keeping bees.
Goose meat sold in the mosque; smoked goose meat and smoked horse meat are specialty delicacies of the Kazan Tatars.
Tubetei (Tyubetey), a hat of the Kazan Tatars, bought at the shop of the Nurulla Mosque. Collapse Read »
Summary: This travel note introduces Tatars in Kazan: Mosques, Muslim Heritage and City Life (Part 1). As the former capital of the Kazan Khanate, the city of Kazan was completely destroyed after being conquered by Ivan the Terrible in 1552. It is useful for readers interested in Kazan Travel, Tatar Muslims, Islamic Heritage.
As the former capital of the Kazan Khanate, the city of Kazan was completely destroyed after being conquered by Ivan the Terrible in 1552. In 1556, the Russians built a new city of Kazan, settling 7,000 Russians within it, while the remaining Tatars settled on the banks of Lake Kaban to the southwest of the city, gradually forming the Old Tatar Quarter (Staro-Tatarskaya Sloboda).
The early Old Tatar Quarter consisted of wooden buildings, which were very prone to fires. During the reign of Catherine the Great (reigned 1762-1796), the city of Kazan was rebuilt using brick and stone, gradually forming the current appearance of the Old Tatar historical district.
The scope of the Old Tatar Quarter in Kazan.
Although part of the district was converted into an industrial zone during the Soviet era, the current Old Tatar historical district still covers 88 hectares and preserves 75 historical buildings from the 18th to the 20th centuries, including mosques in the traditional Tatar style, mansions of wealthy Tatar merchants, and theaters. I have previously shared the 13 historical buildings of traditional-style mosques preserved in the community (see "Traditional Mosques of the Kazan Tatars"), and this time I will share my experience of eating and exploring in the Old Tatar historical district.
Tatarskaya Usadba (Tatar Manor).
This time I stayed in a traditional Tatar manor on the banks of Lake Kaban, which was originally the residence of the 19th-century Tatar merchant Khamit Sabitov. The manor offers both accommodation and dining. Because I did not book their main meals in advance, I only had breakfast, which was also in the traditional Tatar style.
Bekken, a Tatar specialty pie, is made with sour cream dough and filled with cabbage and egg.
Sochni cake with frosting and Pirozhki (Eastern European stuffed buns).
Tatar cultural festival "Pechen Bazar" (Hay Market).
I was very lucky to attend the Tatar cultural festival "Pechen Bazar" (Hay Market) in Kazan this time. The festival was held on the banks of Lake Kaban for two days, August 17th and 18th, with various Tatar designers, poets, musicians, and filmmakers showcasing and sharing their work; it was especially lively.
First, I will share what I ate at the festival. The first stall was traditional Tatar tea. You could see many ingredients in the tea, such as thyme, linden leaves, chamomile flowers, oregano leaves, mint leaves, and sage. You could also see the uncle throwing pine cones directly into the tea stove, which was especially fragrant.
I really like the drawing on the cup, it is Tatar trendy!
This stall sold traditional Tatar desserts, which are a bit like Turkish desserts and go very well with tea.
This stall sold jam.
I ate cakes made by Tatar girls and also drank lemonade.
Stalls with various Tatar snacks.
Many Tatar artisans also came this time.
I bought two wooden puppets made by a Tatar brother; they are images of Tatar youth.
A Tatar youth is making Arabic calligraphy on the spot with thread.
A Tatar auntie was selling headpieces for Kazan Tatar women, decorated with pearls, which looked very beautiful.
A stall selling honey. This festival invited some Tatars living in the countryside to sell the honey, cheese, and sausages they made themselves, which was also very interesting.
I bought three hats at the festival. The first felt hat (VOYLOCHNAYA TYUBETEYKA) came from a Tatar brand that makes leather and wool felt products, which is quite interesting. And the two girls in the picture below are dressed so beautifully!
The second hat stall; I really should have bought this traditional Tatar vest at that time.
The third hat stall.
A stall at the festival selling traditional Kazan Tatar flower hats, and also selling traditional Kazan Tatar clothing; I was very tempted.
Live music performance; on the right, you can see the traditional Tatar house where I stayed.
The uncle is an architect who builds mosques, sharing how to build a mosque.
A young Tatar female poet is reading poetry.
The clothing worn by the host is the formal wear of urban Kazan Tatars in the early 20th century.
It was a live demonstration on how to tie a headscarf. I took a look and it was quite complicated, requiring many steps.
The dessert stall with the longest queue at the entire festival.
This stall is a Tatar creative brand that follows a sweet Islamic style.
A stall selling books on Tatar culture.
In the evening, they were showing a documentary about the Kazan Tatars, but unfortunately, I couldn't understand it.
Chak-Chak Museum.
The Chak-Chak Museum in Kazan is one of the most intuitive places to experience traditional Tatar culture. The museum itself is located in a Tatar wooden house in the Kazan Tatar historical district, and the interior well restores the home decor of a traditional Tatar family, which is especially atmospheric. If there are 6 people, they can teach you how to make Chak-Chak on the spot. Because I was alone, I booked a tasting and guided tour on the official website (https://www.muzeino.ru/), and the museum staff will email you to confirm whether to use English or Russian.
The experience that day was great. After arriving at the museum at the appointed time, a Tatar lady with fluent English was already waiting for me. The whole process was really like being a guest in a Tatar home. The lady told me various Tatar legends, daily customs, and cultural traditions, and then explained in detail the production process of the national dessert, Chak-Chak.
Chak-Chak is very similar to Sachima (a sweet fried dough treat). It is made by mixing flour with milk and eggs, deep-frying it, and then pouring honey over it. Chak-Chak is popular in Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. It is said to have originated from the ancient Bulgar Khanate. In addition, there are similar desserts among the Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Uzbek people. Chak-Chak is an important food at Kazan Tatar weddings. In the past, every Kazan Tatar woman had to learn how to make Chak-Chak, usually taught by a mother to her daughter or a grandmother to her granddaughter.
Afterwards, the Tatar lady made me some Tatar tea and, while letting me taste traditional Tatar desserts, told me about Tatar clothing, silver jewelry, embroidery, and other handicrafts. We had a very happy chat.
The museum before restoration.
Magnets bought at the museum.
Dom Tatarskoi Kulinarii (House of Tatar Cuisine).
When I was in Kazan, I ate at the famous traditional Tatar restaurant Dom Tatarskoi Kulinarii (House of Tatar Cuisine) on Bauman Pedestrian Street. The restaurant opened in 1969. The founder was Yunus Akhmetzyanov, a Tatar cuisine expert and author of "Dishes of Tatar cuisine," who remained the head chef until 1984.
It is a pity that the horse sausage was sold out when I went, so I ordered another type of beef sausage called "Kuchmeche Kolbasasy," which contains heart, liver, and lung in addition to meat. I also ordered a Bulgar stewed lamb, which is placed in parchment paper and served with roasted apples, honey, and crushed nuts. Bulgar is an ancient millennium-old capital in Tatarstan and the spiritual home of the Kazan Tatars.
For soup, I ordered Tatar Azu (Tatar beef casserole soup), and also drank sea buckthorn tea, which contained honey and cinnamon in addition to sea buckthorn.
Teatr Natsionalnoi Kukhni (Tatar Restaurant).
In the evening, I ate at the restaurant Teatr Natsionalnoi Kukhni in another Tatar manor on the banks of Lake Kaban, which was once the residence of the wealthy Tatar merchant Bikmukhametov. I ordered horse meat salad, pumpkin cream soup with dried apricots and cream cheese, and stewed fresh horse meat, Kullama. Kullama is the Tatar version of the Kazakh national dish Beshbarmak (five-finger stew).
Tubatay Fast Food Restaurant.
Tubatay (Tyubetey) is a fast-food restaurant that sells traditional Tatar dishes, and there is also a branch in the ancient city of Bulgar. "Tubatay" means the characteristic round hat of the Tatars.
I ordered Manti (steamed dumplings), a specialty meat pie Belesh (made with sour cream dough and filled with beef, potatoes, and onions), Tatar clear soup dumplings Pilmen served with sour cream Smetana, and Tatar tea.
Large Tatar specialty halal supermarket.
Next to where I stayed, there was a large Tatar specialty halal supermarket. The variety of traditional Tatar desserts was dazzling, so I bought some to eat back at my accommodation.
The Kazan Tatar version of horse sausage; the horse meat flavor is much stronger than the Uzbek way of making horse sausage.
Kumis (fermented mare's milk), which is more sour than the Kazakh version.
It is called Smetannik, which means sour cream. The outside is made of butter dough (Sdobnoye testo), and the middle is sour cream, which is super delicious.
This nut cake is called Oriental dessert (vostochnaya sladost).
Central Market.
The Central Market in Kazan, where mushrooms are sold in the summer.
Tatar round hat bought at the Central Market.
Small shop in the mosque.
Two Tatar magnets bought at the Märcani Mosque, showing the rural life of the Volga Tatars, one hunting rabbits and the other keeping bees.
Goose meat sold in the mosque; smoked goose meat and smoked horse meat are specialty delicacies of the Kazan Tatars.
Tubetei (Tyubetey), a hat of the Kazan Tatars, bought at the shop of the Nurulla Mosque. Collapse Read »
Tatars in Kazan: Mosques, Muslim Heritage and City Life (Part 2)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Tatars in Kazan: Mosques, Muslim Heritage and City Life (Part 2). Finally, sharing some Tatar wooden houses and historical buildings in the Old Tatar historical district. It is useful for readers interested in Kazan Travel, Tatar Muslims, Islamic Heritage.
Street view of the Old Tatar historical district.
Finally, sharing some Tatar wooden houses and historical buildings in the Old Tatar historical district.
Collapse Read »
Summary: This travel note introduces Tatars in Kazan: Mosques, Muslim Heritage and City Life (Part 2). Finally, sharing some Tatar wooden houses and historical buildings in the Old Tatar historical district. It is useful for readers interested in Kazan Travel, Tatar Muslims, Islamic Heritage.
Street view of the Old Tatar historical district.
Finally, sharing some Tatar wooden houses and historical buildings in the Old Tatar historical district.
Collapse Read »
Central Asian Food in Moscow: a Halal Travel Guide for Muslim Food Lovers
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Central Asian Food in Moscow: a Halal Travel Guide for Muslim Food Lovers. The Moscow Cathedral Mosque was founded by Tatar merchants in 1904. It was originally called the "Tatar Mosque," and its primary congregation was initially the Tatar people. It is useful for readers interested in Moscow Halal Food, Central Asian Food, Muslim Travel.
Moscow Cathedral Mosque
The Moscow Cathedral Mosque was founded by Tatar merchants in 1904. It was originally called the "Tatar Mosque," and its primary congregation was initially the Tatar people. Before the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the mosque was planned to be demolished because it was adjacent to the Olympic Sports Center, but it was ultimately spared due to the efforts of Moscow's religious leaders and ambassadors from Arab countries.
In 2011, amidst huge controversy, the original historic mosque building was demolished, becoming the first religious building in Moscow to be demolished since 1978. The new mosque was completed in 2015.
There is a shop for Muslim supplies at the entrance of the Cathedral Mosque, where I bought a blue prayer cap commonly worn by Muslims in Moscow.
At the Cathedral Mosque's halal food shop, the halal label here in Russia is "халяль" (halal). Next to the checkout counter in the shop, there were rows of horse meat, as well as various pastries.
Muslims in Russia and Central Asia are accustomed to eating horse meat. (Sahih al-Bukhari) no. 5520 "Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him and his father): On the day of the Battle of Khaybar, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade the eating of donkey meat, but he permitted the eating of horse meat. "
I bought a magical Kyrgyz milk curd drink called Kurut, which is just milk curd (Kurut) mixed with salt and water. The taste is very strong, suitable for those who cannot stand the sourness of hard milk curds but still want to try them.
Then I bought a jam pie (Pirogi), which tasted very delicious.
There is also a small tea house set up in a tent in the courtyard of the Cathedral Mosque, where I drank tea and ate a cream bun.
Chaykhana (tea house)
The Moscow Cathedral Mosque also has its own canteen, selling pilaf, baked buns, and pulled noodles, but I ate at the Chaykhana opposite the Cathedral Mosque. The term Chaykhana refers to tea houses in Central Asia and the Caucasus region. Generally, tea houses in Central Asia offer a richer variety of food, while those in the Caucasus focus mainly on drinking tea. In addition to Central Asian food, Moscow's Central Asian tea houses also serve Caucasian food. This time I ordered the Azerbaijani specialty green pilaf, Syabzi plov, which can be translated as vegetable pilaf. I also ate grilled beef and Ayran (a Caucasian yogurt drink). This meal was the same as what I ate in the Old City of Baku.
UZBEKISTAN
In 1951, the Ministry of Trade of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic decided to open a restaurant in Moscow called "Uzbekistan." Today, it is a long-standing Uzbek establishment in Moscow, though it has been transferred to private ownership.
I ate stir-fried noodles and Shurpa (meat soup).
A photo of Nazarbayev from 20 years ago.
Chaihona No.1
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a large number of Uzbeks have come to Moscow to work, and some of them have opened restaurants. Moscow has a chain of Uzbek tea houses called Chaihona No.1. I ate at one of them, having Tashkent pilaf with horse meat sausage and lamb skewers.
This picture clearly shows the difference between Kazan Tatar horse meat sausage and Uzbek horse meat sausage. Personally, I prefer eating Uzbek horse meat sausage; the Tatar one is too pungent.
Plov (pilaf)
At a Moscow Uzbek Tashkent restaurant, I had "Plov" (pilaf), broad bean soup, and eggplant salad.
There is a teapot inside for keeping it warm.
Collapse Read »
Summary: This travel note introduces Central Asian Food in Moscow: a Halal Travel Guide for Muslim Food Lovers. The Moscow Cathedral Mosque was founded by Tatar merchants in 1904. It was originally called the "Tatar Mosque," and its primary congregation was initially the Tatar people. It is useful for readers interested in Moscow Halal Food, Central Asian Food, Muslim Travel.
Moscow Cathedral Mosque
The Moscow Cathedral Mosque was founded by Tatar merchants in 1904. It was originally called the "Tatar Mosque," and its primary congregation was initially the Tatar people. Before the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the mosque was planned to be demolished because it was adjacent to the Olympic Sports Center, but it was ultimately spared due to the efforts of Moscow's religious leaders and ambassadors from Arab countries.
In 2011, amidst huge controversy, the original historic mosque building was demolished, becoming the first religious building in Moscow to be demolished since 1978. The new mosque was completed in 2015.
There is a shop for Muslim supplies at the entrance of the Cathedral Mosque, where I bought a blue prayer cap commonly worn by Muslims in Moscow.
At the Cathedral Mosque's halal food shop, the halal label here in Russia is "халяль" (halal). Next to the checkout counter in the shop, there were rows of horse meat, as well as various pastries.
Muslims in Russia and Central Asia are accustomed to eating horse meat. (Sahih al-Bukhari) no. 5520 "Narrated Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him and his father): On the day of the Battle of Khaybar, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade the eating of donkey meat, but he permitted the eating of horse meat. "
I bought a magical Kyrgyz milk curd drink called Kurut, which is just milk curd (Kurut) mixed with salt and water. The taste is very strong, suitable for those who cannot stand the sourness of hard milk curds but still want to try them.
Then I bought a jam pie (Pirogi), which tasted very delicious.
There is also a small tea house set up in a tent in the courtyard of the Cathedral Mosque, where I drank tea and ate a cream bun.
Chaykhana (tea house)
The Moscow Cathedral Mosque also has its own canteen, selling pilaf, baked buns, and pulled noodles, but I ate at the Chaykhana opposite the Cathedral Mosque. The term Chaykhana refers to tea houses in Central Asia and the Caucasus region. Generally, tea houses in Central Asia offer a richer variety of food, while those in the Caucasus focus mainly on drinking tea. In addition to Central Asian food, Moscow's Central Asian tea houses also serve Caucasian food. This time I ordered the Azerbaijani specialty green pilaf, Syabzi plov, which can be translated as vegetable pilaf. I also ate grilled beef and Ayran (a Caucasian yogurt drink). This meal was the same as what I ate in the Old City of Baku.
UZBEKISTAN
In 1951, the Ministry of Trade of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic decided to open a restaurant in Moscow called "Uzbekistan." Today, it is a long-standing Uzbek establishment in Moscow, though it has been transferred to private ownership.
I ate stir-fried noodles and Shurpa (meat soup).
A photo of Nazarbayev from 20 years ago.
Chaihona No.1
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, a large number of Uzbeks have come to Moscow to work, and some of them have opened restaurants. Moscow has a chain of Uzbek tea houses called Chaihona No.1. I ate at one of them, having Tashkent pilaf with horse meat sausage and lamb skewers.
This picture clearly shows the difference between Kazan Tatar horse meat sausage and Uzbek horse meat sausage. Personally, I prefer eating Uzbek horse meat sausage; the Tatar one is too pungent.
Plov (pilaf)
At a Moscow Uzbek Tashkent restaurant, I had "Plov" (pilaf), broad bean soup, and eggplant salad.
There is a teapot inside for keeping it warm.
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Xishuangbanna Paxi Dai: Hui Muslims Who Speak Dai and Their Muslim Heritage
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Xishuangbanna Paxi Dai: Hui Muslims Who Speak Dai and Their Muslim Heritage. Author: Zainab. It is useful for readers interested in Xishuangbanna, Hui Muslims, Dai Culture.
Author: Zainab
During the October holiday, I went to Xishuangbanna with my parents to visit the Tai-speaking Muslim community known as the Paxi Dai.
The Paxi Dai live in two villages in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture: Manluanhui and Mansaihui. In the Tai language, 'man' means 'village'. The Paxi Dai call themselves 'Paxi', follow Islam, observe the faith, but speak the Tai language, use the Tai script, and cook halal Tai-style food. It can be said that they have integrated into Tai culture while maintaining their identity as Hui Muslims.
