Reposted from the web

Summary: Urumqi Hui Muslim Home Cooking: 15 Halal Dishes is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: My mother-in-law came to Beijing in March and made us 15 Urumqi Hui Muslim dishes: big plate chicken with belt noodles (dapanji pidaimian), lamb hand-torn noodle soup (yangrou jiupianzi), Xinjiang meatball soup. The account keeps its focus on Urumqi Halal Food, Hui Muslim Food, Xinjiang Travel while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

My mother-in-law came to Beijing in March and made us 15 Urumqi Hui Muslim dishes: big plate chicken with belt noodles (dapanji pidaimian), lamb hand-torn noodle soup (yangrou jiupianzi), Xinjiang meatball soup (xinjiang wanzitang), dry-mixed noodles with lamb bean paste (yangrou zhajiang ganbanmian), lamb sour soup wontons (yangrou suantang huntun), Jingzhe oil tea eggs (jingzhe youcha dan), thin-skinned buns (baopi baozi), lamb vermicelli soup (yangrou fentang), cold-dressed chicken (liangban ji), diced stir-fried noodles (dingding chaomian), sour soup noodles with minced meat (suantang saozi mian), fragrant bean flower rolls (xiangdou huajuan), plate noodles (panzi mian), flavored fried starch jelly (fengwei zha menzi), and lamb and celery dumplings (yangrou qincai jiaozi). Since the official account can only insert 10 video channel clips, I will share the first 8 this time.

1. Big plate chicken with belt noodles (dapanji pidaimian)

My mother-in-law brought free-range chicken all the way from Urumqi. First, stir-fry the chicken with plenty of oil. Add chicken pieces, dried chili skins (lapizi), and ginger slices to the pot. Then add salt, Sichuan peppercorn powder, black pepper powder, tomato paste, bean paste, green onions, and garlic. Stir-fry until the blood is gone, then add soy sauce. Next, stew the chicken in a pressure cooker, adding water, the chicken, and potato chunks. After opening the pot, take out the potatoes, then add green onions, garlic, and vinegar.

Once finished, stretch the belt noodles; they taste best soaked in the big plate chicken broth.







2. Lamb hand-torn noodle soup (yangrou jiupianzi)

First, stir-fry lamb slices with tomatoes (yangshizi), green onions, and garlic. Add soy sauce and stir-fried potato slices, then add water. Stretch the dough and tear off small pieces into the pot. Finally, add black pepper powder and cilantro, and finish with a splash of vinegar.







3. Xinjiang meatball soup (xinjiang wanzitang)

For the Iftar meal, my mother-in-law made this Xinjiang specialty meatball soup using meat ground fresh at the Ma family shop in Douban Alley. The secret to the fried meatballs is pouring hot oil over the black pepper powder while mixing the filling. The best base for the meatball soup is broth made from beef marrow bones. You can add side dishes like spinach, king oyster mushrooms, tofu, carrots, or wood ear mushrooms.















4. Dry-mixed noodles with lamb bean paste (yangrou zhajiang ganbanmian)

Zainab said Urumqi has its own local version of bean paste noodles. I had never noticed it before and was very curious, so I finally got to eat it this time. These are hand-rolled cut noodles; our cutting board is still not quite big enough. Besides lamb, the bean paste sauce includes potatoes, carrots, and celery. It uses Pixian bean paste, so the flavor is completely different from Beijing-style bean paste noodles.

















5. Lamb sour soup wontons (yangrou suantang huntun)

I especially love the stewed lamb sour soup wontons (hong dong) made by Xinjiang Hui Muslims. After the lamb is stewed, add tomatoes, spinach, scallions, and cilantro. The wontons have the classic lamb and onion (piyazi) filling.













6. Jingzhe oil tea eggs (jingzhe youcha dan)

March 5th is the Awakening of Insects (Jingzhe), when all things come back to life. In the morning, we ate this seasonal Xinjiang Hui Muslim delicacy, Jingzhe oil tea eggs. Stir-fry eggs with dried fruits like raisins and walnut kernels, then pour in brewed brick tea and add rock sugar. Traditional oil tea with egg (youcha dan) must be stir-fried with mutton fat, but we use olive oil.













7. Thin-skinned steamed buns (baopi baozi)

Thin-skinned steamed buns (manti) filled with mutton and onions. Manti is a classic Silk Road snack. It spread to Central and West Asia with Turkic soldiers during the Mongol conquests and was later spread further by the Ottoman Empire. The word manti comes from mantou. Even today, the Wu dialect uses mantou to refer to meat-filled flour dishes. In 1330, the first year of the Zhishun era of the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial physician Hu Sihui wrote the Principles of Correct Diet (Yinshan Zhengyao). It records many ways to make mantou, all using mutton, mutton fat, green onions, dried tangerine peel, and salt for the filling. It even mentions the term thin-skinned mantou.











8. Mutton noodle soup (yangrou fentang)

This is the festive noodle soup made during the Mawlid (Zhuo Bailati). First, braise the mutton, then stir the pea starch and let it sit overnight before cutting it into starch blocks. Next, make a topping with cabbage, small radishes, mutton slices, and tomatoes. When you eat it, soak some fried dough (youxiang) in the soup.

Reposted from the web

Summary: Beijing Winter Diary — Mosques, Halal Food and Muslim Heritage is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: Everything I ate in Beijing between December 2021 and February 2022, starting with the resumption of Jumu'ah prayers in Beijing and ending with the Night Journey (Isra and Mi'raj) dinner. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Mosques, Halal Food, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

Everything I ate in Beijing between December 2021 and February 2022, starting with the resumption of Jumu'ah prayers in Beijing and ending with the Night Journey (Isra and Mi'raj) dinner. Thinking about winter during the summer, it feels so good to dine in at restaurants.

December 3, Xinyuezhai at Douban Hutong.

Alhamdulillah, the mosques in Beijing have finally opened. I attended Jumu'ah at Nandouyacai Mosque, then went to the nearby Xinyuezhai for beef noodles and a small bowl of beef.











December 4, clear-stewed lamb spine (yangxiezi).

I bought some lamb spine at the entrance of the Chaoyangmen Life Supermarket and made clear-stewed lamb spine at home.









You can add green beans and mushrooms to the leftover clear-stewed lamb spine.



December 9, Gulou Chimian at Jinbao Street.

After work, I went to Gulou Chimian on Jinbao Street to have my favorite braised lamb and Sichuan peppercorn noodle soup (huajiao cuamian). I never get tired of it, and even though they have so many kinds of noodles, I rarely try anything else. I also had the newly added deep-fried crispy pork (xiaosurou), which was quite fragrant and worth ordering again.







December 10, Longxianghui's flatbread stew (hubo).

The Gansu Pingliang restaurant Longxianghui on Dongsi North Street added flatbread stew, meat sauce noodles (saozimian), and cold noodles to their menu. I tried the flatbread stew last night, and it really suits my taste. Pingliang flatbread stew is the opposite of lamb pita soup (yangrou paomo). For lamb pita soup, you have to eat the semi-leavened bread quickly after soaking it, but for flatbread stew, the longer the fried dough sticks (youbangzi) soak, the better they taste.









December 17, home-cooked meal.

I made braised pomfret with diced potatoes, carrots, and cucumbers. Zainabu made braised eggplant with green beans and onions (piyanzi) with wood ear mushrooms. Zainabu's braised eggplant and green beans capture the essence of our Beijing home cooking, and I love it so much.







December 18, Urumqi Office in Beijing.

After visiting the Xinqiao Market at noon, I went to the Urumqi Office in Beijing at Chegongzhuang. I realized I hadn't been there in seven years. This was the Xinjiang restaurant I visited most when I was a kid. Most of my childhood memories of Xinjiang food come from here. I definitely didn't expect back then that I would eventually become a son-in-law from Urumqi, haha.

I ordered horse sausage (machangzi) and vegetable pilaf (zhuafan) to make my own horse sausage pilaf. The pilaf was oily and delicious, but the horse sausage wasn't oily enough and felt a bit dry. The grilled meat (kaorou) tasted great. The baked buns (kaobaozi) weren't very crispy, and I finished by ordering a mixed vegetable stew (huicai).















December 26, chain restaurant Quanzhou Beef House Niujiufen.

Passing through Xihongmen in Daxing, I ate at the chain restaurant Quanzhou Beef House (Niujiufen) inside the Livat shopping center. The famous Xue Family (Xuejia), known as the number one hot pot in southern Beijing from the Hui Muslim village of Xueying in Daxing, has opened three halal restaurants in Livat: Speed Pizza, Niujiufen, and Lou Sanshao. They are all halal, though you cannot tell from the outside.

I ate Quanzhou-style beef ribs, beef soup, abalone sauce vermicelli (mianxian), and drank seaweed jelly (shihuagao) made from agar-agar. Zainab really likes the taste of the Quanzhou-style soy-braised beef; it is not greasy and a little sweet.



















December 27, Muyixuan Lamb Spine Hot Pot.

In the evening, I ate lamb spine hot pot at Muyixuan in Ping'anli.





January 9, Ali Restaurant on Shenlu Street.

Ali Restaurant on Shenlu Street uses pilaf (zhuafan) inside their rice sausages. It is the most authentic I have had in Beijing, and the other dishes were quite good too. The meat in the pilaf was very fragrant, though the liver slices were a bit tough.















Account.

January 10, Syrian restaurant One Thousand and One Nights.

It is my second wedding anniversary with Zainab, so we celebrated at One Thousand and One Nights after work. One Thousand and One Nights is a long-standing Arabic restaurant in Beijing. The owner is Syrian, and the shop opened in 2004, making it 17 years old now. When I was in middle school, I would pass by their place every time I went home from Chaoyang Park. Back then, they were the symbol of a high-end restaurant in my mind, perfectly matching the vibe of the embassy district. At that time, the major shopping malls in Sanlitun had not been built yet, so their place was really eye-catching. In the blink of an eye, more than ten years have passed, and I can finally afford to eat at One Thousand and One Nights.

To this day, One Thousand and One Nights remains the highest-class, most diverse, and best-tasting Arabic restaurant in Beijing. We ordered seafood soup, Kofta meatball soup, pine nut hummus, mozzarella cheese salad, Kashkash kebab, lamb mandi rice in a tagine, and cauliflower with eggplant. Except for the cauliflower and eggplant being a bit oily, everything else was delicious. Their lamb mandi rice is definitely the best I have had in Beijing. The lamb is fresh and tender, and the rice is filled with saffron, raisins, cashews, and various spices, making it smell amazing. The Kashkash kebab is made with parsley, green and red peppers, and garlic, which I think is a Syrian specialty.

















January 14, Madeburg inside Chaoyangmen.

My second visit to Madeburg inside Chaoyangmen; I ordered a whole chicken, fries, and milk tea. I have fallen in love with their freshly made whole chicken. It is much better than burgers, haha. Putting on gloves and tearing it apart to eat is very satisfying. Freshly fried french fries are, of course, both fragrant and have a great texture. Boss Zhang said he found that pizza baked a little longer tastes even better than the standard way, so he shared one with me. I found that pizza baked a bit longer has a scent like naan bread and is both crispy and crunchy, haha.