During the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods of the Qing Dynasty, with the opening of a trade route from the interior through Pu'er and Menghai into Kengtung and Yangon in Myanmar, and then by sea to India and Arabia, Menghai became an important transit point for Yunnan horse caravans traveling to Myanmar and Thailand for business. The famous Yunnan Islamic scholar Ma Dexin recorded in his 'Travels to the Hajj' that in 1841, he followed a horse caravan from Dali through Menghai to Yangon, Myanmar, to board a ship for the Hajj. During this period, a Hui Muslim caravan leader from Dali named Ma Wulong came to Menghai and gifted the local leader, Zhaomeng Zhaoyakun, three loads of salt, which led the Zhaomeng to agree to set aside a small mountain hollow for Ma Wulong to live in. Ma Wulong later married a Tai woman, had a son named Yanhan, and then returned to his hometown. After reaching adulthood, Yanhan also married a Tai woman and had four sons and two daughters, gradually forming the current Paxi Dai village of 'Manluanhui'.
After the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican era, as Menghai's status as a Pu'er tea production center rose, some Hui Muslims from Dali and Tonghai came to Menghai to make a living and married girls from the Tai village of 'Mansailong' to settle down. Around the 1930s, they officially separated from 'Mansailong', forming the current Paxi Dai village of 'Mansaihui'.
On the morning of October 1st, I rented a car in Jinghong and arrived at Manluanhui in about 50 minutes for a halal Tai-style breakfast. The restaurant I chose was called Paxi Dai. The Paxi Dai mainly eat beef rice noodles and migan (rice noodles) in the morning; we ordered the migan. The variety of small side dishes here is really rich, including pea tips, chives, bean sprouts, and various dipping sauces. The key is that their beef is too delicious! It is slightly sweet and especially fragrant.
After breakfast, we went to the Dayi Manor in Menghai County to visit the Pu'er tea production, and at noon we returned to Manluanhui to eat authentic Paxi Dai home-cooked food at a restaurant called Huixiangyuan. Like many small home-style restaurants in Yunnan, there is no paper menu here. All the ingredients are displayed in a cabinet. You point to an ingredient and ask the owner how it can be cooked, and the owner tells you directly. This feeling is quite good.
We ordered sour and spicy tilapia, grilled tofu, grilled bracken, and white-palm chicken (cold chicken) with Tai-style dipping sauce, and also drank passion fruit juice. Everything was very much to our taste. Among these dishes, our whole family agreed that the sour and spicy fish was the best. The sauce poured over it was fantastic and went very well with rice. In addition, the Tai-style sour and spicy flavor is very strong. If you cannot eat spicy food, you should tell the owner in advance to make it mild.
At noon, I accompanied my parents to the Manluanhui mosque for Jumu'ah prayer. After the Paxi Dai settled in Manluanhui, they built the first mosque with thatched roofs and bamboo walls. It was later rebuilt into a mosque with tiled roofs and bamboo walls, but it was destroyed in 1909 during the war between the Jinghong Xuanweisi and the Menghai Tusi. The mosque was rebuilt again, destroyed again in 1958, rebuilt as a brick and tile mosque in 1982, and rebuilt again between 2016 and 2018 into the current concrete mosque. The current Manluanhui mosque is the only mosque building in the country with a Tai-style architectural design.
The current Imam is from Weishan, Dali. There were many people at Jumu'ah, and at first, everyone took turns reciting the Quran.
After leaving the prayer hall, various Paxi Dai aunties, men, women, and children—our brothers and sisters in faith—wearing Tai clothing, carried baskets and basins to distribute fruits grown at home and snacks they had made to everyone. It was very lively!
We received bananas, dragon fruit, persimmons, milk dates, etc., distributed by everyone, as well as rice cakes and hot, freshly made sticky rice. The ripe bananas were especially sweet, much better than those bought at the market. The milk dates were also super sweet. After eating them, I felt that the ones bought in Beijing could only be described as bland and tasteless!
The Paxi Dai like to eat this kind of sticky rice in the morning.
Homemade rice cakes.
In the evening, we went to the Paxi Dai restaurant at the Ganbai Street night market in Jinghong. The landlady is a Paxi Dai from Manluanhui. The restaurant is by the lake, opposite the famous Starlight Night Market, so you can eat while watching the night view.
We ordered a nanmi (Tai-style dipping sauce) platter, stir-fried beef liver mushrooms, Tai-style pounded chicken feet, tilapia boiled with passion fruit, lemon-shredded beef jerky, and beef pineapple rice. Nanmi is a Tai-style specialty dipping sauce with a sour and spicy flavor, used for dipping fried beef skin, cucumber, and cowpeas. This was my first time eating fried beef skin; the texture is a bit like fried shrimp crackers, but harder. The pounded chicken feet were very sour and spicy, and my mouth felt like it was burning. The Tai-style passion fruit stewed fish was very flavorful, comparable to the starfruit sour soup fish of the Hui people in Huihui, Sanya, but the sourness was stronger. I could only drink a little bit of this soup. Our whole family liked the beef pineapple rice the best. It is rarely fried like this locally, and we thought it was better than any fried rice we had eaten before.
On the morning of October 2nd, we ate rice noodles at the Kezhen Halal Snack Bar opened by Paxi Dai near the Jinghong City Hospital. The chicken rice noodles were served with sour radish and various seasonings. The free-range chicken meat was relatively firm and chewy. The people in the shop and the locals who came to eat communicated in Tai, but switched to Chinese when talking to us, which was very interesting.
On the morning of the 2nd, we went to the Primitive Forest Park. In the afternoon, we went to the Huidai Tongpiao (copper ladle hotpot) restaurant at the entrance of the bus station of the State Planning Bureau on Menghai Road, Jinghong City. The owner is the cousin of the Paxi Dai landlady from the Ganbai Street night market.
As soon as we entered the restaurant, we smelled the rich aroma of beef soup. The owner said they had been stewing the beef soup since early morning for most of the day. The base of the copper ladle hotpot is the beef soup, and the special dipping sauce is also thinned with beef soup. We ordered snowflake beef, oxtail with skin, mint, bean curd skin, and yam. We also ordered fried beef lung and beef jerky with vegetable fried rice.
The meat for shabu-shabu is not raw like in Beijing, but pre-stewed until clear. When eating, you put it into the copper ladle and stew it for a while. The texture and taste are both good. This was my first time eating oxtail with skin. It needs to be stewed for a while longer; the skin is very elastic and the meat is very fragrant. Then I also ate fried beef lung for the first time. The owner said that in their Manluanhui village, fried beef lung sells better than beef jerky, and locals especially like to eat it. It felt like the aroma of the beef lung was really fried out; it was crispy when you bit into it, and we finished it in no time.
There are quite a few halal Tai-style barbecue places in Xishuangbanna, but those opened by Paxi Dai are mostly in the Manluanhui village in Menghai County. Those in the Jinghong urban area are mostly opened by Hui Muslims from other parts of Yunnan.
On the evening of the 2nd, we first went to the A-li Barbecue Restaurant, which is opened by Hui Muslims from Pu'er. We ordered grilled fish, grilled shrimp, grilled beef spleen, grilled beef skin, and grilled fermented tofu. Their food was a bit salty, and when we went there, there was a strong smell coming from the sewer at the entrance, which affected the dining experience. If any brothers and sisters in faith want to go there in the future, it is best to smell if the sewer is still smelly before eating...
Then we went to another Tai-style barbecue place called Asan, which is opened by Hui Muslims from Shadian. We ordered some beef skewers and stinky tofu, as well as sweet bamboo shoots with dipping sauce and the local specialty bitter fruit, and drank passion fruit juice again. The bitter fruit burst with juice as soon as you bit into it. It is very popular here as a side for barbecue, but I still think it is a bit bitter.
On the afternoon of the 3rd, we went to the Maxiaoyang Halal Restaurant, a place opened by Paxi Dai next to the Jinghong City People's Hospital. Every Paxi Dai person has three names: a Chinese name, a Tai name, and an Islamic name.
We ordered clear-stewed beef ribs, yellow-braised duck, milk-paste mushrooms, and pumpkin flowers. Everyone's favorite was the clear-stewed beef ribs. It tasted just as fragrant as the beef soup we drank at Huidai Tongpiao the day before. It was beef that had been stewed for a long time, and it fell off the bone as soon as you bit into it. The yellow-braised duck meat was relatively firm. In the past few days at Paxi Dai restaurants, we haven't eaten broiler chickens or ducks; they were all free-range chickens and ducks with a firm texture. This was my first time eating milk-paste mushrooms. The texture is very much like meat and very fragrant. Pumpkin flowers are also a specialty vegetable in Xishuangbanna and are very refreshing.
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Summary: This travel note introduces Xishuangbanna Paxi Dai: Hui Muslims Who Speak Dai and Their Muslim Heritage. Author: Zainab. It is useful for readers interested in Xishuangbanna, Hui Muslims, Dai Culture.
Author: Zainab
During the October holiday, I went to Xishuangbanna with my parents to visit the Tai-speaking Muslim community known as the Paxi Dai.
The Paxi Dai live in two villages in Menghai County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture: Manluanhui and Mansaihui. In the Tai language, 'man' means 'village'. The Paxi Dai call themselves 'Paxi', follow Islam, observe the faith, but speak the Tai language, use the Tai script, and cook halal Tai-style food. It can be said that they have integrated into Tai culture while maintaining their identity as Hui Muslims.
During the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods of the Qing Dynasty, with the opening of a trade route from the interior through Pu'er and Menghai into Kengtung and Yangon in Myanmar, and then by sea to India and Arabia, Menghai became an important transit point for Yunnan horse caravans traveling to Myanmar and Thailand for business. The famous Yunnan Islamic scholar Ma Dexin recorded in his 'Travels to the Hajj' that in 1841, he followed a horse caravan from Dali through Menghai to Yangon, Myanmar, to board a ship for the Hajj. During this period, a Hui Muslim caravan leader from Dali named Ma Wulong came to Menghai and gifted the local leader, Zhaomeng Zhaoyakun, three loads of salt, which led the Zhaomeng to agree to set aside a small mountain hollow for Ma Wulong to live in. Ma Wulong later married a Tai woman, had a son named Yanhan, and then returned to his hometown. After reaching adulthood, Yanhan also married a Tai woman and had four sons and two daughters, gradually forming the current Paxi Dai village of 'Manluanhui'.
After the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican era, as Menghai's status as a Pu'er tea production center rose, some Hui Muslims from Dali and Tonghai came to Menghai to make a living and married girls from the Tai village of 'Mansailong' to settle down. Around the 1930s, they officially separated from 'Mansailong', forming the current Paxi Dai village of 'Mansaihui'.
On the morning of October 1st, I rented a car in Jinghong and arrived at Manluanhui in about 50 minutes for a halal Tai-style breakfast. The restaurant I chose was called Paxi Dai. The Paxi Dai mainly eat beef rice noodles and migan (rice noodles) in the morning; we ordered the migan. The variety of small side dishes here is really rich, including pea tips, chives, bean sprouts, and various dipping sauces. The key is that their beef is too delicious! It is slightly sweet and especially fragrant.
After breakfast, we went to the Dayi Manor in Menghai County to visit the Pu'er tea production, and at noon we returned to Manluanhui to eat authentic Paxi Dai home-cooked food at a restaurant called Huixiangyuan. Like many small home-style restaurants in Yunnan, there is no paper menu here. All the ingredients are displayed in a cabinet. You point to an ingredient and ask the owner how it can be cooked, and the owner tells you directly. This feeling is quite good.
We ordered sour and spicy tilapia, grilled tofu, grilled bracken, and white-palm chicken (cold chicken) with Tai-style dipping sauce, and also drank passion fruit juice. Everything was very much to our taste. Among these dishes, our whole family agreed that the sour and spicy fish was the best. The sauce poured over it was fantastic and went very well with rice. In addition, the Tai-style sour and spicy flavor is very strong. If you cannot eat spicy food, you should tell the owner in advance to make it mild.
At noon, I accompanied my parents to the Manluanhui mosque for Jumu'ah prayer. After the Paxi Dai settled in Manluanhui, they built the first mosque with thatched roofs and bamboo walls. It was later rebuilt into a mosque with tiled roofs and bamboo walls, but it was destroyed in 1909 during the war between the Jinghong Xuanweisi and the Menghai Tusi. The mosque was rebuilt again, destroyed again in 1958, rebuilt as a brick and tile mosque in 1982, and rebuilt again between 2016 and 2018 into the current concrete mosque. The current Manluanhui mosque is the only mosque building in the country with a Tai-style architectural design.
The current Imam is from Weishan, Dali. There were many people at Jumu'ah, and at first, everyone took turns reciting the Quran.
After leaving the prayer hall, various Paxi Dai aunties, men, women, and children—our brothers and sisters in faith—wearing Tai clothing, carried baskets and basins to distribute fruits grown at home and snacks they had made to everyone. It was very lively!
We received bananas, dragon fruit, persimmons, milk dates, etc., distributed by everyone, as well as rice cakes and hot, freshly made sticky rice. The ripe bananas were especially sweet, much better than those bought at the market. The milk dates were also super sweet. After eating them, I felt that the ones bought in Beijing could only be described as bland and tasteless!
The Paxi Dai like to eat this kind of sticky rice in the morning.
Homemade rice cakes.
In the evening, we went to the Paxi Dai restaurant at the Ganbai Street night market in Jinghong. The landlady is a Paxi Dai from Manluanhui. The restaurant is by the lake, opposite the famous Starlight Night Market, so you can eat while watching the night view.
We ordered a nanmi (Tai-style dipping sauce) platter, stir-fried beef liver mushrooms, Tai-style pounded chicken feet, tilapia boiled with passion fruit, lemon-shredded beef jerky, and beef pineapple rice. Nanmi is a Tai-style specialty dipping sauce with a sour and spicy flavor, used for dipping fried beef skin, cucumber, and cowpeas. This was my first time eating fried beef skin; the texture is a bit like fried shrimp crackers, but harder. The pounded chicken feet were very sour and spicy, and my mouth felt like it was burning. The Tai-style passion fruit stewed fish was very flavorful, comparable to the starfruit sour soup fish of the Hui people in Huihui, Sanya, but the sourness was stronger. I could only drink a little bit of this soup. Our whole family liked the beef pineapple rice the best. It is rarely fried like this locally, and we thought it was better than any fried rice we had eaten before.
On the morning of October 2nd, we ate rice noodles at the Kezhen Halal Snack Bar opened by Paxi Dai near the Jinghong City Hospital. The chicken rice noodles were served with sour radish and various seasonings. The free-range chicken meat was relatively firm and chewy. The people in the shop and the locals who came to eat communicated in Tai, but switched to Chinese when talking to us, which was very interesting.
On the morning of the 2nd, we went to the Primitive Forest Park. In the afternoon, we went to the Huidai Tongpiao (copper ladle hotpot) restaurant at the entrance of the bus station of the State Planning Bureau on Menghai Road, Jinghong City. The owner is the cousin of the Paxi Dai landlady from the Ganbai Street night market.
As soon as we entered the restaurant, we smelled the rich aroma of beef soup. The owner said they had been stewing the beef soup since early morning for most of the day. The base of the copper ladle hotpot is the beef soup, and the special dipping sauce is also thinned with beef soup. We ordered snowflake beef, oxtail with skin, mint, bean curd skin, and yam. We also ordered fried beef lung and beef jerky with vegetable fried rice.
The meat for shabu-shabu is not raw like in Beijing, but pre-stewed until clear. When eating, you put it into the copper ladle and stew it for a while. The texture and taste are both good. This was my first time eating oxtail with skin. It needs to be stewed for a while longer; the skin is very elastic and the meat is very fragrant. Then I also ate fried beef lung for the first time. The owner said that in their Manluanhui village, fried beef lung sells better than beef jerky, and locals especially like to eat it. It felt like the aroma of the beef lung was really fried out; it was crispy when you bit into it, and we finished it in no time.
There are quite a few halal Tai-style barbecue places in Xishuangbanna, but those opened by Paxi Dai are mostly in the Manluanhui village in Menghai County. Those in the Jinghong urban area are mostly opened by Hui Muslims from other parts of Yunnan.
On the evening of the 2nd, we first went to the A-li Barbecue Restaurant, which is opened by Hui Muslims from Pu'er. We ordered grilled fish, grilled shrimp, grilled beef spleen, grilled beef skin, and grilled fermented tofu. Their food was a bit salty, and when we went there, there was a strong smell coming from the sewer at the entrance, which affected the dining experience. If any brothers and sisters in faith want to go there in the future, it is best to smell if the sewer is still smelly before eating...
Then we went to another Tai-style barbecue place called Asan, which is opened by Hui Muslims from Shadian. We ordered some beef skewers and stinky tofu, as well as sweet bamboo shoots with dipping sauce and the local specialty bitter fruit, and drank passion fruit juice again. The bitter fruit burst with juice as soon as you bit into it. It is very popular here as a side for barbecue, but I still think it is a bit bitter.
On the afternoon of the 3rd, we went to the Maxiaoyang Halal Restaurant, a place opened by Paxi Dai next to the Jinghong City People's Hospital. Every Paxi Dai person has three names: a Chinese name, a Tai name, and an Islamic name.
We ordered clear-stewed beef ribs, yellow-braised duck, milk-paste mushrooms, and pumpkin flowers. Everyone's favorite was the clear-stewed beef ribs. It tasted just as fragrant as the beef soup we drank at Huidai Tongpiao the day before. It was beef that had been stewed for a long time, and it fell off the bone as soon as you bit into it. The yellow-braised duck meat was relatively firm. In the past few days at Paxi Dai restaurants, we haven't eaten broiler chickens or ducks; they were all free-range chickens and ducks with a firm texture. This was my first time eating milk-paste mushrooms. The texture is very much like meat and very fragrant. Pumpkin flowers are also a specialty vegetable in Xishuangbanna and are very refreshing.
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Jumu'ah at Moscow's Tatar Historical Mosque: Muslim Heritage in Russia
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Jumu'ah at Moscow's Tatar Historical Mosque: Muslim Heritage in Russia. Tatars from the Golden Horde began settling in Moscow as early as the 14th century. It is useful for readers interested in Moscow Mosque, Tatar Muslims, Jumu'ah.
Tatars from the Golden Horde began settling in Moscow as early as the 14th century. In 1571, the Crimean Tatars burned down almost the entire city of Moscow except for the Kremlin, and the early Tatar settlements were destroyed in an instant. In the early 17th century, with the establishment of the Romanov dynasty, the city of Moscow flourished again, and many Tatars from the Volga River and steppe regions came to trade. The Tatar community (Tatarskaya Sloboda) located south of the Moskva River, opposite the Kremlin, was officially formed, and the community's main street, Tatarskaya Street, was first mentioned in documents in 1682. The center of the Moscow Tatar community is the "Historical Mosque."
Historical Mosque of the Tatar community: 1823.
On a Friday at noon, I performed Jumu'ah (Friday prayer) at the Historical Mosque in Moscow's Tatar community and ate dates from the mosque.
The Tatar community mosque (mecheti v Tatarskoy slobode) is now called the "Historical Mosque (Istoricheskoy mecheti)." The earliest records of the mosque can be traced back to 1712, and it was also mentioned in the 1744 census. Due to the Moscow plague in the 1770s, the mosque's owner and congregants passed away one after another. The mosque was sold to a merchant and was eventually destroyed by fire when Napoleon withdrew from Moscow in 1812. After this, religious activities were conducted in the homes of local Tatar merchants.
After the old mosque was destroyed, Tatar Muslim merchants in Moscow repeatedly applied to build a new mosque, but were all refused. It was not until 1823 that Tatar merchant Nazarbay Khashalov was finally approved to build a mosque on Bolshaya Tatarskaya Street, on the condition that it could not be named a "mosque (mecheti)" and could not have the appearance of a mosque. Therefore, the mosque building constructed at that time looked almost the same as the surrounding houses.
A diagram of the original mosque.
Between 1833 and 1867, the Imam of the mosque was Rafek Bekbulatovich Ageev. Under his efforts, the Muslim community in Moscow gradually improved, and his home was also the first Islamic school in Moscow. The Imam of the mosque between 1867 and 1913 was Khairetdin Rafekovich Ageev. He graduated from a madrasa (Islamic school) in Kazan, was proficient in 8 languages, taught Islamic knowledge and the Tatar language to military cadets for many years, and was also a translator for the Armory.
In the mid-to-late 19th century, as the number of Muslims in Moscow continued to increase, many people could only pray outside the mosque during Jumu'ah, which was very cold, especially in winter. In 1881, Tsar Alexander II approved the mosque to have the appearance of a religious building. Therefore, in 1882, the mosque was expanded under the direction of architect Dmitry Pevnitsky. The new mosque was expanded on both the east and west facades and a minaret was added. After the expansion, it could accommodate 1,500 people.
The mosque in 1883 after reconstruction.
The Imam of the mosque from 1914 to 1937 was Abdulla Hasanovich Shamsutdinov. He was a Qasim Tatar who studied at an Islamic madrasa in Bukhara and had served as an Imam in Yining, Xinjiang. In 1914, he presided over the opening of a new Islamic madrasa at the mosque and helped the Moscow Muslim Charitable Society become active, making the Moscow Muslim community more united and organized. In the early 1920s, he also began working on translating the Quran into the Tatar language.
On April 29, 1936, the Imam and his wife were arrested on charges of participating in "anti-Soviet activities" due to a "conspiracy of religious leaders." On February 10, 1937, the Imam was executed by firing squad for being accused of treason, and his wife died in the interrogation room of the NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs).
In 1939, the mosque was forced to close. During the Soviet era, the mosque was occupied by a printing house and several other departments in succession. Between 1944 and 1947, Moscow Muslims tried to reclaim the mosque, but were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1967, the mosque's minaret was demolished.
The mosque after the minaret was demolished.
The mosque after the minaret was demolished.
After the 1980s, the elders of the Tatar community repeatedly requested the return of the mosque. However, since the early 1980s, the art engraving association printing workshop that occupied the mosque had been protesting, so the return process was delayed until it was finally returned to the Muslims in 1991.
In 1992, the mosque was renovated and reopened in 1993. In 1997, the mosque was renovated again, becoming what it is today.
Eating samsa (baked meat buns) with tea at the Historical Mosque before Jumu'ah. Nowadays, most of the people who come to the Historical Mosque for Jumu'ah are Muslims from Central Asia and the Caucasus.
After Jumu'ah prayers, I ate lagman (hand-pulled noodles) and roast chicken at the restaurant in the Historical Mosque. The atmosphere here is very good and lively.
An uncle is peeling a pomegranate.
Then I walked around the Islamic goods store upstairs, which sells Tatar hats called Tubetei (traditional skullcaps).
Kazan Tea Bar.
There is a Tatar restaurant in the historic Tatar community called Kazan Tea Bar, which is also the center for Kazan cultural activities in Moscow and often organizes various Tatar cultural events.
I ate Beshbarmak (boiled meat with noodles), Kystyby (flatbread with filling), Tatar-style Kazy (horse meat sausage), plov (pilaf), Kazan chicken salad, and Tatar milk tea inside. Tatar milk tea is made of black tea + green tea + thyme + linden leaf + chamomile + oregano + mint leaf + sage.
Next to the Kazan Tea Bar is a shop selling Kazan Tatar souvenirs. I bought two Kazan Tatar female magnets and a Tubetei (traditional skullcap) worn by Kazan Tatars.
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Summary: This travel note introduces Jumu'ah at Moscow's Tatar Historical Mosque: Muslim Heritage in Russia. Tatars from the Golden Horde began settling in Moscow as early as the 14th century. It is useful for readers interested in Moscow Mosque, Tatar Muslims, Jumu'ah.
Tatars from the Golden Horde began settling in Moscow as early as the 14th century. In 1571, the Crimean Tatars burned down almost the entire city of Moscow except for the Kremlin, and the early Tatar settlements were destroyed in an instant. In the early 17th century, with the establishment of the Romanov dynasty, the city of Moscow flourished again, and many Tatars from the Volga River and steppe regions came to trade. The Tatar community (Tatarskaya Sloboda) located south of the Moskva River, opposite the Kremlin, was officially formed, and the community's main street, Tatarskaya Street, was first mentioned in documents in 1682. The center of the Moscow Tatar community is the "Historical Mosque."
Historical Mosque of the Tatar community: 1823.
On a Friday at noon, I performed Jumu'ah (Friday prayer) at the Historical Mosque in Moscow's Tatar community and ate dates from the mosque.
The Tatar community mosque (mecheti v Tatarskoy slobode) is now called the "Historical Mosque (Istoricheskoy mecheti)." The earliest records of the mosque can be traced back to 1712, and it was also mentioned in the 1744 census. Due to the Moscow plague in the 1770s, the mosque's owner and congregants passed away one after another. The mosque was sold to a merchant and was eventually destroyed by fire when Napoleon withdrew from Moscow in 1812. After this, religious activities were conducted in the homes of local Tatar merchants.
After the old mosque was destroyed, Tatar Muslim merchants in Moscow repeatedly applied to build a new mosque, but were all refused. It was not until 1823 that Tatar merchant Nazarbay Khashalov was finally approved to build a mosque on Bolshaya Tatarskaya Street, on the condition that it could not be named a "mosque (mecheti)" and could not have the appearance of a mosque. Therefore, the mosque building constructed at that time looked almost the same as the surrounding houses.
A diagram of the original mosque.
Between 1833 and 1867, the Imam of the mosque was Rafek Bekbulatovich Ageev. Under his efforts, the Muslim community in Moscow gradually improved, and his home was also the first Islamic school in Moscow. The Imam of the mosque between 1867 and 1913 was Khairetdin Rafekovich Ageev. He graduated from a madrasa (Islamic school) in Kazan, was proficient in 8 languages, taught Islamic knowledge and the Tatar language to military cadets for many years, and was also a translator for the Armory.
In the mid-to-late 19th century, as the number of Muslims in Moscow continued to increase, many people could only pray outside the mosque during Jumu'ah, which was very cold, especially in winter. In 1881, Tsar Alexander II approved the mosque to have the appearance of a religious building. Therefore, in 1882, the mosque was expanded under the direction of architect Dmitry Pevnitsky. The new mosque was expanded on both the east and west facades and a minaret was added. After the expansion, it could accommodate 1,500 people.
The mosque in 1883 after reconstruction.
The Imam of the mosque from 1914 to 1937 was Abdulla Hasanovich Shamsutdinov. He was a Qasim Tatar who studied at an Islamic madrasa in Bukhara and had served as an Imam in Yining, Xinjiang. In 1914, he presided over the opening of a new Islamic madrasa at the mosque and helped the Moscow Muslim Charitable Society become active, making the Moscow Muslim community more united and organized. In the early 1920s, he also began working on translating the Quran into the Tatar language.
On April 29, 1936, the Imam and his wife were arrested on charges of participating in "anti-Soviet activities" due to a "conspiracy of religious leaders." On February 10, 1937, the Imam was executed by firing squad for being accused of treason, and his wife died in the interrogation room of the NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs).
In 1939, the mosque was forced to close. During the Soviet era, the mosque was occupied by a printing house and several other departments in succession. Between 1944 and 1947, Moscow Muslims tried to reclaim the mosque, but were ultimately unsuccessful. In 1967, the mosque's minaret was demolished.
The mosque after the minaret was demolished.
The mosque after the minaret was demolished.
After the 1980s, the elders of the Tatar community repeatedly requested the return of the mosque. However, since the early 1980s, the art engraving association printing workshop that occupied the mosque had been protesting, so the return process was delayed until it was finally returned to the Muslims in 1991.
In 1992, the mosque was renovated and reopened in 1993. In 1997, the mosque was renovated again, becoming what it is today.
Eating samsa (baked meat buns) with tea at the Historical Mosque before Jumu'ah. Nowadays, most of the people who come to the Historical Mosque for Jumu'ah are Muslims from Central Asia and the Caucasus.
After Jumu'ah prayers, I ate lagman (hand-pulled noodles) and roast chicken at the restaurant in the Historical Mosque. The atmosphere here is very good and lively.
An uncle is peeling a pomegranate.
Then I walked around the Islamic goods store upstairs, which sells Tatar hats called Tubetei (traditional skullcaps).
Kazan Tea Bar.
There is a Tatar restaurant in the historic Tatar community called Kazan Tea Bar, which is also the center for Kazan cultural activities in Moscow and often organizes various Tatar cultural events.
I ate Beshbarmak (boiled meat with noodles), Kystyby (flatbread with filling), Tatar-style Kazy (horse meat sausage), plov (pilaf), Kazan chicken salad, and Tatar milk tea inside. Tatar milk tea is made of black tea + green tea + thyme + linden leaf + chamomile + oregano + mint leaf + sage.
Next to the Kazan Tea Bar is a shop selling Kazan Tatar souvenirs. I bought two Kazan Tatar female magnets and a Tubetei (traditional skullcap) worn by Kazan Tatars.
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Ashura in Tehran: a Muslim Travel Note on Faith, Rituals and City Life
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Ashura in Tehran: a Muslim Travel Note on Faith, Rituals and City Life. I went to Tehran during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in 2019, just in time for the various activities of Ashura, and truly felt the warmth of the Iranian people. It is useful for readers interested in Tehran Travel, Ashura, Muslim Culture.
I went to Tehran during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in 2019, just in time for the various activities of Ashura, and truly felt the warmth of the Iranian people.
Ashura originally means 'the tenth,' and the Day of Ashura refers to the tenth day of the first month of the Islamic calendar (Muharram). On the Day of Ashura in 680 AD, Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, refused to pledge allegiance to the Umayyad Caliphate. While leading his family and followers from Mecca to Kufa, they were attacked by the Umayyad army, and Imam Hussein and all 72 of his companions were killed. Since then, Shia Muslims around the world have held activities every year during the month of Muharram to mourn Imam Hussein and his 72 companions, gradually forming the important Shia festival of Ashura.
During Ashura, Shia Muslims perform Azadari (mourning) rituals, including memorial services (majalis al-ta'ziya), mourning processions (al-mawakib al-husayniyya), theatrical performances (shabih), and flagellation (tatbir). Some Shia Muslims believe that participating in Ashura can cleanse their sins, and there is a saying that 'a tear shed for Hussein washes away a hundred sins.'
Grand Bazaar
On ordinary days, the Tehran Grand Bazaar is a massive wholesale market selling small commodities from Yiwu, but it takes on a different look during Ashura. As soon as you reach the entrance, people are handing out free honey water, tea, and various snacks; sugar cubes are held in the mouth while sipping tea.
During Ashura, stalls are set up all over Tehran to provide free tea, drinks, and food, and an area near the north gate of the Grand Bazaar is specifically set aside for preparing drinks. A staff member, an older man, kindly invited me into the drink preparation area, offered me tea, and let me take photos.
This area is for distributing food for free.
Walking further into the Grand Bazaar, you can see processions performing the Ashura mourning march (al-mawakib al-husayniyya), where everyone mourns together for Imam Hussein and his 72 companions who were killed by the Umayyad army on the Day of Ashura, singing rhythmically together.
During the procession, the group stops intermittently, and one person delivers a eulogy for Imam Hussein, while everyone cries and wails along, with many people weeping bitterly.
In addition to the singing, various flags are also very eye-catching.
This is a procession composed of hundreds or thousands of people holding hands, which is very spectacular.
Outside the Grand Bazaar, there are also shops specifically selling Ashura flags.
The area outside the north gate of the Grand Bazaar has been turned into a venue for performing Ta'zieh opera. Ta'zieh opera performance is an important part of Ashura activities. During the month of Muharram, numerous venues for performing Ta'zieh opera are set up in various squares in Tehran, and there are many spectators.
Ta'zieh opera formed in Iran in the late 17th century and is a type of traditional Persian theater; this form of expression can be traced back to the pre-Islamic era. During Ashura, Shia Muslims use Ta'zieh opera to recreate the scene of the Battle of Karbala on the Day of Ashura in 680 AD, when Imam Hussein and his 72 companions were all killed by the Umayyad army.
In the opera, the villains are the rulers of the Umayyad dynasty, and they wear red. The heroes are Imam Hussein and his family and companions; the male characters among them wear green, and change to white when they are about to die. All female characters are played by male actors dressed in all black. If a person walks in circles around the stage, it means they are on a long journey, usually between Mecca and Karbala.
While watching the performance, you can eat honey cake and drink honey water freely.
Ashura memorial service (majalis al-ta'ziya) at Parvaz Park
I attended an Ashura memorial service (majalis al-ta'ziya) at Parvaz Park in Tehran and experienced a wonderful Iranian Shia musical performance.
In the afternoon, tea stalls were already set up in the square, and Iranian black tea was available for free. Then, accompanied by the Ney (flute), the lead singer began to sing soothing songs. Amidst the singing, a bonfire was lit in the square, and baskets nearby were filled with various fragrant fruits. After a few soothing songs, a percussion ensemble consisting of drums and cymbals walked onto the stage while playing. The rhythm of the songs began to become more and more passionate, the atmosphere grew more intense, and it reached a climax accompanied by the sound of horns.
During the singing, a group of actors in costumes walked slowly toward the stage, led by two boys holding incense.
When they reached the stage, they began to perform the Ta'zieh play.
Tajrish Bazaar
At the end of Tajrish Bazaar in the north of Tehran, there is a Tekyeh. In the Shia tradition, a Tekyeh generally refers to a place specifically for commemorating Imam Hussein, especially for performing Ta'zieh opera during the month of Muharram. Tajrish Tekyeh can be traced back to the Qajar dynasty 220 years ago. It is a very old Tekyeh in Tehran, and the current layout is also very traditional, although the wooden pillars have been replaced by metal ones.
Outside the venue, there are some shops selling Shia supplies. The picture below shows the whips used during the flagellation (tatbir) ritual on Ashura, which recreates the scene of the Umayyad army whipping Imam Hussein's family. This ritual used to involve intense self-harm, but later, the Supreme Leader of Iran's Shia, Khamenei, publicly stated that during Ashura: 'Any act that harms the body is Haram (forbidden).' Therefore, you no longer see cases of self-harm during the festival in Tehran.
The red hat represents the villainous Umayyad dynasty, and the green hat represents the heroic Imam Hussein.
The lump of clay is called a Turbah, which symbolizes the earth; Shia Muslims must place their foreheads on it during prayer.
Turning out of Tajrish Bazaar, you reach the most important Shia shrine and mosque in northern Tehran, Imamzadeh Saleh, which houses the tomb of Saleh, the son of Musa al-Kadhim, the seventh Imam of the Twelver Shia. Today, the large wooden box inside the mausoleum dates back to the late Safavid dynasty to the Afsharid dynasty in the 18th century.
During the month of Muharram, Ta'zieh opera is also performed in the courtyard of Imamzadeh Saleh.
At the place where drinks are distributed for free at the entrance of Imamzadeh Saleh shrine and mosque, Khakshir (seeds of the Flixweed plant) is a very common drink in Iran during the summer to relieve heat and quench thirst.
Then, next to it, you can also see places selling various Shia supplies.
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Summary: This travel note introduces Ashura in Tehran: a Muslim Travel Note on Faith, Rituals and City Life. I went to Tehran during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in 2019, just in time for the various activities of Ashura, and truly felt the warmth of the Iranian people. It is useful for readers interested in Tehran Travel, Ashura, Muslim Culture.
I went to Tehran during the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in 2019, just in time for the various activities of Ashura, and truly felt the warmth of the Iranian people.
Ashura originally means 'the tenth,' and the Day of Ashura refers to the tenth day of the first month of the Islamic calendar (Muharram). On the Day of Ashura in 680 AD, Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, refused to pledge allegiance to the Umayyad Caliphate. While leading his family and followers from Mecca to Kufa, they were attacked by the Umayyad army, and Imam Hussein and all 72 of his companions were killed. Since then, Shia Muslims around the world have held activities every year during the month of Muharram to mourn Imam Hussein and his 72 companions, gradually forming the important Shia festival of Ashura.
During Ashura, Shia Muslims perform Azadari (mourning) rituals, including memorial services (majalis al-ta'ziya), mourning processions (al-mawakib al-husayniyya), theatrical performances (shabih), and flagellation (tatbir). Some Shia Muslims believe that participating in Ashura can cleanse their sins, and there is a saying that 'a tear shed for Hussein washes away a hundred sins.'
Grand Bazaar
On ordinary days, the Tehran Grand Bazaar is a massive wholesale market selling small commodities from Yiwu, but it takes on a different look during Ashura. As soon as you reach the entrance, people are handing out free honey water, tea, and various snacks; sugar cubes are held in the mouth while sipping tea.
During Ashura, stalls are set up all over Tehran to provide free tea, drinks, and food, and an area near the north gate of the Grand Bazaar is specifically set aside for preparing drinks. A staff member, an older man, kindly invited me into the drink preparation area, offered me tea, and let me take photos.