Before leaving, I received a distributed Islamic calendar from Maidebao. When I got home, I took down the one from last year issued by the Grace Bookstore on Niujie Street and put up the new one. I feel that changing the Islamic calendar every year gives a special sense of ritual that a year has passed. The second month is Isra and Mi'raj, the third is Bara'at, the fourth is the start of Ramadan and Laylat al-Qadr, the fifth is Eid al-Fitr, the seventh is Arafah, Eid al-Adha, and the Islamic New Year, the eighth is Ashura, and the tenth is Mawlid. A new year begins just like that.











January 15, Indian food Mirch Masala.

I ate Indian food at Mirch Masala on Xiushui Street; the shop name 'mirch' means chili pepper. The restaurant is quite small, with two Indian guys, one as the chef and one as the waiter. It is not big but the food is delicious, reminding me of the South Asian eateries found everywhere in Dubai.

We ordered lamb korma curry, chicken biryani rice, masala tea, kadhai paneer (curry tofu), and their homemade yogurt. Putting the curry, rice, and yogurt on a plate and eating them together is especially fragrant. Finally, we packed the korma curry to take home, planning to add a little bit when we stir-fry dishes over the next few days.

Korma is a type of curry stewed with coconut milk or yogurt. The etymology of 'korma' comes from 'Qawirma' in Turkic, which originally meant to fry, but after evolving into the Urdu word 'Qormā', the meaning changed to stew. Korma is a classic Mughal court dish that started in the 16th century. People say Shah Jahan and his guests ate Korma at the banquet for the completion of the Taj Mahal.

Biryani is a Persian loanword in Urdu, also likely originating from the Mughal court. People say the Mughal imperial chefs created it by combining Indian spicy rice with Persian pilaf. In Mughal dynasty documents, the terms 'biryanis' and 'Pulao' (pilaf) appeared separately, and at that time, the two could be used interchangeably. It is generally believed that biryani is mixed with more spices than pilaf and has a stronger curry flavor.

The recipe for masala tea is not fixed, but it basically includes black tea, milk, sugar, cardamom, black pepper, and ginger. Other spices include cinnamon, star anise, fennel seeds, cloves, and so on.

Kadhai comes from 'Kataha' in the ancient Indian Prakrit dialect, meaning iron pot, which was even mentioned in the Ramayana. This cooking method is relatively popular in northern South Asia and Afghanistan.















January 16, Kashgar Mahmuti Restaurant.

In the afternoon, I went to the Kashgar Mahmuti Restaurant near Baiyun Temple. It is a restaurant that opened in 2005, yet this was my first time eating there. I used to stop at Jiasan and never walked any further. Who knew there was such a restaurant right next to Jiasan!

First, look at the shop name, then look at the freshly baked naan at the entrance, and then look at the interior decoration; it is absolutely like arriving in Erdaoqiao in a second. The staff are all Uyghurs, and when we walked in, a large Uyghur family was celebrating a birthday. We ordered yogurt, roasted lamb chops, lamb liver, lamb skewers (chuanr), Kashgar stew (Kashi duncai), and guirou langman. We wanted to order pigeon soup, but the waiter heard dough drop soup (gedatang) instead. Later, he told us they were out of pigeon soup and swapped it for lamb skewers.

Their yogurt is the most authentic thing on the menu! I have never had such authentic Xinjiang yogurt in Beijing. This homemade yogurt is twenty times better than the packaged Xinjiang brands in supermarket freezers, ten times better than the yogurt at chain restaurants like Bayi Laoye, and five times better than the yogurt at Uyghur spots like Baizuan. I would even say that many restaurants in Urumqi don't have yogurt as good as theirs.

The roasted meat is very fragrant and tender, and the liver is better than the one at Ali on Shenlu Street. The lamb chops are a bit tough, but some people love them that way. The meat in the guirou langman is very authentic; it is the kind that is a bit hard after being deep-fried. The noodles (langman) are a bit soft and average, not as good as the ones at Baizuan. The meat in the stew is a bit hard, maybe because they used air-dried meat, so we packed it to go to stew it again at home. Also, they didn't have the meat jelly (jiasha) listed on the menu and used fried tofu puffs instead, but the flavor was still very authentic.

Overall, I think this place is top-tier among Uyghur restaurants in Beijing, right up there with Ali and Baizuan. Next time I want to try their pilaf (zhuafan) to see how it tastes.

















January 19, Kuqa Uyghur Restaurant, Crescent Moon (Wanwan Yueliang)

I ate at the Kuqa Uyghur Restaurant, Crescent Moon, on Dongsi Liutiao before seeing a play in the evening. This is truly the oldest Uyghur restaurant in Dongsi; I have been eating here for over a decade, ever since I was in middle school. To be honest, their quality isn't as good as what I've had in Xinjiang. In Beijing, they only rank as mid-tier, behind Baizuan, Ali, and Maihemuti.

This time I ordered my usuals: kebabs (kawapu), pilaf (poluo), and stew (huo'erdun). The roasted meat is great, no complaints there. The rice in the pilaf is fine, but their minced meat has always been too dry. The stew is the opposite; the potatoes and carrots are delicious, but the lamb chops are too tough and have very little lean meat.

In short, if I want to satisfy my longing for Xinjiang, I would definitely choose Ali or Baizuan first. But if I am in the Dongsi area for an exhibition or a play, grabbing a meal at Crescent Moon is fine too.













January 21, Yangfang Shengli Hot Pot, Liujiayao branch

It rarely snows, so tonight we had a hot pot at Yangfang Shengli Shuanrou in Liujiayao, which opened in 2021! Although Yangfang Shengli Shuanrou is very famous, this was my first time eating there. I used to think they were mostly in the north, so I was surprised to see one open in the south.

To give a quick introduction, the main branch of Yangfang Shengli Shuanrou is located in a place called Xiguanshi. Hui Muslims from Xiguanshi followed Prince Yan north to Beijing in the early Ming Dynasty. Because they lived near the main trade route from Beijing to Zhangjiakou and were skilled in martial arts, many Xiguanshi Hui Muslims opened security escort agencies outside Qianmen during the Qing Dynasty. They specialized in protecting goods across the five northwestern provinces, mainly serving wealthy Shanxi merchants. People say Li Wuye, the master of the magic pellet in the novel 'Shi Gong An', was a Hui Muslim from Xiguanshi. The depictions of Li Guoliang, the 'Little Hero of the Golden Bow', and the Dongguangyu Escort Agency outside Qianmen in the novel 'Yongzheng Jianxia Tu' vividly show the life of the Xiguanshi Hui Muslim escort agencies during the Qing Dynasty. Because it sits on the essential path to the Mongolian grasslands, the mutton hot pot here is also very famous.

I feel that the Yangfang Shengli Shuanrou in Liujiayao is excellent in terms of environment, service, meat quality, and vegetable freshness. Our family was very satisfied, and we will come here often for gatherings. We ordered their whole lamb combo (lamb brain, 'half-side cloud' flank, lamb tendon, lamb spine, lamb 'emperor' cut, lamb rib, and lamb shoulder), a vegetable platter, crunchy tripe mushrooms, and frozen tofu. First, they opened a bottle of Nongfu Spring water and poured it into the pot, which felt very sincere, haha. They use 6-8 month old black-headed white lambs from Xilingol. The meat is truly fresh, and I personally feel the quality is better than the hot pot places I usually visit near Dongsi (I won't name them). Their pickled garlic (tangsuan) is also homemade, and the flavor is noticeably richer than the store-bought garlic at most hot pot restaurants.

Also, even though the place was very noisy during the dinner rush, the servers came immediately whenever we called. They never ignored us, so it feels like they really know how to run a business.



















January 27, Qiqihar BBQ at Toupiqi.

In the evening, we went to Toupiqi BBQ in the Weilaiyu area of Changying. It is a chain of Qiqihar-style BBQ, and this Changying branch is halal. We ordered freshly sliced family-style marinated meat, beef tongue, pickled cabbage (suancai), Dandong yellow clams, Jixi cold noodles (lengmian), and grilled vegetables. At the front desk, we helped ourselves to shredded tofu, peanuts, Korean kimchi, cantaloupe, oranges, and pumpkin porridge. The dipping sauces were also quite varied.

I really liked their yellow clams. When the cold noodles arrived, they were clumped together, likely because they had just come out of the fridge, but the taste was quite good. The marinated meat was okay, but the beef tongue felt a bit tough and the texture wasn't great. Overall, their food is decent, but I personally think their BBQ isn't as good as Qingu (though Qingu's fried chicken isn't great), I still prefer Qingu's BBQ. Speaking of which, Beijing now has Heilongjiang iron pot stew (Hao Shu) and BBQ, we are just missing a traditional Heilongjiang home-style restaurant! There used to be a Heilongjiang restaurant in Xihongmen called Xingyuege. I had their sweet and sour pork (guobaorou) and steamed dumplings (shaomai) there, but unfortunately, they have closed down.



















January 29, Uyghur restaurant Xiapuna.

After ice skating in the afternoon, I ate stir-fried lamb liver, braised lamb chops with green beans, and home-style mixed noodles (banmian) at the Uyghur restaurant Xiapuna on Shenlu Street. We arrived at Xinjiang lunch time, and sure enough, all the diners in the room were Uyghur, haha.

Their stir-fried lamb liver is super delicious and incredibly tender. It is better than any grilled liver I have had at restaurants in Beijing, and after eating it, I do not even want to eat grilled liver anymore. The braised lamb chops with green beans (jiangdou) are also great. The beans are actually yardlong beans, and they are crispy and fragrant after being fried. The lamb must be from Xinjiang because it lacks the gamey smell found in Beijing. The flatbread (nang) is an oily version that was fried again, and soaking it in the lamb chop sauce is so appetizing.

The meat in the home-style mixed noodles is delicious, but they give you too little. The overall flavor is a bit bland, and the noodles are so thin that I first thought they were dried noodles (guamian). But they taste chewy, so they must be hand-pulled.













January 31, New Year's Eve dinner.

A dish I made with simple stewed meat.





Stewed meat over rice.



Everyone worked together to knead the dough and mix the filling.











February 1, eating dumplings (jiaozi).

We ate the dumplings as we wrapped them, including lamb with lentils, beef with fennel, and beef with celery, using both Urumqi and Beijing wrapping styles. They were wrapped perfectly and tasted super delicious. Then we opened the Laba garlic (labasuan) that we pickled on Laba Festival, which also turned out great and smelled amazing. We used the leftover dough after finishing the filling to make hand-cut noodles.



















Then we had pan-fried dumplings (jianjiao) as well.

Reposted from the web

Summary: Beijing Winter Diary — Mosques, Halal Food and Muslim Heritage is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: After ice skating in the afternoon, we went to Hongbinlou on Zhanlan Road for dinner. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Mosques, Halal Food, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.