This area is for distributing food for free.
Walking further into the Grand Bazaar, you can see processions performing the Ashura mourning march (al-mawakib al-husayniyya), where everyone mourns together for Imam Hussein and his 72 companions who were killed by the Umayyad army on the Day of Ashura, singing rhythmically together.
During the procession, the group stops intermittently, and one person delivers a eulogy for Imam Hussein, while everyone cries and wails along, with many people weeping bitterly.
In addition to the singing, various flags are also very eye-catching.
This is a procession composed of hundreds or thousands of people holding hands, which is very spectacular.
Outside the Grand Bazaar, there are also shops specifically selling Ashura flags.
The area outside the north gate of the Grand Bazaar has been turned into a venue for performing Ta'zieh opera. Ta'zieh opera performance is an important part of Ashura activities. During the month of Muharram, numerous venues for performing Ta'zieh opera are set up in various squares in Tehran, and there are many spectators.
Ta'zieh opera formed in Iran in the late 17th century and is a type of traditional Persian theater; this form of expression can be traced back to the pre-Islamic era. During Ashura, Shia Muslims use Ta'zieh opera to recreate the scene of the Battle of Karbala on the Day of Ashura in 680 AD, when Imam Hussein and his 72 companions were all killed by the Umayyad army.
In the opera, the villains are the rulers of the Umayyad dynasty, and they wear red. The heroes are Imam Hussein and his family and companions; the male characters among them wear green, and change to white when they are about to die. All female characters are played by male actors dressed in all black. If a person walks in circles around the stage, it means they are on a long journey, usually between Mecca and Karbala.
While watching the performance, you can eat honey cake and drink honey water freely.
Ashura memorial service (majalis al-ta'ziya) at Parvaz Park
I attended an Ashura memorial service (majalis al-ta'ziya) at Parvaz Park in Tehran and experienced a wonderful Iranian Shia musical performance.
In the afternoon, tea stalls were already set up in the square, and Iranian black tea was available for free. Then, accompanied by the Ney (flute), the lead singer began to sing soothing songs. Amidst the singing, a bonfire was lit in the square, and baskets nearby were filled with various fragrant fruits. After a few soothing songs, a percussion ensemble consisting of drums and cymbals walked onto the stage while playing. The rhythm of the songs began to become more and more passionate, the atmosphere grew more intense, and it reached a climax accompanied by the sound of horns.
During the singing, a group of actors in costumes walked slowly toward the stage, led by two boys holding incense.
When they reached the stage, they began to perform the Ta'zieh play.
Tajrish Bazaar
At the end of Tajrish Bazaar in the north of Tehran, there is a Tekyeh. In the Shia tradition, a Tekyeh generally refers to a place specifically for commemorating Imam Hussein, especially for performing Ta'zieh opera during the month of Muharram. Tajrish Tekyeh can be traced back to the Qajar dynasty 220 years ago. It is a very old Tekyeh in Tehran, and the current layout is also very traditional, although the wooden pillars have been replaced by metal ones.
Outside the venue, there are some shops selling Shia supplies. The picture below shows the whips used during the flagellation (tatbir) ritual on Ashura, which recreates the scene of the Umayyad army whipping Imam Hussein's family. This ritual used to involve intense self-harm, but later, the Supreme Leader of Iran's Shia, Khamenei, publicly stated that during Ashura: 'Any act that harms the body is Haram (forbidden).' Therefore, you no longer see cases of self-harm during the festival in Tehran.
The red hat represents the villainous Umayyad dynasty, and the green hat represents the heroic Imam Hussein.
The lump of clay is called a Turbah, which symbolizes the earth; Shia Muslims must place their foreheads on it during prayer.
Turning out of Tajrish Bazaar, you reach the most important Shia shrine and mosque in northern Tehran, Imamzadeh Saleh, which houses the tomb of Saleh, the son of Musa al-Kadhim, the seventh Imam of the Twelver Shia. Today, the large wooden box inside the mausoleum dates back to the late Safavid dynasty to the Afsharid dynasty in the 18th century.
During the month of Muharram, Ta'zieh opera is also performed in the courtyard of Imamzadeh Saleh.
At the place where drinks are distributed for free at the entrance of Imamzadeh Saleh shrine and mosque, Khakshir (seeds of the Flixweed plant) is a very common drink in Iran during the summer to relieve heat and quench thirst.
Then, next to it, you can also see places selling various Shia supplies.
Collapse Read »
Bukhara Old City Bazaar Guide: Miniature Art, Muslim Heritage and Local Crafts
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Bukhara Old City Bazaar Guide: Miniature Art, Muslim Heritage and Local Crafts. A record of my trip to the ancient city of Bukhara during the 2019 Spring Festival holiday to eat, shop, buy hats, and purchase miniature paintings. It is useful for readers interested in Bukhara Travel, Islamic Art, Bazaar Culture.
A record of my trip to the ancient city of Bukhara during the 2019 Spring Festival holiday to eat, shop, buy hats, and purchase miniature paintings.
Food
When I was in Bukhara, I stayed at the Komil Hotel, which is recommended by Lonely Planet. The hotel is located in an alley in the center of the ancient city. It was originally a wealthy merchant's residence built in the 19th century, purchased by Komil's grandfather 50 years ago, and opened as a hotel in 2000. The owner, Komil Kadirov, speaks fluent English and is very welcoming to guests.
The hotel still retains the wood carvings and paintings of traditional 19th-century Bukhara architecture. The room I stayed in has been partially renovated, but the dining room where breakfast is served is very well preserved, as if I had traveled back to Bukhara over 100 years ago. Their breakfast is very hearty; even for one person, it fills the entire table, which made me feel a bit embarrassed. Breakfast was truly a highlight of my trip to Uzbekistan. Basically, every hotel prepares more than ten types of dishes and will ask if you want boiled or fried eggs, and black or green tea. The service attitude is really great.
The Bukhara Central Bazaar (Buxoro markaziy bozori; the 'a' in Uyghur is pronounced as 'o' in Uzbek) is in the western part of the old city. It is very lively and sells everything. The best snack to eat in winter is, of course, the flaky somsa (baked meat buns; 'Samsa' in Uyghur)! Uzbek somsa is served with a homemade sauce, often containing fennel and onions, and sometimes cilantro.
Naan stalls are the most common stalls in the bazaar.
Eating kebabs at the Doniyorbek restaurant opposite the Bukhara Central Bazaar. While walking through the bazaar, I saw a very Soviet-style restaurant across the street. After going inside, I found it had such a great atmosphere—the green walls, the stove in the room, and the classic service window made it feel like I had returned to the Soviet Union.
Note that in the former Soviet regions, when talking about eating kebabs, you should say 'Shashlik' instead of the Uyghur word 'Kewap'. The term 'Shashlik' originated from the Crimean Tatars and became popular throughout the Russian Empire after the 18th century. In Uzbekistan, saying 'Kebab' will get you Middle Eastern-style minced meat skewers; 'Shashlik' is the meat-chunk skewers we are familiar with.
In addition, the side dishes for the meat are very rich. I chose yogurt with small side dishes, which is very refreshing and cuts through the greasiness.
Eating Kifta Shurva (clear meatball soup), Manti (steamed dumplings), and grilled lamb chops at Temir's restaurant in the center of the old city of Bukhara. Their environment is nice, and it is the only place in the old city of Bukhara where you can withdraw cash using a Mastercard credit card.
Manti is believed to have been spread from East Asia to West Asia and even Eastern Europe by Mongol and Turkic peoples along the Silk Road during the Mongol Empire era. Now, Manti has become a traditional delicacy in Xinjiang, the former Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Turkey, and the Balkans. Central Asian Manti is generally eaten dipped in thick yogurt.
Their restaurant is right next to the famous Magoki Attor Mosque in Bukhara. This mosque, built in the 12th century, is a model of architecture from the Karakhanid dynasty period in Bukhara and even all of Central Asia.
Another meal of fried chuchvara (dumplings) and lamb soup.
Eating plov (pilaf) and drinking meat soup, as well as having two types of salads, at the Chayxana chinar teahouse in the ancient city of Bukhara. Teahouses in Central Asia serve food and are also a type of public activity space.
Performing Jumu'ah (Friday prayer) at the Po-i-Kalyan Mosque (Maedjid-i Kalan). The Kalyan Mosque was originally built in 1121 by Arslan Khan of the Karakhanid dynasty. It was later destroyed during Genghis Khan's siege of Bukhara, leaving only the minaret. The current mosque was built in 1514 during the Bukhara Khanate period. Today, the Kalyan Mosque is the most important Jumu'ah mosque in Bukhara. It consists of a rectangular courtyard with 288 domes and 208 pillars, with a tall Iwan (vaulted hall) gate in the center. The main hall can accommodate 12,000 people.
According to archaeological findings, there are two layers of mosque ruins buried beneath the current mosque. The bottom layer is a mosque from the Karakhanid dynasty in 1121, with the same scale as the current one, and the upper layer is a mosque built in the early 14th century during the Chagatai Khanate period, made entirely of brick.
Miniature painting
I visited the first miniature painting workshop in Bukhara and bought a few small miniature paintings.
The Tok-i-Zargaron (Jewelry Dome Market) was built in 1570. It is the largest of the four remaining dome markets from the Bukhara Khanate period in the ancient city of Bukhara and is the best witness to Bukhara's role as a trade center in Central Asia in the 16th century.
'Tok-i-Zargaron' means 'Dome of the Jewelers.' It has four arched passages for Silk Road trade caravans to pass through, as well as 16 domes on an octagonal base. During the Bukhara Khanate period, there were 36 jewelry workshops and shops under the dome, selling rings, earrings, necklaces, and various other jewelry.
Buying miniature paintings in the market.
The Toqi Telpak Furushon (Hat Dome Market), built at the end of the 16th century during the Bukhara Khanate, consists of a central dome and a hexagonal base, connecting five streets in the old city. This place was originally called the Kitab-Furushon (Book Market), but later gradually switched to selling various headscarves, fur hats, and skullcaps. Now it has become a place for selling tourist souvenirs.
I bought a miniature painting at a workshop in the market; this one was painted directly on old paper.
Hats
Some historical sites in the ancient city of Bukhara have shops selling traditional hats. This time, I bought several at the Abdulaziz Khan Madrasah (Islamic school), which was built in 1652.
As soon as you enter the gate of the madrasah, there is an auntie on the right selling antique jewelry.
I helped a friend purchase a 19th-century Uzbek Tilla Qash (gold brow headpiece) here.
Then I went to another auntie's shop in the madrasah.
I bought two Soviet-era almond-patterned doppa (traditional skullcaps). These colorful almond-patterned doppas are rare now; the ones worn on the street today are basically black and white.
There was also a traditional Central Asian hat; this pointed style is hard to find in Xinjiang.
I also bought a traditional tablecloth from her shop.
I helped a friend purchase five hats in the old city of Bukhara. The young girl selling the hats took a liking to my portable charger and wanted to trade it for a hat, but since I was still traveling, I didn't agree.
Streets of Bukhara
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Summary: This travel note introduces Bukhara Old City Bazaar Guide: Miniature Art, Muslim Heritage and Local Crafts. A record of my trip to the ancient city of Bukhara during the 2019 Spring Festival holiday to eat, shop, buy hats, and purchase miniature paintings. It is useful for readers interested in Bukhara Travel, Islamic Art, Bazaar Culture.
A record of my trip to the ancient city of Bukhara during the 2019 Spring Festival holiday to eat, shop, buy hats, and purchase miniature paintings.
Food
When I was in Bukhara, I stayed at the Komil Hotel, which is recommended by Lonely Planet. The hotel is located in an alley in the center of the ancient city. It was originally a wealthy merchant's residence built in the 19th century, purchased by Komil's grandfather 50 years ago, and opened as a hotel in 2000. The owner, Komil Kadirov, speaks fluent English and is very welcoming to guests.
The hotel still retains the wood carvings and paintings of traditional 19th-century Bukhara architecture. The room I stayed in has been partially renovated, but the dining room where breakfast is served is very well preserved, as if I had traveled back to Bukhara over 100 years ago. Their breakfast is very hearty; even for one person, it fills the entire table, which made me feel a bit embarrassed. Breakfast was truly a highlight of my trip to Uzbekistan. Basically, every hotel prepares more than ten types of dishes and will ask if you want boiled or fried eggs, and black or green tea. The service attitude is really great.
The Bukhara Central Bazaar (Buxoro markaziy bozori; the 'a' in Uyghur is pronounced as 'o' in Uzbek) is in the western part of the old city. It is very lively and sells everything. The best snack to eat in winter is, of course, the flaky somsa (baked meat buns; 'Samsa' in Uyghur)! Uzbek somsa is served with a homemade sauce, often containing fennel and onions, and sometimes cilantro.
Naan stalls are the most common stalls in the bazaar.
Eating kebabs at the Doniyorbek restaurant opposite the Bukhara Central Bazaar. While walking through the bazaar, I saw a very Soviet-style restaurant across the street. After going inside, I found it had such a great atmosphere—the green walls, the stove in the room, and the classic service window made it feel like I had returned to the Soviet Union.
Note that in the former Soviet regions, when talking about eating kebabs, you should say 'Shashlik' instead of the Uyghur word 'Kewap'. The term 'Shashlik' originated from the Crimean Tatars and became popular throughout the Russian Empire after the 18th century. In Uzbekistan, saying 'Kebab' will get you Middle Eastern-style minced meat skewers; 'Shashlik' is the meat-chunk skewers we are familiar with.
In addition, the side dishes for the meat are very rich. I chose yogurt with small side dishes, which is very refreshing and cuts through the greasiness.
Eating Kifta Shurva (clear meatball soup), Manti (steamed dumplings), and grilled lamb chops at Temir's restaurant in the center of the old city of Bukhara. Their environment is nice, and it is the only place in the old city of Bukhara where you can withdraw cash using a Mastercard credit card.
Manti is believed to have been spread from East Asia to West Asia and even Eastern Europe by Mongol and Turkic peoples along the Silk Road during the Mongol Empire era. Now, Manti has become a traditional delicacy in Xinjiang, the former Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Turkey, and the Balkans. Central Asian Manti is generally eaten dipped in thick yogurt.
Their restaurant is right next to the famous Magoki Attor Mosque in Bukhara. This mosque, built in the 12th century, is a model of architecture from the Karakhanid dynasty period in Bukhara and even all of Central Asia.
Another meal of fried chuchvara (dumplings) and lamb soup.
Eating plov (pilaf) and drinking meat soup, as well as having two types of salads, at the Chayxana chinar teahouse in the ancient city of Bukhara. Teahouses in Central Asia serve food and are also a type of public activity space.
Performing Jumu'ah (Friday prayer) at the Po-i-Kalyan Mosque (Maedjid-i Kalan). The Kalyan Mosque was originally built in 1121 by Arslan Khan of the Karakhanid dynasty. It was later destroyed during Genghis Khan's siege of Bukhara, leaving only the minaret. The current mosque was built in 1514 during the Bukhara Khanate period. Today, the Kalyan Mosque is the most important Jumu'ah mosque in Bukhara. It consists of a rectangular courtyard with 288 domes and 208 pillars, with a tall Iwan (vaulted hall) gate in the center. The main hall can accommodate 12,000 people.
According to archaeological findings, there are two layers of mosque ruins buried beneath the current mosque. The bottom layer is a mosque from the Karakhanid dynasty in 1121, with the same scale as the current one, and the upper layer is a mosque built in the early 14th century during the Chagatai Khanate period, made entirely of brick.
Miniature painting
I visited the first miniature painting workshop in Bukhara and bought a few small miniature paintings.
The Tok-i-Zargaron (Jewelry Dome Market) was built in 1570. It is the largest of the four remaining dome markets from the Bukhara Khanate period in the ancient city of Bukhara and is the best witness to Bukhara's role as a trade center in Central Asia in the 16th century.
'Tok-i-Zargaron' means 'Dome of the Jewelers.' It has four arched passages for Silk Road trade caravans to pass through, as well as 16 domes on an octagonal base. During the Bukhara Khanate period, there were 36 jewelry workshops and shops under the dome, selling rings, earrings, necklaces, and various other jewelry.
Buying miniature paintings in the market.
The Toqi Telpak Furushon (Hat Dome Market), built at the end of the 16th century during the Bukhara Khanate, consists of a central dome and a hexagonal base, connecting five streets in the old city. This place was originally called the Kitab-Furushon (Book Market), but later gradually switched to selling various headscarves, fur hats, and skullcaps. Now it has become a place for selling tourist souvenirs.
I bought a miniature painting at a workshop in the market; this one was painted directly on old paper.
Hats
Some historical sites in the ancient city of Bukhara have shops selling traditional hats. This time, I bought several at the Abdulaziz Khan Madrasah (Islamic school), which was built in 1652.
As soon as you enter the gate of the madrasah, there is an auntie on the right selling antique jewelry.
I helped a friend purchase a 19th-century Uzbek Tilla Qash (gold brow headpiece) here.
Then I went to another auntie's shop in the madrasah.
I bought two Soviet-era almond-patterned doppa (traditional skullcaps). These colorful almond-patterned doppas are rare now; the ones worn on the street today are basically black and white.
There was also a traditional Central Asian hat; this pointed style is hard to find in Xinjiang.
I also bought a traditional tablecloth from her shop.
I helped a friend purchase five hats in the old city of Bukhara. The young girl selling the hats took a liking to my portable charger and wanted to trade it for a hat, but since I was still traveling, I didn't agree.
Streets of Bukhara
Collapse Read »
Kaifeng Halal Food Guide: Simen Soup Pot and Muslim Night Market (Part 1 of 2)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Kaifeng Halal Food Guide: Simen Soup Pot and Muslim Night Market. In early November 2018, I took advantage of the weekend to visit Kaifeng, arriving in three and a half hours by high-speed train from Beijing. It is useful for readers interested in Kaifeng Travel, Halal Food, Muslim Night Market. This is part 1 of 2.
In early November 2018, I took advantage of the weekend to visit Kaifeng, arriving in three and a half hours by high-speed train from Beijing. Because I only had two days, the itinerary was very tight. I drank soup at Simen in the morning, visited the mosque's ancient architecture during the day, and ate at the halal night market in the evening, hoping to record the style of the Kaifeng Muslim community as much as possible during these two days. Below, I will share my experience of Kaifeng halal food with everyone.