February 2, Hongbinlou Zhanlan Road branch.

After ice skating in the afternoon, we went to Hongbinlou on Zhanlan Road for dinner. We ordered stir-fried chicken with walnuts and bean paste (taoren jiangbao jiding), braised sheep eyes (du yangyan), stir-fried seasonal vegetables, and a mixed corn stew (yumi quanhui). It was my first time having the mixed corn stew. It contained fish maw, fish cartilage, diced chicken, and diced bamboo shoots. The texture was very rich, and everyone liked it. We actually came here for the roast lamb, but after arriving, we found that the roast lamb at the Zhanlan Road branch was more than twice as expensive as at the Chaoyangmen branch. It was a bit too pricey, so we didn't order it.

Hongbinlou has long been Beijing's most expensive traditional halal stir-fry restaurant. It has always used the title of "Beijing's Number One Halal Restaurant," and I think it really lives up to the name. Every time I come here to eat, I never order a bad dish. Everything is delicious and worth the price. I can usually eat two bowls of rice with their stir-fried dishes like the honey-glazed lamb (ta simi), braised meat strips (ba routiao), and stir-fried chicken with bean paste.

Hongbinlou was founded in Tianjin in 1853 and moved to Beijing in 1955. Its "beef and lamb cooking techniques (Hongbinlou whole sheep banquet production techniques)" are listed as a national intangible cultural heritage. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, the whole sheep banquet was a high-level feast in traditional Muslim restaurants in the Beijing-Tianjin area. Hongbinlou's famous chef Song Shaoshan created a signature banquet featuring 120 dishes.













Cracking melon seeds while watching a movie.



I used the leftover cut noodles from making dumplings to make minced meat and eggplant noodles.





February 4, 798 electric grilled skewers.

While walking around 798, I found an electric skewer shop run by Hui Muslims from Niujie. We ordered lamb skewers, chicken skewers, and grilled prawns. I wanted to try the boneless grilled hairtail, but unfortunately, it was sold out. The shop has many old photos of Niujie and some vintage items.













February 4, Kolkata restaurant Sadhu.

After seeing the exhibition at the Guanfu Museum, Zainab said she really wanted to drink yogurt, so we headed straight to the place Zainab thinks makes the best yogurt in Beijing—the Indian Kolkata Muslim restaurant Sadhu in Beiluogu Lane. Their thin yogurt drink (lassi) is well-deservedly the best in Beijing. For thick yogurt, I still have to say it's the Kashgar Mahmut Restaurant on Baiyunguan Street.

Lassi comes from the Sanskrit word Lasika, which originally meant serum. Lassi comes in sweet and salty versions. The sweet version is mainly found in the Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Sindh regions, while the salty version is widely distributed in other parts of North India. Sadhu's lassi tastes slightly sweet and is mainly defined by the aroma of the yogurt, which is why Zainab likes it the most.

Besides the thin lassi, I also ordered a vegetable yogurt called raita, which had diced cucumber and diced carrots in it. I think it is very refreshing when paired with curry. Raita is a Hindi word formed by combining the Sanskrit words "rajika" and "tiktaka," which originally meant "black mustard seeds" and "pungent," because making raita requires frying black mustard seeds and cumin before mixing them into chopped vegetables and then adding them to the yogurt.

We ordered two types of curry, beef Bhuna and vegetable Korma. Bhuna means 'fried' in Urdu. It usually includes onion, ginger, and garlic. The curry is fried in hot oil until it becomes a thick paste. I think it tastes better than regular curry. Korma is a type of curry stewed with coconut milk or yogurt. The word 'Korma' comes from the Turkic word 'Qawirma,' which originally meant fried. In Urdu, the meaning changed to stew. Korma is a classic Mughal court dish that started in the 16th century. People say Shah Jahan and his guests ate Korma at the banquet for the completion of the Taj Mahal.

When ordering a main dish at Saduli, I usually choose South Asian flatbread (Naan) or fried rice (Biryani). This time, I picked something I had never tried there before: raisin pilaf (Shejhani Pulao). The style of cooking rice in a large pot only became popular from Andalusia to Afghanistan during the Abbasid Caliphate. The word pilaf (Pilāv) comes from Persian. The earliest record of pilaf dates back to the 10th century in the writings of the Persian scholar Ibn Sina, so some people call him the father of modern pilaf. After the 16th century, pilaf became popular in India along with the rise of the Mughal Empire.

We also ordered grilled salmon (Tikka). Tikka comes from the Turkic word tikkü, which means 'piece.' The Mughal Empire brought this method of grilling spice-marinated boneless meat or vegetable chunks to India. The most common Tikka is chicken.

















February 5, Xilaisun

After listening to Wang Yuebo perform the Sword Hero Map (Jianxia Tu) at the Lao She Teahouse, I strolled to Xilaisun at Hepingmen for dinner. It was super busy after four o'clock. It seems Beijingers don't want to cook at home during the Chinese New Year, haha.

Zainab pushed me to try something new instead of always ordering their stir-fried chicken cubes with bean paste (jiangbao jiding) and Ma Lianliang duck. We ordered meatballs in sauce (liu wanzi), braised mixed vegetables (shao quansu), and dry-braised sturgeon (gan shao xunyu), plus our must-order bamboo shoot jasmine soup. I have to say, everything at Xilaisun tastes good. Their meatballs in sauce have a great texture! At least they are stuffed much better than the fillings at some unnamed restaurants where you can actually taste the meat, while other places just taste like starch. Their dry-braised sturgeon isn't the traditional Shandong cuisine (Lu cuisine) style. It's sweet, sour, and spicy, which feels a bit like the Southwest region. I really like it! The sturgeon has no bones, so it's great to eat with rice. I noticed that besides the Ma Lianliang duck, the dry-braised sturgeon was the most popular dish on every table. The chef has to go catch a fish from the tank every little while.



















February 7, Beef Stew

I made old-fashioned beef stew with green beans, button mushrooms, potatoes, and carrots. I personally think it tastes better than what you get in restaurants! It takes at least an hour and a half to make, so I don't usually have time for it.







February 8, Changying Equator Yakiniku Lunch Set

A twisty and surprising lunch experience in Changying at noon. First, we went to a Korean barbecue place, but it was closed for a break. Then we tried a Qiqihar-style barbecue place we like, but they had just stopped serving five minutes earlier so the staff could go for COVID testing, so we had to go to a Japanese-style restaurant called Chidao BBQ. To our surprise, Chidao BBQ now offers Japanese set meals (teishoku) for lunch! This must be the only halal Japanese set meal in Beijing.

We bought teriyaki chicken rice and beef sukiyaki, and also ordered matsutake mushroom soup and fried squid tentacles. The set meal comes with a salad, steamed egg custard (chawanmushi), miso soup, seaweed salad, and a mochi dessert (daifuku). The teriyaki chicken rice tasted pretty good! Next time I want to try the beef rice. Actually, you can also order the sukiyaki as a single dish that comes with rice.



















February 12, Maidebao

We ate steak pizza and a small whole chicken at Maidebao in Galaxy SOHO, Chaoyangmen. Their pizza is packed with toppings; the crust is crispy and the middle is tender, which gives it a great texture that both Zainab and I really love. The owners are very warm toward fellow Muslims (dosti), and if they aren't busy, we always chat about the faith, so visiting them is a treat for both the spirit and the stomach.









February 15, hand-pulled noodles (latiaozi) made by Zainab.

I just love the hand-pulled noodles Zainab makes; it's a real perk of being a Xinjiang son-in-law.







Sweet rice balls (yuanxiao) and almond tofu in Changying.







February 16, Yanlanlou at Dongsishitiao.

At Yanlanlou in Dongsishitiao, we ate a pound of lamb neck, hand-pulled noodles (lamian), sweet pea soup (huidouzi), three kinds of small mushrooms, pea sprout soup with beans, and corn steamed cake (fagao). I personally prefer their lamb neck because it is leaner than the rib meat. I think their meat is quite tender for Beijing standards! Of course, it still doesn't compare to the one I had at Fuyuan Noodle Restaurant in Yinchuan, which was the most tender lamb neck I have ever eaten.

Actually, every time I go to Yanlanlou, I order the lentil and sparrow-tongue noodles; the slightly sour, warm soup is perfect for winter, but this time I saw everyone at the next table eating hand-pulled noodles, so I got tempted and changed my order on the spot, haha. In the summer, I prefer their fermented vegetable noodles (jiangshuimian), as the fermented broth is very refreshing. They also serve sturgeon and mandarin fish made with fermented vegetable broth (jiangshui), though I am not sure how they taste.

Zainab likes their pea sprout soup with beans (doutang wandou miao), which is like a vegetable porridge and hard to find in other restaurants. We packed some corn steamed cake (yumi fagao) to take home, and it tastes even better when toasted in a pan the next day.















February 18: Made zucchini pancakes (hutazi) and stir-fried kohlrabi strips with meat at home.

I made zucchini pancakes (hutazi) and stir-fried kohlrabi strips with meat at home. The zucchini pancakes were a bit thick, but they still tasted good. The kohlrabi strips were stir-fried in lamb fat.









February 20: Turkish clay pot beef (Testikebabı) at Xiting Xiuse.

We had Turkish clay pot beef (Testikebabı) for lunch at Xiting Xiuse. The chef cracked the pot open when serving, just like when I last had it in Istanbul!

Testikebabı is a popular dish in central Anatolia and the western Black Sea region. It is made by putting beef, mushrooms, tomatoes, and shallots into a clay pot, sealing the opening with bread, and slow-cooking it in an oven. After it is cooked, they heat butter on an iron plate, crack the pot open, and pour the bread and stew onto the plate. It smells amazing!

Zainab and I both love Testikebabı. The tomato flavor is so rich, and it is delicious dipped with bread. The beef is quite lean, so those who prefer a mix of fat and lean meat might find it a bit dry.















We had a very rich Turkish brunch at Xiting Xiuse, and Zainab ordered her favorite chickpea dip (Hummus).

There were four types of cheese: Greek feta sheep milk cheese, Turkish Tulum goat milk cheese, Turkish Eski kaşar sheep and goat milk blend, and southern Italian Mozzarella buffalo milk cheese.

In Turkish, Tulum refers to cheese aged inside a goat skin. The traditional method involves stuffing the cheese into a goat skin, tying it tightly with rope, and keeping it in a cellar or cave at 10-12 degrees for up to 6 months. Eski kaşar is a hard yellow cheese that can be stored for up to 3 years after air-drying.

Then there were 3 types of Turkish jam, 2 types of Turkish olives, sesame paste (Tahini), grape molasses (Pekmez), clotted cream (Kaymak), Turkish honey, Turkish fried spring rolls (Sigara Böreği), Turkish beef sausage with eggs (Sucuklu yumurta), bread, cucumbers, and other dishes.