Drinking soup at Simen
The 'bad habit' of the Xiangfu people is that they love to drink soup. As long as they have some money in their pockets, regardless of whether they have food for tomorrow or not, they will enjoy a bowl of soup today. Where is the best soup in Xiangfu city? Of course, it is the soup at Simen. — 'Simen'
'Simen' (Mosque Gate) is the soul of the Kaifeng Muslim community. 'Simen' refers to the gate of the Kaifeng Dongda Mosque. Historically, the Dongda Mosque has suffered many times from Yellow River floods. Each time it was destroyed, it was rebuilt. The current building is the appearance after it was rebuilt in 1846 (the 26th year of the Daoguang reign) following the Yellow River flood in 1841 (the 21st year of the Daoguang reign).
The Muslim community centered on the Dongda Mosque is known as the 'First Community of Henan.' It includes more than 20 streets and alleys with over 20,000 people. It is the only one of the three major Muslim residential areas in Kaifeng's history (Dongda Mosque, Beida Mosque, and Wenshu Mosque) that has not undergone large-scale demolition and renovation, and it still maintains the traditional form of a Muslim community.
From 'Locality of Urban Hui Muslim Communities: A Study Based on Place Attachment in the Dongda Mosque Hui Muslim Community of Kaifeng'
Various halal delicacies gather on Qingping North and South Streets at the entrance of the Dongda Mosque. These eateries generally operate from dawn until after one o'clock in the afternoon; in the afternoon, there are only cooked food and pastry shops.
Outside of Qingping North and South Streets, most of the area around the Dongda Mosque is still these quiet little alleys.
1. Siweicai (four-flavor dish) and shaobing (baked flatbread)
Siweicai is a famous Kaifeng breakfast, which is made by braising daylily, gluten, beef meatballs, and mutton in mutton soup. It has a very rich flavor when eaten. This Zhao Family Siweicai is a very famous one in Simen. When I got into the taxi from the high-speed railway station to the city, the driver heard I was going to Simen and urged me to try the Zhao family's Siweicai.
There is a long line on weekend mornings.
When eating Siweicai, it is usually paired with guokui (hard-crusted flatbread) or shaobing. I chose shaobing this time. This is the first time I have seen this kind of large sesame shaobing. When it is fresh, it is hot to hold, fragrant, and crispy. It can be soaked in the soup or bitten open to stuff with Siweicai. Eating it makes one feel very comfortable.
This is how shaobing is made.
2. Mutton soup and guokui
Besides Siweicai, the most classic is still this mutton soup paired with guokui. The one I ate at is Yanji Mutton Fresh Soup right across from the Dongda Mosque. When serving the soup, the uncle asks if you want oil, which is a great treat for mutton fat lovers.
3. Hulatang (spicy soup) paired with jidan budai (egg-stuffed fried dough)
Next to Zhao Family Siweicai is Ma Liu Mutton Hulatang. Unlike the freshness of mutton soup, drinking Hulatang is more about that refreshing feeling in late autumn. After eating it, your whole body feels clear, and you have a good mood for the day.
Paired with Hulatang is jidan budai, also called jidan hebao (egg pouch) or zha laohu (fried tiger). This is hard to see in Beijing now, but it still exists in Tianjin.
4. Mutton steamed dumplings
Between the Siweicai and Hulatang is Li Ji Steamed Dumplings and Shaomai (steamed dumplings). Because I was too full, I didn't have room, so the steamed dumplings in the photo are actually from the next table.
5. Duck gizzard four-treasure vermicelli soup
Opposite the Siweicai is the only duck gizzard four-treasure vermicelli soup in Simen, which can also be served with mutton fat. This place gives a very generous portion, and I think the duck liver in the soup is the most delicious.
6. Beef huoshao (baked wheat cake)
Continuing north is Mu Family Beef Huoshao. This is very suitable for eating while walking around the alleys of Simen, feeling relaxed and content.
There are also stalls selling pickles in Simen, which are even better when paired with soup.
7. Doumo (bean paste soup) paired with caijiao (vegetable dumplings)
Besides Simen, there are actually many halal breakfast eateries in Kaifeng. During this trip to Kaifeng, I ate doumo and caijiao at a Hulatang eatery near Wenshu Mosque. Doumo is a breakfast popular in the Hebei, Shandong, and Henan regions. Kaifeng's five-spice doumo is made by mixing millet flour with various seasonings, adding shredded tofu, peanuts, spinach, and vermicelli, and finally drizzling with sesame paste.
Lively night market
1. Xueyuanmen Halal Night Market
On the west side of Jiefang Road, not far west of Simen, is Kaifeng's only halal night market, Xueyuanmen Night Market. Everything sold here is authentic Kaifeng halal late-night snacks. For me, living in Beijing where there are no night markets, visiting a night market is really great! I want to try everything; I really hate that my stomach isn't big enough.
This place sells stir-fried seafood and crayfish, very night-market style. The stir-fried seafood is spicy and very satisfying.
Coming to Kaifeng, of course, you have to try the soup-filled xiaolongbao (small steamed buns). Taking a bite, the slightly sweet soup fills your mouth. After eating, it can truly be described as leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth. Collapse Read »
Summary: This travel note introduces Kaifeng Halal Food Guide: Simen Soup Pot and Muslim Night Market. In early November 2018, I took advantage of the weekend to visit Kaifeng, arriving in three and a half hours by high-speed train from Beijing. It is useful for readers interested in Kaifeng Travel, Halal Food, Muslim Night Market. This is part 1 of 2.
In early November 2018, I took advantage of the weekend to visit Kaifeng, arriving in three and a half hours by high-speed train from Beijing. Because I only had two days, the itinerary was very tight. I drank soup at Simen in the morning, visited the mosque's ancient architecture during the day, and ate at the halal night market in the evening, hoping to record the style of the Kaifeng Muslim community as much as possible during these two days. Below, I will share my experience of Kaifeng halal food with everyone.
Drinking soup at Simen
The 'bad habit' of the Xiangfu people is that they love to drink soup. As long as they have some money in their pockets, regardless of whether they have food for tomorrow or not, they will enjoy a bowl of soup today. Where is the best soup in Xiangfu city? Of course, it is the soup at Simen. — 'Simen'
'Simen' (Mosque Gate) is the soul of the Kaifeng Muslim community. 'Simen' refers to the gate of the Kaifeng Dongda Mosque. Historically, the Dongda Mosque has suffered many times from Yellow River floods. Each time it was destroyed, it was rebuilt. The current building is the appearance after it was rebuilt in 1846 (the 26th year of the Daoguang reign) following the Yellow River flood in 1841 (the 21st year of the Daoguang reign).
The Muslim community centered on the Dongda Mosque is known as the 'First Community of Henan.' It includes more than 20 streets and alleys with over 20,000 people. It is the only one of the three major Muslim residential areas in Kaifeng's history (Dongda Mosque, Beida Mosque, and Wenshu Mosque) that has not undergone large-scale demolition and renovation, and it still maintains the traditional form of a Muslim community.
From 'Locality of Urban Hui Muslim Communities: A Study Based on Place Attachment in the Dongda Mosque Hui Muslim Community of Kaifeng'
Various halal delicacies gather on Qingping North and South Streets at the entrance of the Dongda Mosque. These eateries generally operate from dawn until after one o'clock in the afternoon; in the afternoon, there are only cooked food and pastry shops.
Outside of Qingping North and South Streets, most of the area around the Dongda Mosque is still these quiet little alleys.
1. Siweicai (four-flavor dish) and shaobing (baked flatbread)
Siweicai is a famous Kaifeng breakfast, which is made by braising daylily, gluten, beef meatballs, and mutton in mutton soup. It has a very rich flavor when eaten. This Zhao Family Siweicai is a very famous one in Simen. When I got into the taxi from the high-speed railway station to the city, the driver heard I was going to Simen and urged me to try the Zhao family's Siweicai.
There is a long line on weekend mornings.
When eating Siweicai, it is usually paired with guokui (hard-crusted flatbread) or shaobing. I chose shaobing this time. This is the first time I have seen this kind of large sesame shaobing. When it is fresh, it is hot to hold, fragrant, and crispy. It can be soaked in the soup or bitten open to stuff with Siweicai. Eating it makes one feel very comfortable.
This is how shaobing is made.
2. Mutton soup and guokui
Besides Siweicai, the most classic is still this mutton soup paired with guokui. The one I ate at is Yanji Mutton Fresh Soup right across from the Dongda Mosque. When serving the soup, the uncle asks if you want oil, which is a great treat for mutton fat lovers.
3. Hulatang (spicy soup) paired with jidan budai (egg-stuffed fried dough)
Next to Zhao Family Siweicai is Ma Liu Mutton Hulatang. Unlike the freshness of mutton soup, drinking Hulatang is more about that refreshing feeling in late autumn. After eating it, your whole body feels clear, and you have a good mood for the day.
Paired with Hulatang is jidan budai, also called jidan hebao (egg pouch) or zha laohu (fried tiger). This is hard to see in Beijing now, but it still exists in Tianjin.
4. Mutton steamed dumplings
Between the Siweicai and Hulatang is Li Ji Steamed Dumplings and Shaomai (steamed dumplings). Because I was too full, I didn't have room, so the steamed dumplings in the photo are actually from the next table.
5. Duck gizzard four-treasure vermicelli soup
Opposite the Siweicai is the only duck gizzard four-treasure vermicelli soup in Simen, which can also be served with mutton fat. This place gives a very generous portion, and I think the duck liver in the soup is the most delicious.
6. Beef huoshao (baked wheat cake)
Continuing north is Mu Family Beef Huoshao. This is very suitable for eating while walking around the alleys of Simen, feeling relaxed and content.
There are also stalls selling pickles in Simen, which are even better when paired with soup.
7. Doumo (bean paste soup) paired with caijiao (vegetable dumplings)
Besides Simen, there are actually many halal breakfast eateries in Kaifeng. During this trip to Kaifeng, I ate doumo and caijiao at a Hulatang eatery near Wenshu Mosque. Doumo is a breakfast popular in the Hebei, Shandong, and Henan regions. Kaifeng's five-spice doumo is made by mixing millet flour with various seasonings, adding shredded tofu, peanuts, spinach, and vermicelli, and finally drizzling with sesame paste.
Lively night market
1. Xueyuanmen Halal Night Market
On the west side of Jiefang Road, not far west of Simen, is Kaifeng's only halal night market, Xueyuanmen Night Market. Everything sold here is authentic Kaifeng halal late-night snacks. For me, living in Beijing where there are no night markets, visiting a night market is really great! I want to try everything; I really hate that my stomach isn't big enough.
This place sells stir-fried seafood and crayfish, very night-market style. The stir-fried seafood is spicy and very satisfying.
Coming to Kaifeng, of course, you have to try the soup-filled xiaolongbao (small steamed buns). Taking a bite, the slightly sweet soup fills your mouth. After eating, it can truly be described as leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth. Collapse Read »
Twenty Ethnic Restaurants in China: Halal and Minority Food Guide (Part 4 of 4)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Twenty Ethnic Restaurants in China: Halal and Minority Food Guide (Part 1). In my travels over the past few years, I have encountered some very interesting ethnic groups. It is useful for readers interested in Ethnic Food, Halal Food, China Travel. This is part 4 of 4.
There is a Yunnan Hui Muslim community called "Wang He" by the Ping River outside the east gate of the ancient city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. In Thai, "Wang" means village, and "He" originally referred to the horse caravan merchants who came from Yunnan to engage in cross-border trade. From the 19th century to the early 20th century, Yunnan horse caravans controlled the trade route from Yunnan to northern Thailand. They transported tea, silk, hardware, and copperware from Yunnan to northern Thailand, and transported raw cotton and tobacco from northern Thailand back to Yunnan. In 1904, Zheng Chonglin, a Hui Muslim horse caravan merchant from Yuxi, Yunnan, established his own large horse inn in the east of Chiang Mai, which became the base for Yunnan horse caravans in Chiang Mai. Many Yunnan Hui Muslim horse caravan members came to live near the horse inn, and the Wang He community gradually formed.
There are several halal restaurants opened by Yunnan Hui Muslims on Wang He Street. I ate the famous northern Thai curry noodle khao soi at this KAO SOI FUENG FAH restaurant. It is said that this noodle was brought to northern Thailand by Yunnanese people. Slightly spicy noodle soup, sprinkled with sanzi (fried dough strips) and served with raw onions and lemon, the taste is quite good.
Northern Thai pineapple cakes are very likely produced by the northern Thai isolated army.
12. Korean-speaking Muslims in Itaewon, Seoul
In 1952, the US military stationed in the Korean Peninsula officially established its headquarters in Yongsan, and after 1957 it became the headquarters of the US Forces Korea. To meet the living needs of a large number of US troops stationed in Korea, various foreign restaurants began to appear in Itaewon, not far east of the Yongsan base, and Muslims also began to come to Itaewon to open halal restaurants.
In 1976, President Park Chung-hee provided land to the KMF (Korea Muslim Federation) to build the Seoul Central Mosque in Itaewon, and a halal commercial street was formed in Itaewon. After the 1990s, with Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, and other places coming to work, the number of Muslims in South Korea reached 150,000. Currently, it is estimated that there are 100,000 Muslims in South Korea, 40,000 of whom are local converts.
Although there are so many Middle Eastern, Indian, and Turkish halal restaurants in Itaewon, the most distinctive one is of course the halal Korean restaurant, and Makan is one of the most famous.
This sister is the chef.
Serving side dishes before eating is a feature of Korean restaurants here.
Grilled fish.
Doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew).
Soak the rice in the soup.
Korean-style bibimbap with grilled meat; the meat was covered by an egg, so I didn't take a picture.
Teppanyaki squid with rice cakes.
The person in the front right of the picture is also the chef.
In addition to the main store south of the mosque, Makan also has a store west of the mosque that specializes in Korean fried chicken and jajangmyeon (black bean noodles). The chef is an uncle, and it is the same business as the main store.
Korean-style jajangmyeon, the taste is different from Beijing jajangmyeon, and the noodles are a bit like udon noodles.
Collapse Read »
Summary: This travel note introduces Twenty Ethnic Restaurants in China: Halal and Minority Food Guide (Part 1). In my travels over the past few years, I have encountered some very interesting ethnic groups. It is useful for readers interested in Ethnic Food, Halal Food, China Travel. This is part 4 of 4.
There is a Yunnan Hui Muslim community called "Wang He" by the Ping River outside the east gate of the ancient city of Chiang Mai, Thailand. In Thai, "Wang" means village, and "He" originally referred to the horse caravan merchants who came from Yunnan to engage in cross-border trade. From the 19th century to the early 20th century, Yunnan horse caravans controlled the trade route from Yunnan to northern Thailand. They transported tea, silk, hardware, and copperware from Yunnan to northern Thailand, and transported raw cotton and tobacco from northern Thailand back to Yunnan. In 1904, Zheng Chonglin, a Hui Muslim horse caravan merchant from Yuxi, Yunnan, established his own large horse inn in the east of Chiang Mai, which became the base for Yunnan horse caravans in Chiang Mai. Many Yunnan Hui Muslim horse caravan members came to live near the horse inn, and the Wang He community gradually formed.
There are several halal restaurants opened by Yunnan Hui Muslims on Wang He Street. I ate the famous northern Thai curry noodle khao soi at this KAO SOI FUENG FAH restaurant. It is said that this noodle was brought to northern Thailand by Yunnanese people. Slightly spicy noodle soup, sprinkled with sanzi (fried dough strips) and served with raw onions and lemon, the taste is quite good.
Northern Thai pineapple cakes are very likely produced by the northern Thai isolated army.
12. Korean-speaking Muslims in Itaewon, Seoul
In 1952, the US military stationed in the Korean Peninsula officially established its headquarters in Yongsan, and after 1957 it became the headquarters of the US Forces Korea. To meet the living needs of a large number of US troops stationed in Korea, various foreign restaurants began to appear in Itaewon, not far east of the Yongsan base, and Muslims also began to come to Itaewon to open halal restaurants.
In 1976, President Park Chung-hee provided land to the KMF (Korea Muslim Federation) to build the Seoul Central Mosque in Itaewon, and a halal commercial street was formed in Itaewon. After the 1990s, with Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, and other places coming to work, the number of Muslims in South Korea reached 150,000. Currently, it is estimated that there are 100,000 Muslims in South Korea, 40,000 of whom are local converts.
Although there are so many Middle Eastern, Indian, and Turkish halal restaurants in Itaewon, the most distinctive one is of course the halal Korean restaurant, and Makan is one of the most famous.
This sister is the chef.
Serving side dishes before eating is a feature of Korean restaurants here.
Grilled fish.
Doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew).
Soak the rice in the soup.
Korean-style bibimbap with grilled meat; the meat was covered by an egg, so I didn't take a picture.
Teppanyaki squid with rice cakes.
The person in the front right of the picture is also the chef.
In addition to the main store south of the mosque, Makan also has a store west of the mosque that specializes in Korean fried chicken and jajangmyeon (black bean noodles). The chef is an uncle, and it is the same business as the main store.
Korean-style jajangmyeon, the taste is different from Beijing jajangmyeon, and the noodles are a bit like udon noodles.
Collapse Read »
Twenty Ethnic Restaurants in China: Halal and Minority Food Guide (Part 3 of 4)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Twenty Ethnic Restaurants in China: Halal and Minority Food Guide (Part 1). In my travels over the past few years, I have encountered some very interesting ethnic groups. It is useful for readers interested in Ethnic Food, Halal Food, China Travel. This is part 3 of 4.
Today, the place where you can best experience the Jawi Peranakan culture in Penang is Jawi House Cafe Gallery. This building was originally a Straits Eclectic-style Chinese shophouse built in the 1860s, with Malay-style decorations, and later it was an Indian Muslim coppersmith shop. Armenian Street (Lebuh Armenian, originally named Malay lane) where the shop is located was the earliest settlement area for the Jawi Peranakan community. In 2012, the Karim family, who had lived in Penang for six generations and had Punjabi roots, opened Jawi House here to make the most authentic Jawi Peranakan food.
We ate Cucur Udang (fried shrimp fritters), Nasi Lemuni (chaste tree berry rice), Jawi Chicken Curry, drank Penang Nutmeg and Arabian Sherbet, and also had Sago Pudding for dessert.