Tahini comes from Levantine Arabic and originally meant to grind. As the Ottoman Empire expanded, this sesame paste spread to the eastern Mediterranean, southern Caucasus, and North Africa, becoming a common bread dip in Middle Eastern restaurants. In Turkey, sesame paste (Tahini) is usually served with grape molasses (Pekmez). Pekmez comes from a Turkic language and first appeared in the Compendium of the Turkic Dialects written by Mahmud al-Kashgari in the 1070s. Pekmez is a syrup made by boiling grapes with crushed carob seeds, sometimes with added pomegranate or mulberry.

The word Kaymak comes from a Turkic language and originally meant to melt, also appearing first in the Compendium of the Turkic Dialects. Kaymak is made by simmering milk for 2 hours, then letting it cool and ferment for several days, resulting in a milk fat content as high as 60%.

The sujuk in sujuklu yumurta first appeared in the Compendium of the Turkic Dialects. It is made by grinding beef, adding tail fat and other fats, stuffing it into casings, tying it with string, and then letting it ferment slowly.













February 25: Mother-in-law's huoldun.

On my mother-in-law's first day in Beijing, we ate huoldun soaked in naan, made with a front leg of lamb she carried all the way from Urumqi!







February 25: Mother-in-law's big plate chicken with belt noodles.

The second meal my mother-in-law made was big plate chicken with belt noodles (dapanji pidaimian). She brought the free-range chicken with her from Urumqi.







February 26: Mother-in-law's lamb hand-torn noodles.

The third meal my mother-in-law made was lamb hand-torn noodles (jiupianzi).







February 26: The Syrian restaurant One Thousand and One Nights in Sanlitun.

We ate the famous Syrian snack, Arais beef pies, at the Syrian restaurant One Thousand and One Nights in Sanlitun. Arais is known as a Syrian sandwich. It is made by stuffing pita bread with meat, brushing it with oil, and grilling it. The grilled pita bread is very crispy, and the meat filling is very tender. Arais comes in chicken, lamb, and beef versions, and sometimes cheese is added.

Arais is the plural form of the Arabic word for bride. People think this dish symbolizes a wedding between the white pita bread, like a wedding dress, and the meat filling, so brides in some places eat Arais at their weddings.





We had kofta meatball yogurt, eggplant puree kebab, chickpeas with tomatoes and vegetables, rice porridge soup, lentil soup, and vegetable soup. The owner served every dish politely.



















February 28: Iftar for the Night of Ascension.

For the Iftar on the Night of Ascension, my mother-in-law made meatball soup using meat ground fresh on Douban Hutong. The secret to fried meatballs is to pour hot oil into the meat mixture first!

Reposted from the web

Summary: Halal Food Guide: Beijing Ramadan Iftar — Middle Eastern and South Asian Restaurants is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: The iftar buffets in Beijing during Ramadan each year are a real highlight. This year, several restaurants are offering Middle Eastern and South Asian iftar buffets, making it a good chance for a food tour. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Halal Food, Ramadan Dining, Muslim Food while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

The iftar buffets in Beijing during Ramadan each year are a real highlight. This year, four restaurants from Turkey, Tunisia, Jordan, and Pakistan are offering iftar buffets, making it the perfect chance for a food tour of the Middle East and South Asia.

1. Turkey

The first stop is Dardanelles, a long-standing Ramadan iftar buffet spot on Ritan Upper Street. It is a Turkish restaurant run by Azerbaijanis, so they serve both Turkish and Azerbaijani flavors.

The best part is the unlimited grilled meat from their open-flame oven, including roast chicken, lamb chops, and kebab meat paste—you can eat your fill! They also have all kinds of flatbread (nang) and bread, plus Levantine appetizers and stews. They serve lentil soup made from three colors of lentils. For drinks, they have lemonade, salty yogurt drink (ayran), and Turkish black tea. For dessert, there is classic baklava and milk pudding, along with various fruits. Overall, their selection is really rich.









Freshly grilled in an open oven





Baklava is the most famous dessert of the Ottoman Empire, developed by the royal chefs at the Ottoman Topkapi Palace. Every year on the 15th day of Ramadan, the Ottoman Sultan would attend a ceremony called Baklava Alayı, where trays of baklava were distributed to the Janissaries.

Baklava is a flaky pastry made by layering very thin unleavened dough (filo), topped with crushed pistachios, crushed walnuts, syrup, or honey.





Traditional Levantine appetizers were brought to Turkey and Azerbaijan following the Ottoman Empire.





Adana kebab served with yogurt.



Azerbaijani pilaf (plov) and saffron rice served with various stews.



Beef stewed with apricots and lamb liver are my favorites; eating them feels like being back in the Old City of Baku.







Stuffed vegetable rolls (dolma) can be made with grape leaves or cabbage, and this dish is very popular in former Ottoman regions.





2. Tunisia

The second stop is La Medina, a Tunisian restaurant on Liangma River. First, follow the Sunnah by eating dates, then drink harissa soup. The first plate includes North African sausage (merguez), grilled meat (kebab), six types of Levantine and Maghreb appetizers (meze), fried chickpea balls (falafel), and fried meat balls (kibbeh). You can put the appetizers (meze) and fried chickpea balls (falafel) inside pita bread.













Harissa is known as the national condiment of Tunisia. It is a signature spicy sauce from the Maghreb region made with Maghreb-style Baklouti peppers mixed with caraway, coriander seeds, cumin, garlic, and other spices. The name Baklouti comes from the coastal Tunisian city of Bekalta.



North African sausage (merguez) is made with lamb and beef, mixed with fennel seeds, harissa, chili, and various other spices, and is usually grilled. Merguez sausage (merguez) first appeared in 12th-century Andalusia and later spread across North Africa. In Beijing, you can only find it at La Medina.



Falafel is common in restaurants across the former Ottoman regions, but Kibbeh is not found everywhere. Kibbeh originated in the Levant. It is made of cracked wheat wrapped around a filling of minced meat, chopped onions, and Middle Eastern spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice.



The Tunisian appetizer Mechouia is only available at this restaurant in Beijing. Mechouia is made by roasting onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and garlic in an oven, then seasoning them with caraway, salt, and black pepper. After it is prepared, it is drizzled with olive oil and garnished with olives, tuna, and boiled eggs.



Classic chickpea dip (hummus) is available in almost every Middle Eastern restaurant.



Tabbouleh (tabbouleh) is made of chopped parsley, tomatoes, mint, onions, and bulgur (cracked dried wheat). It is seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.



Roasted eggplant dip (mutabbal) is served with olive oil and lemon juice.



North African eggs (shakshouka) is a traditional Maghreb dish. It is made by poaching eggs in a sauce of tomatoes, olive oil, peppers, onions, and garlic, seasoned with cumin and chili. This dish appeared in the mid-16th century after tomatoes and peppers were introduced to North Africa from the Americas during the Ottoman period.



The second dish was the classic North African Berber meal of couscous (couscous) served with a clay pot stew (tajine). Couscous is a staple food for the Berber people. It is made by rolling semolina flour into millet-sized grains and then drying them. A tagine (tajigu) is a clay pot with a flat, round bottom and a cone-shaped or domed lid. This design lets steam condense and drip back to the bottom, and you can also add water through a hole in the lid.







For dessert, we had Basbousa, which comes from Egypt. They let you add your own crushed pistachios, so I scooped on a big spoonful. Basbousa is a semolina cake soaked in syrup. It is baked in a pan and then soaked in orange blossom water, rose water, or simple syrup.



3. Jordan

Our third stop was Al Safir, a Levantine restaurant at Sanyuanqiao. The owner is a Palestinian from Jordan.

The three Ramadan iftar buffets I have tried so far each have their own style. Dardanelles has the most variety, and their open-flame grilled meat is unlimited. La Medina is the only place in Beijing where you can find a Maghreb buffet, which makes it very unique. Al Safir has the best selection of Levantine appetizers known as meze, and their falafel and grilled chicken wraps are the tastiest.













For a traditional Arab iftar, you follow the Sunnah by eating dates first, then drinking soup, usually lentil or chicken soup. Then you pray Maghrib, and after that, you start the main meal. At Al Safir, you can eat the most classic lamb fried dumplings (sambousek) that Arabs enjoy during Ramadan. This snack started as the Iranian sanbosag and later spread to many places along with Persian culture. It entered the Arab diet after the 10th century, reached South Asia with the Delhi Sultanate after the 13th century, and later traveled to China, Indonesia, and Africa with Muslim merchants.





The classic Levantine way to eat it is to put falafel and various sauces inside pita bread, or just dip the pita bread directly into the sauce. Among the various appetizers (meze), my favorite is the red tomato stew (qalayet bandora), which is probably only available at Al Safir in Beijing. This dish is made with tomatoes, onions, chili peppers, and olive oil. It is said to have originated in the villages near the Dead Sea, where the hot climate of the Jordan Valley is perfect for growing tomatoes. They also serve a walnut, red bell pepper, pomegranate molasses, and breadcrumb dip (muhammara), which is said to have originated in Aleppo, Syria.







Every year during the Ramadan iftar buffet, Al Safir makes dishes that are not on the regular menu. This time, I tried two types of lamb stewed with cheese for the first time, and there was also very tender lamb with potatoes, both of which go perfectly with long-grain rice.













Finally, they serve everyone a semolina cake (basbousa) for dessert. La Medina's buffet also has this dessert, but Al Safir's is less sweet, which I think tastes better.



4. Pakistan

The fourth stop is the Pakistani restaurant Khan Baba in Sanlitun. Because there are very few people lately, the meal today felt more relaxed, though the portion sizes are not as large as they used to be. We started with dates and water. For the main course, Zaynab chose flatbread (naan), and I picked the classic biryani rice with masala chicken, chicken tikka, and grilled fish. We had rose syrup water to drink. For dessert, we had milk pudding (kheer). Their yogurt tasted very authentic and sour. A few dishes here are worth mentioning.









The first is pea and minced beef curry (matar qeema). This dish was brought to South Asia by the Mughal Empire. The word qeema comes from the Chagatai language and means minced meat. Chagatai is an extinct Turkic language. It was once popular across the territory of the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia. It served as a literary language in Central Asia until the early 20th century and is the direct ancestor of modern Uzbek. Pea and minced beef curry (keema matar) was very popular in the Mughal court. It was a must-have dish at weddings and various Eid feasts.



The second is vegetable fritters (pakora). Pakora comes from Sanskrit and means a small cooked piece. It is a classic South Asian street snack made by dipping vegetables in spiced batter and deep-frying them.



The third is tempered lentil curry (tarka dal). Tempered lentil curry (tarka dal) is a popular vegetarian curry in North India. In South Asia, dal can refer to various dried beans like pigeon peas, yellow peas, or lentils. Tarka is a vegetarian curry cooking method where garlic, onions, and chili are quickly fried together.



The fourth is milk pudding (kheer). This is an ancient Indian dish that was mentioned in ancient Indian texts over two thousand years ago. Kheer comes from the Sanskrit word for milk. It is made with milk, sugar, and rice, and topped with shredded coconut, saffron, pistachios, raisins, and almonds.

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Muslim travel guide China 2026 update keeps the original 2017 Liaocheng travel notes intact and natural in English. It is useful for halal food in China, Chinese Muslim food, China Muslim travel tips, and old mosque routes in Shandong.

On February 18, 2017, I went to the Dongguan area of Liaocheng, Shandong, to explore and eat.

The Hui Muslim district in Dongguan, Liaocheng.

After the Yuan Dynasty moved its capital to Beijing, the army relied on supplies from the south. Shipping grain by sea from the Jiangnan region was often dangerous, so in 1289 (the 26th year of the Zhiyuan era), Emperor Kublai Khan ordered the construction of the Huitong River from Xucheng, Shandong, to Linqing. This connected the Grand Canal from north to south, and Liaocheng, located along the Huitong River, quickly became a major canal hub. Starting in the Yuan Dynasty, Dongguan, which connected the city to the canal, became the busiest area in Liaocheng. Hui Muslims kept moving here to settle, eventually forming the Dongguan Hui Muslim district.

In 1372 (the fifth year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty), the earthen walls of Dongchang (Liaocheng) were rebuilt with bricks. In 1420 (the 18th year of the Yongle era), Emperor Zhu Di moved the capital to Beijing and relied heavily on the Grand Canal to transport grain from the south. Liaocheng entered its golden age, and the large and small mosques in Dongguan were built during the Hongwu and Yongle eras.

In 1855 (the fifth year of the Xianfeng era), the Yellow River burst its banks at Tongwaxian in Henan. It split into three paths, diverted northeast, and flowed into the sea via the Daqing River, cutting the canal in half and causing Liaocheng to decline. Since the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty, the Liaocheng section of the canal relied on water from the Yellow River. After the breach at Tongwaxian, the Yellow River flooded several more times. The canal in Liaocheng became increasingly silted, the river course changed frequently, and water transport became more difficult. In 1872 (the 11th year of the Tongzhi era), the China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company was established in Shanghai, and grain transport began moving to sea routes. In 1901 (the 27th year of the Guangxu era), canal transport was completely abandoned, and Liaocheng fell silent along with the silted canal.

Eating breakfast in Dongguan, Liaocheng.

Dongguan in Liaocheng has all kinds of delicious breakfast foods. We first ate Liang's fried cakes (zhagao) outside Dongguan Bridge. They come in several flavors like white sugar and red bean paste. We chose the osmanthus and white sugar filling; they were large and delicious.







Then we went to Yishunzhai Steamed Bun Shop for large steamed buns (baozi) with pure lamb filling. The buns were huge and cost two yuan each. One was enough to be full, and two left me stuffed for the whole day!









Next to Yishunzhai Steamed Bun Shop is Jiang's Black Old Man Roasted Snacks (chaohuo). We bought peanuts here and finished them all on the train ride back. They were very flavorful with a rich aroma from various spices.





We also bought beef jerky at Dou's Deli. The beef was completely air-dried with no moisture left. It was crispy when you bit into it, so you had to let it soften in your mouth before chewing. The flavor changed from the first bite to the last, and it needed to be savored slowly.







There were many other delicious things in Dongguan that we didn't have time to try.











Canal docks.

Walking south along the canal from Dongguan in Liaocheng, there are two docks, one large and one small. The large dock was the official transport dock, also called Chongwu Station Dock. Back then, the ships waiting to unload stretched for miles, a scene known as 'Chongwu's continuous masts'. The small dock was originally a private dock for merchants. These two spots are precious relics of the Grand Canal in the Liaocheng urban area.

Small dock.



Large dock.



The scenery of the Liaocheng section of the Grand Canal.



Rice Market Street (Mishi Jie)

South of East Gate Street (Dongguan Jie) is the Rice Market Street (Mishi Jie) historical district. It is paved with blue stone and is one of the few remaining historical districts in the old city of Liaocheng. This area used to be full of grain shops. At its peak, there were dozens of them. The street was busy every day with constant traffic and crowds of people.

Later, I saw a design rendering of Rice Market Street (Mishi Jie) at the Grand Canal Museum. Perhaps it will soon become a faux-antique commercial street, and its original character will disappear.





















Big and Small Mosques

There are two mosques in the East Gate (Dongguan) area of Liaocheng. The West Mosque (Qingzhen Xisi) is commonly known as the Big Mosque (Da Libaisi). It was first built in 1385 (the 17th year of the Hongwu reign) and was renovated twice during the Jiajing and Kangxi reigns. The original main hall had 81 rooms, and the beams and purlins were all made of golden nanmu wood. It was magnificent and could compare with those in Jining and Linqing.

In the winter of 1946, the People's Liberation Army attacked Liaocheng and used the mosque's minaret (bangkelou) as an observation post to fire at the Nationalist troops inside the city. The West Mosque (Qingzhen Xisi) also became a command post for the People's Liberation Army. People say the People's Liberation Army dug a tunnel underwater on the east bank of the moat toward the city. They laid door panels on top and supported them with pillars. They dug through the city wall near the East Gate and opened a hole, but the Nationalist troops discovered it and blocked the opening with sandbags.

The Liaocheng city wall was high and thick, and the moat was wide and deep. The People's Liberation Army could not break into the city and had to stop the siege. Afterward, the Nationalist troops left the city and set fire to it, burning down the buildings inside the mosque.

The West Mosque (Qingzhen Xisi) was not rebuilt until 1956. During the Cultural Revolution (wg), it was occupied by a factory, and it was renovated in 1992. The main hall was rebuilt into its current appearance in 2009. Now, only the main gate and the north and south lecture halls remain as historical buildings.



















The East Mosque (Qingzhen Dongsi) in the East Gate (Dongguan) area of Liaocheng is commonly known as the Small Mosque (Xiao Libaisi). It was built during the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty (around 1405) and was commissioned by the Dongchang Prefecture garrison commander, Bai Lin. It was renovated during the Jiaqing, Xianfeng, and Guangxu reigns, and was rebuilt in 2002.

















The Big and Small Mosque Street (Daxiao Libaisi Jie) historical district, located north of East Gate Road (Dongguan Lu) in Liaocheng, has been demolished more severely than Rice Market Street (Mishi Jie), but it has not been completely flattened like the area inside the city.

















Clear broth meatballs (qingcuan wanzi)

At noon, I ate clear broth meatballs (qingcuan wanzi), steamed egg custard (jidan gao), and egg pancakes (jidan bing) at Jiang Erbao's clear broth meatball shop in the East Gate (Dongguan) area of Liaocheng. A small bowl of clear broth meatballs (qingcuan wanzi) costs 6 yuan and contains 22 lamb meatballs. They are very tender, unlike the meatballs in Beijing, which are larger. Sprinkling a little pepper makes them very comforting to eat in winter, and the sesame oil is also very fragrant. A large bowl of steamed egg custard (jidan gao) uses at least 3 eggs and only costs 3 yuan. I have liked steamed egg custard since I was a child, and it really suits my taste.

Reposted from the web

Summary: This China Muslim travel tips article keeps the original 2017 Linqing route and details intact. It also helps readers looking for Muslim travel guide China 2026, halal food in China, Chinese Muslim food, and canal-side mosque heritage in Shandong.

On February 18, 2017, I went to Linqing, Shandong, to explore and eat.

Linqing Hui Muslims

After the Yuan Dynasty established its capital in Dadu, it relied on supplies from the south. However, shipping grain from the Jiangnan region by sea was often dangerous. In 1289 (the 26th year of the Zhiyuan era), Kublai Khan ordered the construction of the Huitong River from Xucheng, Shandong, to Linqing to connect the northern and southern sections of the Grand Canal. Linqing, where the Huitong River met the existing Yongji Canal of the Sui and Tang Grand Canal, suddenly became a canal hub and the backbone and throat of the Grand Canal. It was from this time that Hui Muslims began to move to Linqing one after another.

In 1373 (the 6th year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty), the Linqing granary was established. In 1450 (the 1st year of the Jingtai era), a brick city was built on the north bank of the Huitong River, based on the Guangji Granary. At that time, in the southwest of Linqing city, an area called Zhongzhou, surrounded by two tributaries of the Wei and Wen rivers, was the most prosperous commercial district in Linqing. Zhongzhou was traversed from north to south by a long street, divided into Pot Market Street (Guoshi Jie), Blue Bowl Market Street (Qingwanshi Jie), and Horse Market Street (Mashi Jie). This was also the area where Hui Muslims in Linqing were most concentrated.















In 1542 (the 21st year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty), the earthen city of Linqing was expanded to five times its original size, and Zhongzhou was incorporated into the city of Linqing.







Halal food

A wonderful trip starts with food. In the morning, I had lamb offal soup (yangza tang) at Qian's Lamb Soup north of Aotouji in Linqing. A small bowl there is as big as a large bowl in Beijing. The lamb soup was delicious and packed with ingredients. It was fun to hear the sizzling sound when pouring chili oil over the soup; the chili wasn't spicy but very fragrant. This was also my first time having lamb offal soup that included lamb brain.











At Baoliang's First Pancake-Wrapped Meat (Baoliang Diyi Jia Bingjuanrou), I ordered braised butterfly fish head and pancake-wrapped meat (bingjuanrou). Honestly, their braised dishes completely beat every halal restaurant in Beijing. Both Teacher Hua and I were shocked, and we continued to be disappointed with Beijing food. The pancake-wrapped meat was 15 yuan per piece, and the portion was huge—so satisfying!



Food cooked over a firewood fire is just more fragrant.











In the evening, I had the three-delicacy potstickers (sanxian guotie) at the first restaurant I visited in Linqing, and they were amazing! I can say it is the best Shandong restaurant I have ever eaten at. It completely beats the Beijing-Shandong dishes I often eat in Beijing. The portions are huge—one dish is equal to three in Beijing—and it is very cheap. The iron-plate tofu (tieban doufu) was incredible. The Japanese-style tofu was filled with sea cucumber and shrimp, served over a layer of fried eggs. The sesame lamb (zhima yangrou) was so good it made me want to cry. I have been looking for this way of cooking it in Beijing for a long time. A steamer of 30 beef and fennel potstickers (niurou huixiang guotie) was packed with filling. After eating, I didn't even want to go back to Beijing.

















Mosque

The North Mosque (Qingzhen Beisi) in Linqing is one of the grandest in Shandong, rivaling the East Mosque in Jining. It was first built during the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty and underwent three major renovations in 1564 (the 43rd year of the Jiajing reign), 1779 (the 44th year of the Qianlong reign), and 1809 (the 14th year of the Jiaqing reign). It was undergoing repairs when I visited.

The cover of the book "Mosques of Shandong" (Shandong Qingzhensi).













































The East Mosque (Qingzhen Dongsi) in Linqing was first built in 1465 (the first year of the Chenghua reign of the Ming Dynasty). It closed for major renovations in 2013, so I only saw the exterior this time.











Women's Mosque (Qingzhen Nüsi)

The Women's Mosque (Qingzhen Nüsi) in Linqing was founded during the Republic of China era. It became a wholesale market warehouse after the 1980s and was rebuilt in 2010.