Cucur Udang is made by coating shrimp and scallions in flour and deep-frying them, then dipping them in peanut sauce. "Cucur" means fried fritter in Malay, and "Udang" means shrimp.
Nasi Lemuni is rice cooked with coconut milk, lemongrass, and blue Lemuni (chaste tree) flowers, served with fried anchovies and sambal (spicy chili paste). In the past, Lemuni rice was a traditional food for Malay women during their postpartum confinement, and it is said to promote blood circulation.
Jawi Chicken Curry is the Jawi Peranakan version of chicken curry. As a fusion ethnic group, Jawi Peranakan curry is also a fusion version of Indian curry and Malay curry.
Nutmeg is the meaning of nutmeg, and honey and lemon are added to the drink, which is a special way of drinking in Penang, sweet and sour.
Sherbet comes from the Persian word "Sharbat," meaning non-alcoholic sugar water. In medieval Arabia, people liked to add syrup and honey to Sharbat to increase sweetness, and also liked to add various almonds, lemons, apples, pomegranates, tamarinds, dates, sumac berries, musk, and mint. With the spread of Arabs and Persians, Sharbat is now popular in West Asia, South Asia, and the Malay Archipelago, especially during Ramadan. The Arabian Sherbet made by Jawi House is made with rose syrup, mallow nuts, gum arabic, and basil seeds, and the taste is very rich.
The Jawi Peranakan special version of sago pudding is drizzled with coconut cream and rich palm sugar syrup, and then sprinkled with crushed peanuts, which feels very exquisite.
Jawi House exhibits a series of old photos of Penang Jawi Peranakan, as well as paintings of the Penang Muslim community.
8. The Betawi people in Jakarta, Indonesia
In 1619, the Dutch razed Jakarta under the rule of the Banten Sultanate to the ground and renamed it Batavia, serving as the trading and administrative center of the Dutch East India Company. In 1684, the Dutch East India Company signed a peace treaty with the Banten Sultanate, and many ethnic groups including Malays, Sundanese, Javanese, Minangkabau, and Bugis began to reclaim and settle in the swamp areas outside the walls of Batavia. After one or two hundred years of integration, these ethnic groups finally formed the Betawi people in the early 20th century.
The Betawi people use a Malay language mixed with Hokkien Chinese, Arabic, and Dutch, called Betawi Malay, which is the only Malay-speaking region on the northern coast of Java. The diet of the Betawi people is also strongly influenced by Indonesian Chinese, Arab, European, local Sundanese, and Javanese diets.
The City Hall built in 1710 in the center of the old city of Batavia has now become the Jakarta History Museum. When I visited the museum in 2019, there was a small area in the courtyard that specifically provided Betawi snacks. I ate Kerak telor (spicy egg crust) and Selendang Mayang (iced drink). It is a great pity that I didn't know at the time that the snacks sold here were Betawi specialties that are hard to eat elsewhere, otherwise I should have tasted every one of them.
Kerak telor is made of glutinous rice and eggs with fried coconut shreds, topped with fried scallions and dried shrimp. In the colonial era, this food could only be eaten at gatherings of Dutch or wealthy Betawi merchants, and it was invented to increase the texture of glutinous rice.
Selendang Mayang is now rarely seen. It is a long-standing Batavia iced drink made from rice flour, vanilla powder, pandan leaves, red sugar syrup, and coconut milk.
9. The Javanese people in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Yogyakarta is an ancient cultural city in central Java, still ruled by a Sultan. In addition to traditional Javanese architecture, Gamelan music, and Wayang shadow puppetry, Yogyakarta also has many Javanese specialties.
nDalem Joyokusuman next to the Yogyakarta Sultan's Palace is the residence of Sultan's Prince Gusti Haryo Haji Joyokusumo, and it is now open as a cultural center and restaurant. I ate Nasi Blawong and Telo ijo here. Nasi Blawong is a specialty of the Sultan of Yogyakarta. It used to be eaten only at the Sultan's birthday banquet, and the reddish Blawong rice used in it is considered sacred. Telo ijo is a cassava pastry drizzled with pandan coconut milk.
nDalem Joyokusuman was built in 1916 during the reign of the eighth Sultan of Yogyakarta, Hamengkubuwono VIII, and has been inhabited by members of the Sultan's family ever since.
Peringgitan is the inner hall behind the large living room, where the prince's family activities take place, and it contains valuable gifts received by the prince.
Sentong Kiwo in Figure 4 was originally a guest room and is now used as an exhibition hall.
The place where Gamelan is performed in the courtyard.
10. The Bantenese people on Java Island, Indonesia
Banten is located at the westernmost tip of Java Island, facing Sumatra across the Sunda Strait. The local residents, the Bantenese, belong to a branch of the Sundanese. In the 16th century, the Banten Sultanate rose to become a maritime trading power in western Java, controlling the pepper trade in Southeast Asia.
The Great Mosque of Banten (Masjid Agung Banten), built in 1566, is a famous Javanese-style mosque. Muslims come to visit every day, and a very lively bazaar has formed around the mosque. I drank Es Campur (iced drink made with coconut milk, red sugar syrup, coconut meat, and fruit jelly) at the bazaar, and also had the simplest street egg noodles, Mie Rebus. Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) is sold everywhere in the bazaar, which is sweet and delicious. Sapodilla is native to Central America and the Caribbean, introduced to the Philippines by Spanish colonists, and then widely planted in Southeast Asia. It is called sawo in Indonesia.
11. Yunnan Hui Muslims in Chiang Mai, Thailand Collapse Read »
Summary: This travel note introduces Twenty Ethnic Restaurants in China: Halal and Minority Food Guide (Part 1). In my travels over the past few years, I have encountered some very interesting ethnic groups. It is useful for readers interested in Ethnic Food, Halal Food, China Travel. This is part 3 of 4.
Today, the place where you can best experience the Jawi Peranakan culture in Penang is Jawi House Cafe Gallery. This building was originally a Straits Eclectic-style Chinese shophouse built in the 1860s, with Malay-style decorations, and later it was an Indian Muslim coppersmith shop. Armenian Street (Lebuh Armenian, originally named Malay lane) where the shop is located was the earliest settlement area for the Jawi Peranakan community. In 2012, the Karim family, who had lived in Penang for six generations and had Punjabi roots, opened Jawi House here to make the most authentic Jawi Peranakan food.
We ate Cucur Udang (fried shrimp fritters), Nasi Lemuni (chaste tree berry rice), Jawi Chicken Curry, drank Penang Nutmeg and Arabian Sherbet, and also had Sago Pudding for dessert.
Cucur Udang is made by coating shrimp and scallions in flour and deep-frying them, then dipping them in peanut sauce. "Cucur" means fried fritter in Malay, and "Udang" means shrimp.
Nasi Lemuni is rice cooked with coconut milk, lemongrass, and blue Lemuni (chaste tree) flowers, served with fried anchovies and sambal (spicy chili paste). In the past, Lemuni rice was a traditional food for Malay women during their postpartum confinement, and it is said to promote blood circulation.
Jawi Chicken Curry is the Jawi Peranakan version of chicken curry. As a fusion ethnic group, Jawi Peranakan curry is also a fusion version of Indian curry and Malay curry.
Nutmeg is the meaning of nutmeg, and honey and lemon are added to the drink, which is a special way of drinking in Penang, sweet and sour.
Sherbet comes from the Persian word "Sharbat," meaning non-alcoholic sugar water. In medieval Arabia, people liked to add syrup and honey to Sharbat to increase sweetness, and also liked to add various almonds, lemons, apples, pomegranates, tamarinds, dates, sumac berries, musk, and mint. With the spread of Arabs and Persians, Sharbat is now popular in West Asia, South Asia, and the Malay Archipelago, especially during Ramadan. The Arabian Sherbet made by Jawi House is made with rose syrup, mallow nuts, gum arabic, and basil seeds, and the taste is very rich.
The Jawi Peranakan special version of sago pudding is drizzled with coconut cream and rich palm sugar syrup, and then sprinkled with crushed peanuts, which feels very exquisite.
Jawi House exhibits a series of old photos of Penang Jawi Peranakan, as well as paintings of the Penang Muslim community.
8. The Betawi people in Jakarta, Indonesia
In 1619, the Dutch razed Jakarta under the rule of the Banten Sultanate to the ground and renamed it Batavia, serving as the trading and administrative center of the Dutch East India Company. In 1684, the Dutch East India Company signed a peace treaty with the Banten Sultanate, and many ethnic groups including Malays, Sundanese, Javanese, Minangkabau, and Bugis began to reclaim and settle in the swamp areas outside the walls of Batavia. After one or two hundred years of integration, these ethnic groups finally formed the Betawi people in the early 20th century.
The Betawi people use a Malay language mixed with Hokkien Chinese, Arabic, and Dutch, called Betawi Malay, which is the only Malay-speaking region on the northern coast of Java. The diet of the Betawi people is also strongly influenced by Indonesian Chinese, Arab, European, local Sundanese, and Javanese diets.
The City Hall built in 1710 in the center of the old city of Batavia has now become the Jakarta History Museum. When I visited the museum in 2019, there was a small area in the courtyard that specifically provided Betawi snacks. I ate Kerak telor (spicy egg crust) and Selendang Mayang (iced drink). It is a great pity that I didn't know at the time that the snacks sold here were Betawi specialties that are hard to eat elsewhere, otherwise I should have tasted every one of them.
Kerak telor is made of glutinous rice and eggs with fried coconut shreds, topped with fried scallions and dried shrimp. In the colonial era, this food could only be eaten at gatherings of Dutch or wealthy Betawi merchants, and it was invented to increase the texture of glutinous rice.
Selendang Mayang is now rarely seen. It is a long-standing Batavia iced drink made from rice flour, vanilla powder, pandan leaves, red sugar syrup, and coconut milk.
9. The Javanese people in Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Yogyakarta is an ancient cultural city in central Java, still ruled by a Sultan. In addition to traditional Javanese architecture, Gamelan music, and Wayang shadow puppetry, Yogyakarta also has many Javanese specialties.
nDalem Joyokusuman next to the Yogyakarta Sultan's Palace is the residence of Sultan's Prince Gusti Haryo Haji Joyokusumo, and it is now open as a cultural center and restaurant. I ate Nasi Blawong and Telo ijo here. Nasi Blawong is a specialty of the Sultan of Yogyakarta. It used to be eaten only at the Sultan's birthday banquet, and the reddish Blawong rice used in it is considered sacred. Telo ijo is a cassava pastry drizzled with pandan coconut milk.
nDalem Joyokusuman was built in 1916 during the reign of the eighth Sultan of Yogyakarta, Hamengkubuwono VIII, and has been inhabited by members of the Sultan's family ever since.
Peringgitan is the inner hall behind the large living room, where the prince's family activities take place, and it contains valuable gifts received by the prince.
Sentong Kiwo in Figure 4 was originally a guest room and is now used as an exhibition hall.
The place where Gamelan is performed in the courtyard.
10. The Bantenese people on Java Island, Indonesia
Banten is located at the westernmost tip of Java Island, facing Sumatra across the Sunda Strait. The local residents, the Bantenese, belong to a branch of the Sundanese. In the 16th century, the Banten Sultanate rose to become a maritime trading power in western Java, controlling the pepper trade in Southeast Asia.
The Great Mosque of Banten (Masjid Agung Banten), built in 1566, is a famous Javanese-style mosque. Muslims come to visit every day, and a very lively bazaar has formed around the mosque. I drank Es Campur (iced drink made with coconut milk, red sugar syrup, coconut meat, and fruit jelly) at the bazaar, and also had the simplest street egg noodles, Mie Rebus. Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) is sold everywhere in the bazaar, which is sweet and delicious. Sapodilla is native to Central America and the Caribbean, introduced to the Philippines by Spanish colonists, and then widely planted in Southeast Asia. It is called sawo in Indonesia.
11. Yunnan Hui Muslims in Chiang Mai, Thailand Collapse Read »
Twenty Ethnic Restaurants in China: Halal and Minority Food Guide (Part 1 of 2)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Twenty Ethnic Restaurants in China: Halal and Minority Food Guide (Part 2). Qingzhen Huiji is currently the only local traditional halal snack shop on Hong Kong Island. It is useful for readers interested in Ethnic Food, Halal Food, China Travel. This is part 1 of 2.
Chinese Muslims in Hong Kong
Qingzhen Huiji is currently the only local traditional halal snack shop on Hong Kong Island. It is located inside the Gwan-Ying Street Market on Bowrington Road in Wan Chai. It is not very easy to find, so if you cannot find it after entering the market, you can ask a local stall owner.
It is said that Qingzhen Huiji has been operating at the Wan Chai Gwan-Ying Bridge for over 60 years, and it moved into the Gwan-Ying Street Market after the market opened in 1979. Qingzhen Huiji's dine-in hours are from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM, so friends planning to go in the afternoon must arrive early.
Qingzhen Huiji is famous for its traditional hanging-oven roasted duck and Taiye chicken (soy-sauce chicken), as well as their own original curry lamb brisket. To be honest, this is the best curry lamb brisket I have ever eaten; the flavor is exceptionally authentic.
14. The Huihui people of Sanya, Hainan
The Huihui people are a Muslim ethnic group living in Huihui Village and Huixin Village in Sanya City, Hainan, with a population of nearly 10,000. The Huihui language they use belongs to the Austronesian language family and shares the same origin as the Chamic languages of southern Vietnam. The lifestyle of the Huihui people is strongly influenced by local Hainan ethnic groups, but they simultaneously maintain a devout Islamic faith, making them a very unique ethnic group on the southeast coast of China.
Starting from the 10th century, Champa, located in southern Vietnam, fought successive wars with Dai Viet, Chenla (Cambodia), and the Yuan Dynasty. Many Arab and Persian merchants from Champa sailed across the sea to Hainan. The History of Song: Champa contains the earliest record of a Champa person named Pu Luo'e leading over a hundred clansmen to Danzhou, Hainan, to submit to the empire in 986.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Muslims living in Yazhou, Wanzhou, Qiongshan, and other parts of Hainan gradually moved to the Sanya Lifan Village (now Sanya Huixin Village). During the Qing Dynasty, Muslim communities across Hainan experienced Sinicization, Li-ization, or Dan-ization. Sanya Lifan Village became the only Muslim community in Hainan and eventually formed the modern Huihui people.
In addition, some Huihui people came from the mainland. The ancestors of the Ha surname among the Huihui people came from Shaanxi. Later, the whole family moved to Dadan Port in Yazhou, Hainan. During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, they moved to Sanya Lifan Village together with another group of Hui Muslims surnamed Liu.
In Huixin Village, we happened to encounter a banquet being held for a child of the Ha family who was admitted to Tsinghua University.
Watching the Huihui people make traditional coconut rice.
First, you must use old coconuts with thick meat, scrape all the coconut meat into coconut shreds, and then use cheesecloth to squeeze out all the coconut oil.
The rice is steamed using a traditional Li ethnic pottery steamer (tao zeng). After the rice is steamed, the coconut milk and rice are thoroughly mixed together. At this stage, the coconut rice is very firm and chewy.
Then, the mixed coconut rice is steamed a second time in the pottery steamer. At this point, the coconut rice is softer and stickier than in the first stage, and the coconut milk and rice are completely fused together.
They used beef slaughtered the previous day for Eid al-Adha. First, stew the meat, then add wood ear mushrooms and yuba (dried bean curd sheets). This is a classic main dish at Huihui banquets.
15. The Tatars of Urumqi
The Tatar ethnic group is the smallest ethnic group in China, with only about 3,000 people. Most of the Tatars in Urumqi belong to the Kazan Tatars, who moved here successively from the Kazan area along the Volga River from the 19th century to the early 20th century. At that time, most Tatars were intellectuals or merchants, and they played an important role in promoting the establishment of modern education in Xinjiang.
The Tatar pastry shop in Urumqi is located on the site of a former Russian trading port. A hundred years ago, this was a place where Russians, Tatars, and various Central Asian merchants traded, a bit like Sanlitun in Beijing. The Tatar pastry shop is also a witness to this history.
Their most classic cake consists of six layers of pastry sandwiched with six layers of cream. The pastry is made from milk, eggs, ghee, and honey, without adding water, and it tastes exceptionally fragrant.
16. The Dongxiang people of Xiaoxihu, Lanzhou
The Dongxiang people are a Muslim ethnic group that uses the Dongxiang language of the Mongolic language family. They are mainly distributed in Dongxiang County, Hezheng County, and Guanghe County in Linxia, Gansu. The loess hills where the Dongxiang people live are relatively barren, so after the 1980s, many people chose to go to Lanzhou to make a living. Xiaoxihu is located at the end of the road from Linxia to Lanzhou, close to the Hui Muslim communities of Xiyuan and Xihu that have formed since the Qing Dynasty. Coupled with the commercial development driven by the Xiaoxihu Yiwu Trade City since the 1990s, Xiaoxihu has become the main residential area for the Dongxiang people in Lanzhou.
The Dongxiang people in Xiaoxihu are most concentrated in Baishu Lane, Jiangouyan, and Shangxiyuan, where you can eat various Dongxiang delicacies.
The owner of Zhonghua Shouzhua Dawang (Zhonghua Hand-Grabbed Mutton King) is named Ma Zhonghua, and it is a very popular Dongxiang hand-grabbed mutton shop in Lanzhou. Drinking sanpaotai (a traditional tea with three ingredients) while eating half a jin (250 grams) of hand-grabbed mutton ribs, a small bowl of lentil sparrow-tongue noodles, and a plate of liangpi (cold skin noodles), I felt very satisfied. This place has a good environment and good service; they refill the water frequently, and of course, the sanpaotai itself is also delicious.
The mutton tastes very authentic; basically, it is one piece of meat with one clove of garlic, and the garlic is also very fragrant.
Liangpi (cold skin noodles)
Lentil sparrow-tongue noodles Collapse Read »
Summary: This travel note introduces Twenty Ethnic Restaurants in China: Halal and Minority Food Guide (Part 2). Qingzhen Huiji is currently the only local traditional halal snack shop on Hong Kong Island. It is useful for readers interested in Ethnic Food, Halal Food, China Travel. This is part 1 of 2.
Chinese Muslims in Hong Kong
Qingzhen Huiji is currently the only local traditional halal snack shop on Hong Kong Island. It is located inside the Gwan-Ying Street Market on Bowrington Road in Wan Chai. It is not very easy to find, so if you cannot find it after entering the market, you can ask a local stall owner.
It is said that Qingzhen Huiji has been operating at the Wan Chai Gwan-Ying Bridge for over 60 years, and it moved into the Gwan-Ying Street Market after the market opened in 1979. Qingzhen Huiji's dine-in hours are from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM, so friends planning to go in the afternoon must arrive early.
Qingzhen Huiji is famous for its traditional hanging-oven roasted duck and Taiye chicken (soy-sauce chicken), as well as their own original curry lamb brisket. To be honest, this is the best curry lamb brisket I have ever eaten; the flavor is exceptionally authentic.
14. The Huihui people of Sanya, Hainan
The Huihui people are a Muslim ethnic group living in Huihui Village and Huixin Village in Sanya City, Hainan, with a population of nearly 10,000. The Huihui language they use belongs to the Austronesian language family and shares the same origin as the Chamic languages of southern Vietnam. The lifestyle of the Huihui people is strongly influenced by local Hainan ethnic groups, but they simultaneously maintain a devout Islamic faith, making them a very unique ethnic group on the southeast coast of China.
Starting from the 10th century, Champa, located in southern Vietnam, fought successive wars with Dai Viet, Chenla (Cambodia), and the Yuan Dynasty. Many Arab and Persian merchants from Champa sailed across the sea to Hainan. The History of Song: Champa contains the earliest record of a Champa person named Pu Luo'e leading over a hundred clansmen to Danzhou, Hainan, to submit to the empire in 986.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Muslims living in Yazhou, Wanzhou, Qiongshan, and other parts of Hainan gradually moved to the Sanya Lifan Village (now Sanya Huixin Village). During the Qing Dynasty, Muslim communities across Hainan experienced Sinicization, Li-ization, or Dan-ization. Sanya Lifan Village became the only Muslim community in Hainan and eventually formed the modern Huihui people.
In addition, some Huihui people came from the mainland. The ancestors of the Ha surname among the Huihui people came from Shaanxi. Later, the whole family moved to Dadan Port in Yazhou, Hainan. During the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, they moved to Sanya Lifan Village together with another group of Hui Muslims surnamed Liu.
In Huixin Village, we happened to encounter a banquet being held for a child of the Ha family who was admitted to Tsinghua University.
Watching the Huihui people make traditional coconut rice.
First, you must use old coconuts with thick meat, scrape all the coconut meat into coconut shreds, and then use cheesecloth to squeeze out all the coconut oil.
The rice is steamed using a traditional Li ethnic pottery steamer (tao zeng). After the rice is steamed, the coconut milk and rice are thoroughly mixed together. At this stage, the coconut rice is very firm and chewy.
Then, the mixed coconut rice is steamed a second time in the pottery steamer. At this point, the coconut rice is softer and stickier than in the first stage, and the coconut milk and rice are completely fused together.
They used beef slaughtered the previous day for Eid al-Adha. First, stew the meat, then add wood ear mushrooms and yuba (dried bean curd sheets). This is a classic main dish at Huihui banquets.
15. The Tatars of Urumqi
The Tatar ethnic group is the smallest ethnic group in China, with only about 3,000 people. Most of the Tatars in Urumqi belong to the Kazan Tatars, who moved here successively from the Kazan area along the Volga River from the 19th century to the early 20th century. At that time, most Tatars were intellectuals or merchants, and they played an important role in promoting the establishment of modern education in Xinjiang.
The Tatar pastry shop in Urumqi is located on the site of a former Russian trading port. A hundred years ago, this was a place where Russians, Tatars, and various Central Asian merchants traded, a bit like Sanlitun in Beijing. The Tatar pastry shop is also a witness to this history.
Their most classic cake consists of six layers of pastry sandwiched with six layers of cream. The pastry is made from milk, eggs, ghee, and honey, without adding water, and it tastes exceptionally fragrant.
16. The Dongxiang people of Xiaoxihu, Lanzhou
The Dongxiang people are a Muslim ethnic group that uses the Dongxiang language of the Mongolic language family. They are mainly distributed in Dongxiang County, Hezheng County, and Guanghe County in Linxia, Gansu. The loess hills where the Dongxiang people live are relatively barren, so after the 1980s, many people chose to go to Lanzhou to make a living. Xiaoxihu is located at the end of the road from Linxia to Lanzhou, close to the Hui Muslim communities of Xiyuan and Xihu that have formed since the Qing Dynasty. Coupled with the commercial development driven by the Xiaoxihu Yiwu Trade City since the 1990s, Xiaoxihu has become the main residential area for the Dongxiang people in Lanzhou.
The Dongxiang people in Xiaoxihu are most concentrated in Baishu Lane, Jiangouyan, and Shangxiyuan, where you can eat various Dongxiang delicacies.
The owner of Zhonghua Shouzhua Dawang (Zhonghua Hand-Grabbed Mutton King) is named Ma Zhonghua, and it is a very popular Dongxiang hand-grabbed mutton shop in Lanzhou. Drinking sanpaotai (a traditional tea with three ingredients) while eating half a jin (250 grams) of hand-grabbed mutton ribs, a small bowl of lentil sparrow-tongue noodles, and a plate of liangpi (cold skin noodles), I felt very satisfied. This place has a good environment and good service; they refill the water frequently, and of course, the sanpaotai itself is also delicious.
The mutton tastes very authentic; basically, it is one piece of meat with one clove of garlic, and the garlic is also very fragrant.
Liangpi (cold skin noodles)
Lentil sparrow-tongue noodles Collapse Read »
Guangyuan Shanghe Street Mosque Guide: Sichuan Muslim Heritage and Halal Travel
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Guangyuan Shanghe Street Mosque Guide: Sichuan Muslim Heritage and Halal Travel. On August 15, 2020, I traveled from Nanchong to Guangyuan and visited the Shanghe Street Mosque. It is useful for readers interested in Guangyuan Mosque, Sichuan Travel, Muslim Heritage.
On August 15, 2020, I traveled from Nanchong to Guangyuan and visited the Shanghe Street Mosque. The mosque is located in a bustling downtown area by the Jialing River. It was first built in 1721 and expanded in 1777. None of the original historical structures remain, and the current building was constructed in 2004.
Looking at the Jialing River from the roof of the mosque.
The mosque currently houses nine precious plaques from the Qing Dynasty and the Republican era. In the 1960s and 1970s, these nine plaques were covered with layers of paper and painted over with red lacquer to display the 'highest instructions' regarding ethnic unity, which ultimately saved them from destruction. These nine plaques are now hung on the walls of the mosque's staircases and corridors, which are:
1. The 1748 'Qingzhensi' (Mosque) plaque.
2. The 1803 'Renzhu Wu'er' (Recognize that there is no god but Allah) plaque, presented by the imperial-appointed Baturu Min Huaixi.
3. The 1811 'Qiqing Lizhen' (Pure spirit and true principle) plaque, erected by Geng Ziyu, the garrison commander of the Guangyuan Battalion.
4. The 1849 small-character plaque inscribed by Min Zhengfeng, the Provincial Commander-in-Chief of Guangxi.
5. The 1873 'Guanche Weichen' (Thoroughly penetrating the subtle truth) plaque, erected by Jiang Guolin, an imperial-appointed commander of the Guangyuan Battalion.
6. The 1873 'Weijing Weiyi' (Focusing on the essence and the oneness) plaque, erected by Ma Dengchao, an imperial-appointed garrison commander of the Guangyuan Battalion.
7. The 'Zhiwei Shengjiao' (Supporting the holy religion) plaque, presented by Mu Xiangfu, a garrison commander in Guangyuan during the Guangxu reign.
8. The 1932 'Daochan Tianfang' (Spreading the way of the Islamic faith) plaque, inscribed by Liu Cunhou, the Border Defense Commissioner of Sichuan and Shaanxi and the Inspection Commissioner of the Sichuan Army.
9. The 1932 'Jiaowu Weixin' (Innovating religious affairs) plaque, erected by the Guangyuan Muslim Funeral Association.
When I arrived, it was raining heavily. During Namaz (prayer), I only met one elderly gentleman, who very warmly invited me to eat beef huimo (stewed flatbread). I later learned that he was Haji Ma Jianzhong, the teacher of Imam Feng Yong from the Nanchong Mosque.
Behind the Shanghe Street Mosque, there are many local halal restaurants specializing in beef soup pots and huimo. Compared to those in Sichuan, the halal food here is closer to that of Hanzhong, Shaanxi.
The next morning, I had beef baozi (steamed stuffed buns) with congee and pickles next to the mosque, and there was also a shop selling lu-ji (braised chicken) across the street.
The Hui Muslims with the surname Ma in downtown Guangyuan originally came from Yi County, Hebei. They arrived in Guangyuan for business during the Qianlong reign, settled in Xiahe Street, and established commercial firms such as 'Chunshengxiang,' 'Yushungong,' and 'Songbaitang'.
Jialing River plank road.
Night view of the Jialing River.
Collapse Read »
Summary: This travel note introduces Guangyuan Shanghe Street Mosque Guide: Sichuan Muslim Heritage and Halal Travel. On August 15, 2020, I traveled from Nanchong to Guangyuan and visited the Shanghe Street Mosque. It is useful for readers interested in Guangyuan Mosque, Sichuan Travel, Muslim Heritage.
On August 15, 2020, I traveled from Nanchong to Guangyuan and visited the Shanghe Street Mosque. The mosque is located in a bustling downtown area by the Jialing River. It was first built in 1721 and expanded in 1777. None of the original historical structures remain, and the current building was constructed in 2004.
Looking at the Jialing River from the roof of the mosque.
The mosque currently houses nine precious plaques from the Qing Dynasty and the Republican era. In the 1960s and 1970s, these nine plaques were covered with layers of paper and painted over with red lacquer to display the 'highest instructions' regarding ethnic unity, which ultimately saved them from destruction. These nine plaques are now hung on the walls of the mosque's staircases and corridors, which are:
1. The 1748 'Qingzhensi' (Mosque) plaque.
2. The 1803 'Renzhu Wu'er' (Recognize that there is no god but Allah) plaque, presented by the imperial-appointed Baturu Min Huaixi.
3. The 1811 'Qiqing Lizhen' (Pure spirit and true principle) plaque, erected by Geng Ziyu, the garrison commander of the Guangyuan Battalion.
4. The 1849 small-character plaque inscribed by Min Zhengfeng, the Provincial Commander-in-Chief of Guangxi.
5. The 1873 'Guanche Weichen' (Thoroughly penetrating the subtle truth) plaque, erected by Jiang Guolin, an imperial-appointed commander of the Guangyuan Battalion.
6. The 1873 'Weijing Weiyi' (Focusing on the essence and the oneness) plaque, erected by Ma Dengchao, an imperial-appointed garrison commander of the Guangyuan Battalion.
7. The 'Zhiwei Shengjiao' (Supporting the holy religion) plaque, presented by Mu Xiangfu, a garrison commander in Guangyuan during the Guangxu reign.
8. The 1932 'Daochan Tianfang' (Spreading the way of the Islamic faith) plaque, inscribed by Liu Cunhou, the Border Defense Commissioner of Sichuan and Shaanxi and the Inspection Commissioner of the Sichuan Army.
9. The 1932 'Jiaowu Weixin' (Innovating religious affairs) plaque, erected by the Guangyuan Muslim Funeral Association.
When I arrived, it was raining heavily. During Namaz (prayer), I only met one elderly gentleman, who very warmly invited me to eat beef huimo (stewed flatbread). I later learned that he was Haji Ma Jianzhong, the teacher of Imam Feng Yong from the Nanchong Mosque.
Behind the Shanghe Street Mosque, there are many local halal restaurants specializing in beef soup pots and huimo. Compared to those in Sichuan, the halal food here is closer to that of Hanzhong, Shaanxi.
The next morning, I had beef baozi (steamed stuffed buns) with congee and pickles next to the mosque, and there was also a shop selling lu-ji (braised chicken) across the street.
The Hui Muslims with the surname Ma in downtown Guangyuan originally came from Yi County, Hebei. They arrived in Guangyuan for business during the Qianlong reign, settled in Xiahe Street, and established commercial firms such as 'Chunshengxiang,' 'Yushungong,' and 'Songbaitang'.
Jialing River plank road.
Night view of the Jialing River.
Collapse Read »
Tehran Bazaar Travel Guide: Iranian Markets, Muslim Culture and Local Life
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Tehran Bazaar Travel Guide: Iranian Markets, Muslim Culture and Local Life. I traveled to Tehran in 2019. The local prices were truly very affordable, and after arriving, I couldn't help but visit various bazaars to shop and shop. It is useful for readers interested in Tehran Bazaar, Iran Travel, Muslim Culture.
I traveled to Tehran in 2019. The local prices were truly very affordable, and after arriving, I couldn't help but visit various bazaars to shop and shop.
Jomeh Bazaar
Tehran's Jomeh Bazaar (Friday Bazaar) is usually a multi-story parking garage in the city center, but every Friday it turns into a very interesting flea market. Compared to the monotonous Yiwu small commodities in the Grand Bazaar, Jomeh Bazaar is a place where you can truly find treasures. There are second-hand dealers selling old records, old books, and antiques, as well as young women selling handmade jewelry, canvas bags, and coasters, along with various ethnic-style clothing and woven fabrics. It takes at least two or three hours to browse carefully.
Canvas bags and coasters I bought.
This was quite interesting; I kind of regret not buying it.
The felt hat and the Turkmen small floral cap, Takhya, that I bought. Takhya is a symbol of Turkmen tradition and identity. It is generally made of linen fabric, and the triangles on it are said to represent unity.
Tajrish Bazaar
Tajrish Bazaar is in the new urban area at the northernmost part of Tehran and stays open until 10 PM, making it very suitable for evening shopping. I bought some saffron at the Melal shop for Mashhad saffron in the bazaar. Buying saffron in Iran is actually quite cheap.
I bought traditional Iranian candy, Sohan asali (honey, sugar, saffron, and nut brittle), at a candy and dried fruit shop near Tajrish Bazaar. It is often eaten during Nowruz.
Carpet Bazaar
I bought a small carpet at the Carpet Bazaar next to the Tehran Grand Bazaar. It was produced in Qom, a Shia holy city in Iran. The owner is named Reza, a native of Kashan who has been in the carpet business in Tehran for over 20 years and speaks very fluent English.
Esfahan Art House
Esfahan Art House on the street at the north gate of the Grand Bazaar is a great one-stop place to buy traditional Persian handicrafts, and the prices are very reasonable. I bought two types of Iranian-style handicrafts here.
The first is a jewelry box made with the traditional Persian inlay technique, Khatam. Khatam is made by arranging bundles of wood, bone, and metal by color, then compressing and cutting them into geometric patterns. It is generally used to make doors, windows, mirror frames, chessboards, and boxes. The jewelry box I bought is made of hardwood, brass, and camel bone. Khatam flourished in the Safavid dynasty court and gradually declined after the 18th and 19th centuries, but it was revived during the reign of Reza Shah (reigned 1925-1941) of the Pahlavi dynasty, when handicraft schools were opened in Tehran, Shiraz, and Isfahan.
The second is a piece of fabric made with the woodblock printing craft, Ghalamkar. Ghalamkar is made by using woodblocks carved from pear wood to print on fabric, which is then hammered hundreds of times for repeated overprinting. The center of Ghalamkar art is Isfahan.
Tehran Museum of Islamic Art
After visiting the Tehran Museum of Islamic Art, I went to the souvenir shop. The prices were a bit high, but you can't buy these things anywhere else.
A notepad with Qajar dynasty paintings.
A bookmark featuring 15th-century Timurid dynasty Shiraz-style miniature painting.
A tile magnet from the 13th-14th century Ilkhanate period; the original is in the museum.
Golestan Palace
A replica of a wall tile from the Qajar dynasty period bought at the Golestan Palace souvenir shop.
Collapse Read »
Summary: This travel note introduces Tehran Bazaar Travel Guide: Iranian Markets, Muslim Culture and Local Life. I traveled to Tehran in 2019. The local prices were truly very affordable, and after arriving, I couldn't help but visit various bazaars to shop and shop. It is useful for readers interested in Tehran Bazaar, Iran Travel, Muslim Culture.
I traveled to Tehran in 2019. The local prices were truly very affordable, and after arriving, I couldn't help but visit various bazaars to shop and shop.
Jomeh Bazaar
Tehran's Jomeh Bazaar (Friday Bazaar) is usually a multi-story parking garage in the city center, but every Friday it turns into a very interesting flea market. Compared to the monotonous Yiwu small commodities in the Grand Bazaar, Jomeh Bazaar is a place where you can truly find treasures. There are second-hand dealers selling old records, old books, and antiques, as well as young women selling handmade jewelry, canvas bags, and coasters, along with various ethnic-style clothing and woven fabrics. It takes at least two or three hours to browse carefully.
Canvas bags and coasters I bought.
This was quite interesting; I kind of regret not buying it.
The felt hat and the Turkmen small floral cap, Takhya, that I bought. Takhya is a symbol of Turkmen tradition and identity. It is generally made of linen fabric, and the triangles on it are said to represent unity.
Tajrish Bazaar
Tajrish Bazaar is in the new urban area at the northernmost part of Tehran and stays open until 10 PM, making it very suitable for evening shopping. I bought some saffron at the Melal shop for Mashhad saffron in the bazaar. Buying saffron in Iran is actually quite cheap.
I bought traditional Iranian candy, Sohan asali (honey, sugar, saffron, and nut brittle), at a candy and dried fruit shop near Tajrish Bazaar. It is often eaten during Nowruz.
Carpet Bazaar
I bought a small carpet at the Carpet Bazaar next to the Tehran Grand Bazaar. It was produced in Qom, a Shia holy city in Iran. The owner is named Reza, a native of Kashan who has been in the carpet business in Tehran for over 20 years and speaks very fluent English.
Esfahan Art House
Esfahan Art House on the street at the north gate of the Grand Bazaar is a great one-stop place to buy traditional Persian handicrafts, and the prices are very reasonable. I bought two types of Iranian-style handicrafts here.
The first is a jewelry box made with the traditional Persian inlay technique, Khatam. Khatam is made by arranging bundles of wood, bone, and metal by color, then compressing and cutting them into geometric patterns. It is generally used to make doors, windows, mirror frames, chessboards, and boxes. The jewelry box I bought is made of hardwood, brass, and camel bone. Khatam flourished in the Safavid dynasty court and gradually declined after the 18th and 19th centuries, but it was revived during the reign of Reza Shah (reigned 1925-1941) of the Pahlavi dynasty, when handicraft schools were opened in Tehran, Shiraz, and Isfahan.