The Linqing section of the Grand Canal.

There are three sections of the Grand Canal in Linqing, created during the Sui, Yuan, and Ming dynasties respectively.

In 608 (the fourth year of the Daye reign of the Sui Dynasty), Emperor Yang of Sui opened the Yongji Canal. This marked the beginning of the Linqing section of the Grand Canal. After the Five Dynasties period, the Yellow River flooded repeatedly, causing the Yongji Canal to silt up and the river course to shift eastward. This formed the later Imperial River (Yuhe), also known as the Wei River (Weihe).



In 1289 (the 26th year of the Zhiyuan reign of the Yuan Dynasty), Kublai Khan ordered the construction of the Huitong Canal from Xucheng in Shandong to Linqing to connect the northern and southern parts of the Grand Canal. Because its water source came from the Wen River, this section was also called the Wen River (Wenshui).





In 1391 (the 24th year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty), the Yellow River breached its banks at Yuanwu in Henan, destroying a large part of the Huitong Canal. In 1417 (the 15th year of the Yongle reign), the Earl of Pingjiang, Chen Xuan, excavated the new southern branch of the river in Linqing. From then on, the Yuan Dynasty Huitong Canal was called the old northern branch.

The new southern branch of the Ming Dynasty.





Using Aotouji as the meeting point for the Yuan and Ming canals, the old Yuan canal had the Linqing Lock and Huitong Lock, while the new Ming canal had the Ban Lock and Zhuan Lock. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Sky Bridge (Tianqiao) and Yuejing Bridge were built over the old Yuan canal. Together with the canal tax office, these formed the site cluster for water transport in Linqing.

Aotouji.

Aotouji is a stone promontory that juts out of the water where the old Yuan Dynasty Huitong Canal and the new Ming Dynasty canal meet. It bears the inscription "Du Zhan" (Sole Occupancy) by Ma Lun, a Ming Dynasty magistrate of Linqing.



Linqing Lock.

The Linqing Lock was the first ship lock where the Yuan Dynasty Huitong Canal flowed into the Wei River, built in 1296 (the second year of the Yuanzhen reign of the Yuan Dynasty). After the new southern branch was built in 1417 (the 15th year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty), the Linqing Lock was converted into a bridge by using its piers to support an arch. It was named Wenjin Bridge during repairs in the Chongzhen reign.

Chapter 81 of "The Golden Lotus" (Jin Ping Mei) writes: "Han Daoguo returned from Jiangnan with goods. One day, he arrived at the Linqing Lock and was standing on the bow of the boat when he suddenly saw his neighbor, the Fourth Young Master Yan, coming from upstream on a boat to meet an official in Linqing."





Huitong Lock.

The Huitong Lock was built in 1293 (the 30th year of the Zhiyuan reign of the Yuan Dynasty). It operated in conjunction with the Linqing Lock and was an important water conservancy project on the Yuan Dynasty Huitong Canal. After the new southern branch of the Ming Dynasty was built in 1417 (the 15th year of the Yongle reign), the Huitong Lock was converted into the Huitong Bridge.



Sky Bridge (Tianqiao).

Historically known as the Yongji Bridge, the Sky Bridge was built in 1485 (the 20th year of the Chenghua reign of the Ming Dynasty). It was rebuilt during the Jiajing reign, and a new Sky Bridge was built next to it in 1958. The bridge base and bridge wings of the old Tianqiao still remain today.



Yuejing Bridge

In 1652 (the ninth year of the Shunzhi reign), a merchant named Shao Yishu donated money to build Yuejing Bridge between Wenjin Bridge and Huitong Bridge, which is commonly known as Pigeon Bridge.





Brick Sluice (Zhuanzha)

The Brick Sluice was located on the southern branch of the New River. It was first built in 1417 (the fifteenth year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty) and is also known as the New Open Sluice, or commonly as the Second Sluice. It was rebuilt in 1513 (the eighth year of the Zhengde reign of the Ming Dynasty), when the brick sluice was changed to a stone weir. It connected with the South Board Sluice (First Sluice), where the southern branch of the New River flows into the Wei River. By opening and closing in sequence, they formed two ship locks on the canal, serving as the control hub and vital passage for canal boats. After the Ministry of Works Water Division was abolished in 1526 (the fifth year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty), the Brick Sluice began collecting two types of taxes called 'short-load' and 'paper price.' This was known as the Ministry of Works Customs. It collected taxes here for 210 years until it was merged into the Ministry of Revenue Customs in 1736 (the first year of the Qianlong reign).



Linqing Customs (Linqing Chaoguan)

The Linqing Canal Customs was an agency under the Ministry of Revenue specifically for taxing merchant ships on the canal. The Linqing Customs was the first canal customs office to be established and the last to be closed. It was set up in 1429 (the fourth year of the Xuande reign of the Ming Dynasty) and operated for nearly 500 years.

In 1597 (the twenty-fifth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty), it collected over 117,000 taels of silver in taxes, which accounted for one-quarter of all tax silver from canal customs. In contrast, the total tax revenue for Shandong Province in 1578 (the sixth year of the Wanli reign) was only about 8,800 taels, which was less than one-tenth of what the Linqing Customs collected.

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Muslim travel guide China 2026 update keeps the original 2017 Botou travel notes intact and readable. It also supports readers searching for halal food in China, Chinese Muslim food, China Muslim travel tips, and local mosque history in Hebei.

On March 25, 2017, I visited the ancient canal town of Botou in Cangzhou, Hebei, to explore its food and culture. The information in this article comes from the History of Botou Canal and the Records of Botou Mosque.

The formation of the Hui Muslim community in Botou

In 1392, the 25th year of the Hongwu reign, the Ming Dynasty set up a canal administration office in Botou to manage shipping between Tianjin and Dezhou, and Botou gradually became an important canal town. In 1399, the first year of the Jianwen reign, during the Jingnan Campaign, Prince Yan Zhu Di attacked and captured the old city of Cangzhou. He killed thousands of surrendered soldiers and tens of thousands of residents. Eastern Hebei suffered greatly, and Botou was hit hard, causing its population to drop sharply.

In 1404, the second year of the Yongle reign, Zhu Di, who had become the Yongle Emperor, ordered residents to move to Cangzhou. Many Hui Muslims came to Botou as a result. Records show that Hui Muslims with the surnames Yang, Cao, Dai, Hui, Zhang, Wang, and Shi all moved to Botou in 1404 by imperial decree from Erlanggang in Shangyuan County, Yingtian Prefecture, Nanjing. Research suggests that Erlanggang was a camp for Semu people who had surrendered to the Ming from the Yuan Dynasty. The first mosque in Botou was built that same year.

Later, more Hui Muslims moved here from Shandong, Shanxi, and Anhui, and the Botou Hui Muslim community was officially formed. In 1551, the 30th year of the Jiajing reign, Botou began building city walls. They used earth for three sides, and on the east side facing the canal, they added parapets to the houses and opened six city gates. The Hui Muslim community was located inside the south gate. The Botou Mosque underwent large-scale expansion during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, taking on its current form.











Moon-Sighting Tower (Wangyuelou)































In the eyes of Allah, the most honorable among you is the one who is most pious. (49:13)

















After 1966, the Botou Mosque stopped its activities. Religious staff were publicly denounced, and scriptures were burned. The head of the mosque, Zhang Zizhen, was driven away and passed away the following year. The imam, Ha Fuling, was sent back to his hometown in Xinzhuang, Xian County.

After the denunciations, Jin Laiguang set up a flour mill. Older religious staff worked as millers, and the younger ones went to work in factories. The main hall of the mosque was occupied by an embroidery factory, an oilcloth factory, a straw hat factory, and a sack thread factory as workshops. The water room was used by an agricultural production team as a machine shop. The side gates of the main entrance, the charity school, the side halls, and the south lecture hall all collapsed. The spire of the Moon-Sighting Tower was smashed, its first-floor walls collapsed, and the base walls of the main hall also fell. Eighteen original plaques inscribed by figures like Ji Xiaolan and Zhang Zhidong were lost. Only a damaged plaque reading "Pure and Bright" (Qingzhen Guangming), inscribed by the 75th Duke Yansheng, Kong Xiangke, in 1864, the third year of the Tongzhi reign, was found. In 1982, a calligrapher repaired the damaged parts based on the original style.



On the canal bank directly east of the Botou Mosque, there used to be a brick and wood archway, commonly known by locals as the Big Round Gate (Dayuanmen), with the words "Muslim Lane" (Qingzhen Xiang) written on it. In 1953, a major flood on the canal led to the demolition of the Big Round Gate to block the riverbank. In the old days, Hui Muslim merchant ships traveling on the canal knew they had reached the Hui Muslim residential area as soon as they saw the "Muslim Lane" plaque.

There was once a stone archway next to the Big Round Gate that collapsed in the 1960s. When the Botou Mosque was rebuilt in 1982, two stone lintels from the top of the archway were moved to the mosque's main hall to serve as a foundation. The left side featured a dragon head and phoenix tail, and the right side featured a qilin delivering a child.







The women's mosque was built in 1953. It was originally the Huizhen Production Cooperative, built under the leadership of Imam Zhang Zizhen, and was rebuilt in 1993.





Halal food

During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China era, the most famous halal restaurants in Botou were Taihe Restaurant on Shunhe Street, which opened during the Tongzhi reign, and Shunfu Restaurant and Xingshenghe on Gulou Street, which opened during the Guangxu reign. Xiyu Restaurant was on East Street. The small and medium-sized restaurants around Shunhe Street were all halal, offering a wide variety of halal snacks.

Taihe Restaurant opened in 1870 (the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign). It was founded by Hui Muslim brothers Dai Ruiwu and Dai Bin. The building had the shop in the front and the restaurant in the back, with both open seating and private rooms, including standard and premium options. The menu focused on beef, lamb, fish, and shrimp. Dishes included clear-stewed beef, oil-fried tripe, braised cabbage, stir-fried lamb brains, stir-fried shrimp, stewed beef tongue and tail, braised beef tendon, and sweet and sour fish. The third-generation chef, Dai Shengheng, went to Tianjin in 1921 at age 15 to apprentice at the halal Hongbinlou Restaurant. He learned to cook elaborate whole-lamb feasts and river seafood. After returning to the restaurant, he became the head chef. He cooked high-end dishes like shark fin, bird's nest, and whole lamb, as well as home-style dishes like stir-fried, braised, and stewed beef and lamb. His signature dishes included deboned chicken, deboned fish, steamed chicken, candied peaches (basi tao), braised cabbage, various sweet dishes, and oil-poached sauces. His shredded meat noodle soup was considered the best. The noodles in Taihe Restaurant's shredded meat noodle soup were thin and translucent like silk threads, and the shredded meat was as thin as bean sprouts. The soup came in chicken or meatball varieties, served with large broad beans, preserved vegetables (nancai), wood ear mushrooms, and fried tofu puffs. It tasted delicious.

In 1937, Dai Shengheng went to Jinan to open the new Majia Restaurant, and Taihe Restaurant closed.