The second is a piece of fabric made with the woodblock printing craft, Ghalamkar. Ghalamkar is made by using woodblocks carved from pear wood to print on fabric, which is then hammered hundreds of times for repeated overprinting. The center of Ghalamkar art is Isfahan.
Tehran Museum of Islamic Art
After visiting the Tehran Museum of Islamic Art, I went to the souvenir shop. The prices were a bit high, but you can't buy these things anywhere else.
A notepad with Qajar dynasty paintings.
A bookmark featuring 15th-century Timurid dynasty Shiraz-style miniature painting.
A tile magnet from the 13th-14th century Ilkhanate period; the original is in the museum.
Golestan Palace
A replica of a wall tile from the Qajar dynasty period bought at the Golestan Palace souvenir shop.
Collapse Read »
Urumqi Night Market Halal Food Guide: Xinjiang Snacks and Local Life (Part 1)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Urumqi Night Market Halal Food Guide: Xinjiang Snacks and Local Life (Part 1). It was hard to get a five-day holiday for May Day in 2021, so I went to Urumqi to have a good look around. It is useful for readers interested in Urumqi Night Market, Halal Food, Xinjiang Travel.
It was hard to get a five-day holiday for May Day in 2021, so I went to Urumqi to have a good look around.
April 30
Arrived in Urumqi on the evening of April 30. Iftar (the meal to break the fast) was lamb and green onion huntun (wontons) made by my mother-in-law, braised steak, and steamed eggplant.
Then I went out to the night market; the nightlife in Urumqi is back!
At Maihualang on Xinhua South Road, I ate baklava, milk rice pudding, and pure suannai-zi (yogurt). Their place is really cheap and has a great atmosphere; it felt like I was back in a Turkish dessert shop for a second!
Melon stall at the west entrance of Lingguan Lane
Ice cream with fruit jam and iced water from Yizihaier Ice Cream in Lingguan Lane
Night market at the west entrance of Lingguan Lane
Lingguan Lane Night Market
Roasted goose eggs and pomegranate juice on Shengli Road
Hotan suannai zongzi (yogurt sticky rice dumplings) and shaved ice with yogurt syrup on Heba Lane. The taste is a bit different from the shaved ice in Yili, and it feels like Hotan suannai zongzi have become more common in Urumqi again this year.
Chickpeas on Heba Lane, served with the broth from michangzi (rice-stuffed intestines) and mianfeizi (lung-stuffed intestines).
Heba Lane at night
Eating dubao-rou (stomach-wrapped meat) at the night market at the east entrance of Heba Lane. The outside is lamb stomach, and the inside is lamb meat, liver, heart, and kidney; it was delicious. Dubao-rou is more common in Southern Xinjiang, but now you see it often in Urumqi night markets too. Their michangzi, mianfeizi, and chickpeas also looked so good!
A popular fruit shop on Shengli Road where I ate melon, drank pomegranate juice, and had fruit shaved ice; I've been there several times before.
A supermarket on Xinhua South Road, it's really great.
May 1
Because I'm traveling today, I paused my Suiyeye (a personal practice), and in the morning at a Kazakh restaurant by the Xinjiang University subway station, I had milk tea, horse meat sausage, and baursak (fried dough), along with side dishes with yellow carrots. I ate at their main branch in Dawan last year; it was excellent. There are more Uyghur customers at this branch, so it doesn't feel as intense as the main branch, but the baursak with raspberry jam, cherry jam, yogurt, and butter was just too good.
For lunch, I ate at the Xibe restaurant Ani Mother's Dishes in the New District; this is a quite famous place in Urumqi. I ate Xibe-style flatbread with chive chili sauce, Xibe fighting chicken, stir-fried lamb offal, and milk tea with milk skin. I originally thought the Xibe flatbread was just regular leavened bread, but after actually eating it, I found it so delicious! The texture was just right! With the chili sauce, I could eat a whole piece in one go. The Xibe fighting chicken meat was particularly chewy, much better than regular Dapanji (big plate chicken), and the stir-fried lamb offal was quite spicy but very satisfying. The milk tea had that authentic Yili taste, no doubt about it.
In the afternoon, I visited the Urumqi Gaotai Art Center, saw the Swiss contemporary photography exhibition, and bought magnets of jiuwan sanxingzi (nine bowls in three rows) and laghman (hand-pulled noodles), as well as portrait photography of Xinjiang people by photographer Ma Hailun. She will also be conducting a Urumqi portrait photography project at Gaotai on May 7. Gaotai Art Center is the only modern art center in Urumqi, and they organized the Dos Xinjiang Art Festival held in Beijing during the 2021 May Day holiday.
May 2
Ate zhuafan (pilaf), michangzi, mianfeizi, and pilahong (salad of skin, chili, and red onion) at home in the morning, then set off for Turpan.
May 4
On the morning of May 4, I ate Wuwuzi lamb meat with sanpaotai (a traditional tea with eight ingredients) in Shanxi Lane. The lamb was very tender and fragrant, and the piyazi (onions) were sweet.
In 1907, a Hui Muslim named Li Shenghua (Li Liushizi) started carrying a shoulder pole to sell lamb meat at the South Gate of Dihua. Later, his fifth son, Li Zhanshou (Wuwuzi), took over, and the name Wuwuzi Lamb Meat gradually became well-known. After the 1980s, Wuwuzi rented a storefront in Shanxi Lane. It has now been passed down for four generations and is an autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritage.
Wuwuzi Lamb Meat, along with the Shaanxi Great Mosque, the Laofang Mosque, and others, forms an important cultural symbol of the Hui Muslim historical district outside the South Gate of Urumqi. It is well worth a try for friends visiting Urumqi.
Erkin's musical instrument shop at the International Grand Bazaar; he is an inheritor of the autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritage of Uyghur musical instrument making. This is the only place worth visiting in the International Grand Bazaar besides the Kazakh photography yurt.
Ate almond ice cream at Alman Supermarket in Lingguan Lane; the ice cream had a very rich milky flavor.
Bought Yili suannai gedada (dried yogurt balls), traditional Yili ice cream, and creamy yogurt at the entrance of Alman Supermarket.
Ate homemade banmian (mixed noodles) at Benbang Bense Hand-Pulled Noodles in Lingguan Lane. I often pass by the hand-pulled noodles but this was my first time eating them; before, I always went straight for the meat naan. The hand-pulled noodles feel a bit firmer than regular noodles, and the texture is indeed different.
Ate naan-pit roasted meat at Yikelamu Food next door. Their environment is very nice and they have mint tea, which is quite suitable for resting.
Bought bahali (a traditional Tatar cake) at the Tatar pastry shop in Lingguan Lane; I bought a Tatar cake from them when I got married last year.
Lingguan Lane
Bought fresh camel milk at a Kazakh food shop at Heping Bridge. I drank mare's milk there last year, but it's not available until the end of May; it's not the season yet, so there was only camel milk.
After buying it, I sat in a pavilion, basking in the sun while eating suannai gedada, fresh camel milk, and bahali; a very pleasant afternoon.
In the evening, I ate at Pang Laohan, a famous Hui Muslim restaurant in Urumqi. Pang Laohan's real name is Jin Fengchang, a Hui Muslim from Hutubi. In 1995, he gave up his restaurant in Hutubi to try his luck in Urumqi, riding a tricycle to sell jiaoma-ji (spicy numbing chicken) at the Railway Bureau night market, and it became more and more popular. In 2001, he opened a specialty store, and later more and more branches were opened; now there are even stores in Chengdu.
I ordered their signature jiaoma-ji, lamb neck, sauced jiesha (a traditional dish made of tofu skin and meat), sweet and sour pork tenderloin, mixed wild sand leeks, fried wudaohai (a type of fish), scallion pancakes, and so on, and finally packed up some sesame steamed bread. Their food is really quite delicious. The jiaoma-ji was quite numbing, so I couldn't eat too much, but the flavor was great. The lamb neck dipped in sauce was especially fragrant, and the jiesha was served with sauce and had a crispy outer skin, different from the softer skin of braised jiesha. The sweet and sour pork tenderloin was unexpectedly delicious! It was much more fragrant than the ones in Beijing restaurants. The bones of the wudaohai were fried until crispy; I ate almost half a plate, one bite at a time.
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Summary: This travel note introduces Urumqi Night Market Halal Food Guide: Xinjiang Snacks and Local Life (Part 1). It was hard to get a five-day holiday for May Day in 2021, so I went to Urumqi to have a good look around. It is useful for readers interested in Urumqi Night Market, Halal Food, Xinjiang Travel.
It was hard to get a five-day holiday for May Day in 2021, so I went to Urumqi to have a good look around.
April 30
Arrived in Urumqi on the evening of April 30. Iftar (the meal to break the fast) was lamb and green onion huntun (wontons) made by my mother-in-law, braised steak, and steamed eggplant.
Then I went out to the night market; the nightlife in Urumqi is back!
At Maihualang on Xinhua South Road, I ate baklava, milk rice pudding, and pure suannai-zi (yogurt). Their place is really cheap and has a great atmosphere; it felt like I was back in a Turkish dessert shop for a second!
Melon stall at the west entrance of Lingguan Lane
Ice cream with fruit jam and iced water from Yizihaier Ice Cream in Lingguan Lane
Night market at the west entrance of Lingguan Lane
Lingguan Lane Night Market
Roasted goose eggs and pomegranate juice on Shengli Road
Hotan suannai zongzi (yogurt sticky rice dumplings) and shaved ice with yogurt syrup on Heba Lane. The taste is a bit different from the shaved ice in Yili, and it feels like Hotan suannai zongzi have become more common in Urumqi again this year.
Chickpeas on Heba Lane, served with the broth from michangzi (rice-stuffed intestines) and mianfeizi (lung-stuffed intestines).
Heba Lane at night
Eating dubao-rou (stomach-wrapped meat) at the night market at the east entrance of Heba Lane. The outside is lamb stomach, and the inside is lamb meat, liver, heart, and kidney; it was delicious. Dubao-rou is more common in Southern Xinjiang, but now you see it often in Urumqi night markets too. Their michangzi, mianfeizi, and chickpeas also looked so good!
A popular fruit shop on Shengli Road where I ate melon, drank pomegranate juice, and had fruit shaved ice; I've been there several times before.
A supermarket on Xinhua South Road, it's really great.
May 1
Because I'm traveling today, I paused my Suiyeye (a personal practice), and in the morning at a Kazakh restaurant by the Xinjiang University subway station, I had milk tea, horse meat sausage, and baursak (fried dough), along with side dishes with yellow carrots. I ate at their main branch in Dawan last year; it was excellent. There are more Uyghur customers at this branch, so it doesn't feel as intense as the main branch, but the baursak with raspberry jam, cherry jam, yogurt, and butter was just too good.
For lunch, I ate at the Xibe restaurant Ani Mother's Dishes in the New District; this is a quite famous place in Urumqi. I ate Xibe-style flatbread with chive chili sauce, Xibe fighting chicken, stir-fried lamb offal, and milk tea with milk skin. I originally thought the Xibe flatbread was just regular leavened bread, but after actually eating it, I found it so delicious! The texture was just right! With the chili sauce, I could eat a whole piece in one go. The Xibe fighting chicken meat was particularly chewy, much better than regular Dapanji (big plate chicken), and the stir-fried lamb offal was quite spicy but very satisfying. The milk tea had that authentic Yili taste, no doubt about it.
In the afternoon, I visited the Urumqi Gaotai Art Center, saw the Swiss contemporary photography exhibition, and bought magnets of jiuwan sanxingzi (nine bowls in three rows) and laghman (hand-pulled noodles), as well as portrait photography of Xinjiang people by photographer Ma Hailun. She will also be conducting a Urumqi portrait photography project at Gaotai on May 7. Gaotai Art Center is the only modern art center in Urumqi, and they organized the Dos Xinjiang Art Festival held in Beijing during the 2021 May Day holiday.
May 2
Ate zhuafan (pilaf), michangzi, mianfeizi, and pilahong (salad of skin, chili, and red onion) at home in the morning, then set off for Turpan.
May 4
On the morning of May 4, I ate Wuwuzi lamb meat with sanpaotai (a traditional tea with eight ingredients) in Shanxi Lane. The lamb was very tender and fragrant, and the piyazi (onions) were sweet.
In 1907, a Hui Muslim named Li Shenghua (Li Liushizi) started carrying a shoulder pole to sell lamb meat at the South Gate of Dihua. Later, his fifth son, Li Zhanshou (Wuwuzi), took over, and the name Wuwuzi Lamb Meat gradually became well-known. After the 1980s, Wuwuzi rented a storefront in Shanxi Lane. It has now been passed down for four generations and is an autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritage.
Wuwuzi Lamb Meat, along with the Shaanxi Great Mosque, the Laofang Mosque, and others, forms an important cultural symbol of the Hui Muslim historical district outside the South Gate of Urumqi. It is well worth a try for friends visiting Urumqi.
Erkin's musical instrument shop at the International Grand Bazaar; he is an inheritor of the autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritage of Uyghur musical instrument making. This is the only place worth visiting in the International Grand Bazaar besides the Kazakh photography yurt.
Ate almond ice cream at Alman Supermarket in Lingguan Lane; the ice cream had a very rich milky flavor.
Bought Yili suannai gedada (dried yogurt balls), traditional Yili ice cream, and creamy yogurt at the entrance of Alman Supermarket.
Ate homemade banmian (mixed noodles) at Benbang Bense Hand-Pulled Noodles in Lingguan Lane. I often pass by the hand-pulled noodles but this was my first time eating them; before, I always went straight for the meat naan. The hand-pulled noodles feel a bit firmer than regular noodles, and the texture is indeed different.
Ate naan-pit roasted meat at Yikelamu Food next door. Their environment is very nice and they have mint tea, which is quite suitable for resting.
Bought bahali (a traditional Tatar cake) at the Tatar pastry shop in Lingguan Lane; I bought a Tatar cake from them when I got married last year.
Lingguan Lane
Bought fresh camel milk at a Kazakh food shop at Heping Bridge. I drank mare's milk there last year, but it's not available until the end of May; it's not the season yet, so there was only camel milk.
After buying it, I sat in a pavilion, basking in the sun while eating suannai gedada, fresh camel milk, and bahali; a very pleasant afternoon.
In the evening, I ate at Pang Laohan, a famous Hui Muslim restaurant in Urumqi. Pang Laohan's real name is Jin Fengchang, a Hui Muslim from Hutubi. In 1995, he gave up his restaurant in Hutubi to try his luck in Urumqi, riding a tricycle to sell jiaoma-ji (spicy numbing chicken) at the Railway Bureau night market, and it became more and more popular. In 2001, he opened a specialty store, and later more and more branches were opened; now there are even stores in Chengdu.
I ordered their signature jiaoma-ji, lamb neck, sauced jiesha (a traditional dish made of tofu skin and meat), sweet and sour pork tenderloin, mixed wild sand leeks, fried wudaohai (a type of fish), scallion pancakes, and so on, and finally packed up some sesame steamed bread. Their food is really quite delicious. The jiaoma-ji was quite numbing, so I couldn't eat too much, but the flavor was great. The lamb neck dipped in sauce was especially fragrant, and the jiesha was served with sauce and had a crispy outer skin, different from the softer skin of braised jiesha. The sweet and sour pork tenderloin was unexpectedly delicious! It was much more fragrant than the ones in Beijing restaurants. The bones of the wudaohai were fried until crispy; I ate almost half a plate, one bite at a time.
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Urumqi Night Market Halal Food Guide: Xinjiang Snacks and Local Life (Part 2)
Reposted from the web
Summary: This travel note introduces Urumqi Night Market Halal Food Guide: Xinjiang Snacks and Local Life (Part 2). Passing by Heping Bridge in the evening, I discovered a newly opened Kazakh food shop. I bought sour camel milk, handmade yogurt, and non-sour suannai geda (dried yogurt balls). They really have a lot of good things. It is useful for readers interested in Urumqi Night Market, Halal Food, Xinjiang Travel.
Passing by Heping Bridge in the evening, I discovered a newly opened Kazakh food shop. I bought sour camel milk, handmade yogurt, and non-sour suannai geda (dried yogurt balls). They really have a lot of good things.
The milk-based carbonated drink 'Tan' from Yili; I hope it gets introduced to Beijing soon.
May 5th
Returned to Beijing today and resumed Siyam (fasting). For Suhoor (pre-dawn meal), I had the red-billed goose my mother-in-law made. This is a specialty of Miquan, which I had a relative from Miquan buy for me a few days ago. Dapan Hongzuiyan (large plate of red-billed goose) is also best served with belt noodles, and the meat of the goose is more tender than chicken; it is even more delicious than Dapanji (large plate chicken).
Urumqi is a city where you can see snow-capped mountains right outside your window. It is a pity that the five-day holiday has ended just like that.
Collapse Read »
Summary: This travel note introduces Urumqi Night Market Halal Food Guide: Xinjiang Snacks and Local Life (Part 2). Passing by Heping Bridge in the evening, I discovered a newly opened Kazakh food shop. I bought sour camel milk, handmade yogurt, and non-sour suannai geda (dried yogurt balls). They really have a lot of good things. It is useful for readers interested in Urumqi Night Market, Halal Food, Xinjiang Travel.
Passing by Heping Bridge in the evening, I discovered a newly opened Kazakh food shop. I bought sour camel milk, handmade yogurt, and non-sour suannai geda (dried yogurt balls). They really have a lot of good things.
The milk-based carbonated drink 'Tan' from Yili; I hope it gets introduced to Beijing soon.
May 5th
Returned to Beijing today and resumed Siyam (fasting). For Suhoor (pre-dawn meal), I had the red-billed goose my mother-in-law made. This is a specialty of Miquan, which I had a relative from Miquan buy for me a few days ago. Dapan Hongzuiyan (large plate of red-billed goose) is also best served with belt noodles, and the meat of the goose is more tender than chicken; it is even more delicious than Dapanji (large plate chicken).
Urumqi is a city where you can see snow-capped mountains right outside your window. It is a pity that the five-day holiday has ended just like that.
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