Xingshenghe Maji was founded during the Guangxu reign by Hui Muslim Ma Chunbo. It was located on Gulou Street outside Chaoyang Gate and was famous for its five-spice roast beef. Ma's roast meat contained no beef fat or mixed scraps. Before roasting, the meat was soaked in cold water for several hours to remove blood. It was seasoned with five spices: cinnamon, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds, and cloves. No soy sauce or sugar coloring was used. It was simmered in old broth over low heat for six hours. When finished, it was sweet, moist, and brownish-red, with a chewy texture that held together. It could stay fresh for three to five days.

Before 1937, Ma Doutai, a Hui Muslim from Xinzhuang in Xian County, came to Gulou Street in Botou to open the Juxingheng Pastry Shop. It had the shop in the front and the factory in the back. They offered over 20 varieties of pastries that were sweet, salty, fragrant, soft, and crispy. They used various fillings like red hawthorn, white sugar, date paste, and red bean paste, making it the most famous halal pastry shop in Botou.

After 1937, 19 halal restaurants opened in Botou, nine of which were on Sanfu Street. The larger restaurants included Enshunlou, Qingzhen Restaurant, Fushun Restaurant, and Enyishun. Their signature dishes included braised sea cucumber, braised fish, steamed duck, and eight-treasure rice (babao fan). Eight-treasure rice is a sweet dish. The main ingredient is glutinous rice, supplemented with green silk, colorful cakes, lotus seeds, water chestnuts, melon strips, walnut kernels, raisins, and melon seeds. The rice is first made into a sticky consistency and mixed with white sugar. Then, the toppings are added, creating a colorful and uniquely shaped dish.



Lamb offal (yangzasui)



Stewed free-range chicken (dun benji)



Braised lamb offal (hui yangza)



Egg rolls (danjuan)



The pastries at this shop were all sourced from Tianjin.



















Hui Muslims and the Grand Canal

Local shipping in Botou was mainly operated by Hui Muslims. The trade was divided into two groups: those who worked on the boats and those who owned the boats. Those who worked on the boats were the crew and trackers. Those who owned the boats were the boat owners, divided into those who owned large boats for renting out or hiring labor, and those who used their own small boats. Some small boat owners operated ferries for passengers, some transported fertilizer for riverside villages, and others ran long-distance transport routes from Tianjin in the north to Xinxiang, Henan in the south. The trough boats (caozichuan) used for long-distance transport were flat, long, and wide, with a shallow draft.

Long-distance boats from Botou carried salt south and returned with cotton, coal, and porcelain. The trip from Tianjin to Dezhou took eight or nine days, to Linqing took half a month, and to Daokou Town in Henan took over forty days.

In 1946, there were 31 Hui Muslim boat-owning households in Botou, primarily from the Shi, Li, Cao, Duo, and Mu families. Later, because the canal became heavily silted, the Mu family moved to Tianjin and switched to sea shipping. By July 1948, Botou had 231 wooden boats.



Trackers were at the bottom of the shipping industry. Boat owners chose the number of trackers based on the boat's size and cargo capacity, usually five or six, though some trips used as few as one or two, or as many as over ten. When traveling downstream, trackers stayed on the boat to row; when traveling upstream, they went ashore to pull the boat. When pulling, they used a main tow rope attached to a chest pad worn diagonally across the chest. The tracker at the front and the one at the back controlled the direction to keep the boat straight. When passing under a bridge, they had to unhook the rope. The boatmen on board would call out signals to the lead tracker, and they would reattach the rope to continue after passing the bridge.

During the voyage, trackers followed a schedule of three tea breaks and four meals a day. They started the boat at 5:00 a.m., ate breakfast at 8:00 or 9:00, had their first tea break after traveling a bit, ate lunch at noon, had their second tea break, ate dinner around 4:00 or 5:00 p.m., had their third tea break, and finally ate a late-night snack after docking at dark before resting. The tea for these breaks was usually plain water, and the meals consisted of steamed cornmeal buns (wotou), pickled vegetables, and millet porridge. The stoves on the boats were small, so the steamed cornmeal buns (wotou) came out thin and tall, and you could grab four or five in one hand. Besides this, when they reached Cangzhou, Dezhou, and Linqingzhou, they could have noodles in soup, which they called passing through a prefecture to eat noodles.

There were many types of tracker work songs, with different ones for going downstream, upstream, turning corners, and passing bridges. The head boatman directed the work. He stood at the bow to watch the current, used a pole to adjust the boat's direction, and used work songs to coordinate everyone. A song leader followed the trackers. He did not pull the rope but was responsible for responding to the head boatman's lead vocals. The lyrics included lines like, Big boats carry white grain, small boats carry green bamboo poles; Big boats can dock at Jiujiang port, small boats only rely on the riverbanks. After 1957, wooden boats on the South Canal were replaced by small tugboats, and the canal work songs gradually disappeared. The only person who can sing the full set of Botou canal work songs today is Li Shuyuan, a Hui Muslim born in 1935. He is the fourth-generation descendant of the Li family, a major boat-owning family in Botou. He started working on boats at age 14 and is the last person from those major families who witnessed the glory days of the South Canal.

In 1957, during the public-private partnership transition, Botou's fleets were assigned to Dezhou, Xinxiang, and Tianjin. Botou no longer had its own fleet, and many people left their boats to return to Botou, where they were assigned to brick factories and construction teams. During breaks, these workers would sing the work songs, which became the final echoes of the canal.





Derived from the shipping industry were the porter guilds, commonly known as the heavy lifters. The porter guilds in Botou were mainly Hui Muslims. They usually used a shoulder pole and a shoulder pad. Some families shared handcarts, and when unloading logs, they used levers with large, semicircular iron hooks at the front. At that time, each person carried one 90-kilogram sack of grain or one roll of paper or cardboard weighing over 100 kilograms. They carried four 22.5-kilogram bags of flour at a time. They tracked their work by receiving a bamboo tally for each load and counting them at the end. When lifting heavy items like logs, everyone would sing labor work songs. One person would lead, and the others would follow, creating a rhythmic, powerful, and responsive sound.

During the Republic of China era, there were three Hui Muslim porter groups in Botou. One was the Tongshun Shop porter group, commonly known as the South End porter group. Another was the Wuying porter group, and the third was the Gulou and East Street porter group. The three groups merged in 1947 to become the Wharf Second Labor Union, and in 1958, they became the Second Transport Team.

Before 1965, the Botou section of the Grand Canal had plenty of water. In the early summer of 1965, the canal dried up for the first time. After that, the water level dropped every year. By the first half of the 1970s, it was nearly dry, and shipping in Botou came to an end.

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Muslim travel guide China 2026 update keeps the original Yarkand travel notes intact while making the history easier for English readers to follow. It is useful for readers researching halal food in China, Chinese Muslim food, old mosques, and Silk Road Muslim heritage in Xinjiang.

I visited Yarkant in 2018 and recorded some images related to the Yarkent Khanate.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Western Regions were united, with Yarkent being the largest—from the Xinjiang Illustrated Records (Xinjiang Tuzhi).

The Yarkent Khanate was a state established in 1514 by Sultan Said Khan, a descendant of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate royal family. With Yarkent (the city of Shache) as its capital, it ruled southern Xinjiang and surrounding areas for over a hundred years until it was incorporated into the Dzungar Khanate in 1680.

During the Yarkent Khanate's rule over southern Xinjiang, the Chagatai Mongols shifted from a nomadic lifestyle to a settled one and integrated into the Uyghur people. The Uyghur people also gradually developed and formed into a modern ethnic group during this period. Culturally, the Yarkent Khanate period saw the appearance of famous historical works like the History of Rashid (Tarikh-i-Rashidi) and the Chronicles, and the Twelve Muqam was also finalized during this time.

The name Yarkent Khanate is actually a term used by modern scholars. Earlier local documents used the Persian word Moghuliye, which means Mongol State. Around the same time, Sultan Said Khan's cousin Babur established a state in northern India and also used the term Moghul for himself. To distinguish between them, Chinese generally translates them as Mengwu'er and Mowuo'er respectively.



A map of the Yarkent Khanate's territory drawn by SY.

1. A Bumpy Road of Exile

In the second half of the 15th century, the Eastern Chagatai Khanate split again. The founder of the Yarkent Khanate, Sultan Said Khan, was the third son of Ahmad Alaq, the ruler of Uyghurstan (the area around modern-day Turpan) in the eastern part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.

1. The First Exile

Sultan Said Khan was born in Turpan in 1487. At age 14 (in 1501), he followed his father to support his uncle, Mahmud Khan, the ruler of the western part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, against the Uzbek tribal leader Muhammad Shaybani. The Eastern Chagatai coalition was defeated by Muhammad Shaybani in Tashkent. Sultan Said Khan was shot in the thigh and fell on the battlefield, after which he was imprisoned by the Eastern Chagatai rebels. At the same time, Sultan Said Khan's cousin Babur, the future founder of the Mughal Empire, was also in the coalition. After his defeat, he crossed the mountains and headed to Afghanistan.

The following year, Muhammad Shaybani attacked the Fergana Valley again and released Sultan Said Khan. Muhammad Shaybani felt sympathy for Sultan Said Khan, took him along on military campaigns, and later left him in the city of Samarkand. While Muhammad Shaybani was campaigning in Khwarezm, Sultan Said Khan escaped from Samarkand and made his way back to his uncle Mahmud Khan's camp.

Sultan Said Khan's father died of grief shortly after the defeat, so Sultan Said Khan stayed to serve in his uncle's court. Soon, Sultan Said Khan could not stand his uncle's neglect of state affairs, so he fled the court again to join his younger brother, Khalil Sultan.



A portrait of Muhammad Shaybani drawn around 1507, held by the Uzbekistan Academy of Arts.

2. The Second Exile

Starting in 1504, the 17-year-old Sultan Said Khan and his brother fought against their uncle several times, finally defeating him in 1508. That same year, Sultan Said Khan's older brother, Mansur Khan, the ruler of the eastern part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, sent troops from Turpan. The two sides fought a decisive battle in Almaty. After his defeat, Sultan Said Khan set out on the road of exile once again.

Said Khan and a few loyal followers started a thrilling escape. They faced betrayal, robbery, and broken promises before finally disguising themselves to cross the Pamir Mountains. After many hardships, they reached Kabul, Afghanistan, to join his cousin Babur. Said Khan and Babur shared a deep bond, and Said Khan finally found a stable life in Afghanistan for two years.

3. Counterattacking Central Asia

In 1510, Shaybani Khan was defeated and killed in a war against the Safavid dynasty of Iran. The following year, the leaders of all Uzbek tribes held a meeting in Samarkand and decided to kill all Chagatai Mongols in the Transoxiana region of Central Asia. The Chagatai Mongols in Transoxiana learned of this and rose up in rebellion. They sent a letter to Babur in Afghanistan asking for help, so Babur sent his cousin Said Khan to lead an army to their rescue.

In 1511, Said Khan arrived in Andijan, the center of the Chagatai Mongol resistance in the Fergana Valley, where he received a grand welcome. While Said Khan was fighting the Uzbek army, the ruler of the Kashgar Kingdom, Abu Bakr, took the chance to surround the city of Andijan. Said Khan quickly fought back. He faced Abu Bakr in a decisive battle outside Andijan and defeated the enemy despite being outnumbered. Soon after, Babur led his army to occupy Samarkand, forcing the Uzbek troops to withdraw from Andijan.

In 1512, the Uzbek army defeated Babur and recaptured Samarkand. Babur asked for help from the Safavid dynasty of Iran and Said Khan. Said Khan led his army from Andijan to help, but they were blocked on the way. After losing the battle, he had to retreat to Andijan. Soon, the joint forces of Babur and the Safavid dynasty were completely crushed by the Uzbek tribes, and Babur returned to Afghanistan once again.

II. Transoxiana or Southern Xinjiang?

In 1514, after stabilizing their hold on Transoxiana, the Uzbek army prepared to march into the Fergana Valley. After careful thought and discussion, Said Khan realized he could not withstand the Uzbek army's attack. He decided to cross the Tianshan Mountains to Yarkand to fight the easier target, Abu Bakr.

1. Abu Bakr's Yarkand

Let's go back to the 15th century. In 1432, the East Chagatai Khan, Vais Khan, passed away. The Dughlat tribe, which held the actual military power of the Khanate, fell into division. The noble Amirs supported Vais Khan's two sons, Esen Buqa and Yunus Khan (Said Khan's grandfather), and the East Chagatai Khanate split into two parts.

The main figure supporting Esen Buqa was the Dughlat noble Amir Abu Bakr. He defeated Yunus Khan's attacks and began ruling the western part of southern Xinjiang, including Kashgar, Yarkand, Yengisar, and Hotan, starting in the 1460s.

2. Azna Mosque

The Azna Mosque, built during Abu Bakr's rule of Yarkand (1465-1514), still stands in Yarkand today. This mosque has never been rebuilt by later generations and still keeps its original appearance, making it very precious.

The Azna Mosque belongs to the typical Persian-Turkic architectural style. Its design is very similar to the Bibi-Khanym Mosque of the 14th and 15th-century Timurid Empire and the Begampur Mosque of the Delhi Sultanate, though it is smaller in size.

The most unique feature of the Azna Mosque is its 52 domes on the roof. Unfortunately, the mosque is not open to the public, so you can only look at the exterior facade.













3. Qiletan Mazar

Another building said to have been built during the reign of Aba Bakr is the Qiletan Mazar. This mazar was originally an adobe structure, but it was rebuilt with brick and wood during the rule of Yaqub Beg (1865-1877), so it now reflects a 19th-century style. The current building has a mosque on the east side and the mazar on the west side. Because there are seven tombs inside the mazar, it is also called the "Mazar of the Seven Muhammads."













III. Founding the Yarkand Khanate

In the spring of 1514, Sultan Said Khan led his army over the Tianshan Mountains and arrived in Kashgar via the Torugart Pass. At that time, Aba Bakr was recruiting soldiers in Yarkand city. Sultan Said Khan fought a fierce battle outside the city against the Kashgar garrison and defeated them. The enemy closed the gates and refused to come out, so Sultan Said Khan could not take the city and turned to attack Yengisar city instead. Sultan Said Khan besieged Yengisar for two months and finally captured it after six days of intense fighting.

Hearing that Yengisar had fallen, the Kashgar garrison abandoned the city and fled, so Sultan Said Khan marched directly toward Yarkand. When Aba Bakr heard this, he abandoned the city and fled to Hotan, and soon after, Sultan Said Khan entered Yarkand city. On September 3, 1514, Sultan Said Khan officially ascended the throne and established the Yarkand Khanate.

1. Restoring Order

In 1516, Sultan Said Khan reconciled with his older brother, Mansur Khan, the ruler of the eastern part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. He agreed to mention Mansur's name during the khutbah (sermon) and to mint coins bearing Mansur's name. Southern Xinjiang welcomed long-lost peace and order that year. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi describes it this way:

The reconciliation of these two brothers resulted in safety and prosperity for the residents, such that anyone could travel alone between Hami in China and the Fergana region without needing provisions or fearing robbery.

2. Palace Ruins

Today in the old city of Yarkand (Shache), there is a site called "Ordakul," which means "palace pond." This is very likely the location of the Yarkand Khanate's royal palace. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi describes Yarkand city during the early period of the Yarkand Khanate like this:

They diverted rivers into the city and built gardens... The main roads people walked on were tree-lined paths of white poplar. So when people walked around the city, they could spend half their journey under the shade of these trees, and most of the tree-lined paths had water channels on both sides.

Ordakul





Ordakule Mosque





3. Jiaman Mosque

To the west of Ordakule is Jiaman Mosque. Jiaman is also translated as Jumu'ah, which refers to the weekly Friday congregational prayer. This is the most important prayer of the week for Muslims and is usually held at the largest mosque in a community.

Jiaman Mosque was reportedly first built by Sultan Said Khan and later expanded during the reign of Abdullah Khan (1638–1669). The mosque gates are locked tight outside of prayer times, and the uncle who looks after the place said he does not have a key either.

























4. Settled or Nomadic?

After settling down in the oases of southern Xinjiang, many Chagatai Mongols began to complain about city life and missed the nomadic life on the grasslands of their homeland, Moghulistan, more and more. the small pastures in the southern Xinjiang oases could not support the needs of the Mongol army. In 1522, Sultan Said Khan sent his son, Abdurashid Khan, to lead troops into Moghulistan, where they occupied the Kyrgyz people living there.

In 1526, the Kazakhs entered Moghulistan and joined forces with the Kyrgyz, reaching a total of over 200,000 people. Sultan Said Khan realized his strength was not enough to fight them, so he had to order all the Chagatai Mongols to return to southern Xinjiang. The Chagatai Mongols' five-year attempt to return to their homeland for a nomadic life ended in failure.

5. The Death of Sultan Said Khan

After the failure in the north, Sultan Said turned to attack the south. In 1529, Sultan Said Khan raided the Badakhshan region, which sat between the Yarkent Khanate and the Mughal Empire. This raid caused conflict between Sultan Said Khan and his cousin, Emperor Babur. Emperor Babur wrote a letter to Sultan Said Khan warning him that if he continued, "you will know the rest for yourself."

In 1532, Sultan Said Khan personally led his army south to prepare for an expedition to Lhasa. While crossing the Karakoram Mountains, Sultan Said Khan suffered from severe altitude sickness and lost his strength. In 1533, he decided to return to Yarkent to recover, but he died from altitude sickness while crossing the Karakoram Mountains again.

After Sultan Said Khan died in 1533, his son, Abdurashid Khan, succeeded him. Abdurashid Khan built a mausoleum for his father at the west gate of Yarkent city. Later, this place also became the royal tomb for the Yarkent Khanate.

The current mausoleum of Sultan Said Khan was rebuilt in 1997.























The Altun Mosque (Altun Qingzhensi) next to the royal tombs was also built in 1533, though its current appearance dates to renovations in 1735. The Altun Mosque is currently closed to visitors.





4. Yarkant and Muqam

During the reign of Rashid Khan, foreign wars decreased significantly while the success rate of those fought increased. The national situation stabilized, and social, economic, and cultural life began to recover.

According to the History of Musicians (Tavārikh-i mūsīqiyyūn) written in 1853 by the Khotan scholar Mulla Ismatulla Mujizi, Queen Amannisa Khan and the chief court musician Kidirhan organized a group of talented musicians, singers, and poets during Rashid Khan's reign to collect and organize Muqam music from various regions. This effort resulted in the compilation of 16 Muqam suites, including one set each processed by Amannisa Khan and Kidirhan.

During the Yarkant Khanate, Muqam existed only in the form of the grand suite known as Qong Neghma. In 1879, musicians from Kashgar and Yarkant reorganized the Muqam again, adding folk narrative poems called Dastan and song-and-dance performances known as Mexirep, which made the Muqam structure much larger. In the 1950s, the Xinjiang Military District Cultural Department recorded the complete Twelve Muqam as performed by the master Turdi Akhun. After editing and compilation, the musical scores were officially published in 1960, finalizing the form of the Twelve Muqam.

A new tomb for Amannisa Khan was built in the 1990s at the entrance to the Yarkant Royal Tombs.







A statue of Amannisa Khan in the park.



The tomb of Kidirhan is located within the Yarkant Royal Tombs.











I am grateful to Mr. Ilham, director of the Yarkant Muqam Heritage Center, for this trip to Yarkant and for letting us enjoy performances by the masters of the Yarkant Twelve Muqam.













5. The Prosperous Chamber of Commerce

Between 1603 and 1604, the Portuguese Jesuit missionary Bento de Góis visited the city of Yarkant. In the book 'China in the Sixteenth Century: The Journals of Matthew Ricci,' Bento de Góis's travel records note that because merchants gathered there frequently to sell a wide variety of goods, Yarkant became the capital of the Kashgar Kingdom (Yarkant Khanate) and a major commercial hub. Caravans from Kabul would disband here to form new ones heading toward Cathay.

At that time, there were two main international trade routes passing through Yarkant, forming a T-shape:

The east-west route connected Central Asia with the Chinese heartland: Bukhara—Samarkand—Kashgar—Yarkant—Aksu—Kuqa—Turpan—Hami—Suzhou (Jiuquan).

The north-south route connected Xinjiang with India: Yarkant—Kashgar—Pamir—Kabul—Lahore—Delhi.

The Yarkant Bazaar today.











6. The Center of the Black Mountain Sect—Altun Mazar

1. The Black Mountain Sect controls the Yarkant Khanate.

The reigns of the first three rulers of the Yarkant Khanate—Sultan Said Khan (1514-1533), Abdurashid Khan (1533-1560), and Abdul Karim Khan (1560-1591)—are known as the 'Golden Age' of the Yarkant Khanate, a time when the monarchs were diligent and focused on economic and cultural development.

During the reign of the fourth ruler, Muhammad Khan (1591-1610), the Khoja family of the Black Mountain faction (Qara Taghliq) of the Naqshbandi Sufi order, which rose in the Transoxiana region, began to hold real power. This marked the decline of the Yarkand Khanate.

In 1596, Khoja Muhammad Ishaq Wali of the Black Mountain faction sent his son, Khoja Shadi, to Yarkand to become Muhammad Khan's mentor. From then on, Yarkand became the center of the Black Mountain faction, and the Yarkand Royal Mausoleum, known as Altun Mazar, became the burial place for the Black Mountain Khojas.

2. The White Mountain faction defeats the Black Mountain faction

In the 1630s, Khoja Muhammad Yusuf of the White Mountain faction (Aq Taghliq), another branch of the Naqshbandi order, arrived in Kashgar. He used Kashgar as a base to oppose the rule of the Black Mountain faction, plunging the Yarkand Khanate into conflict between the two groups.

In 1680, Afaq Khoja of the White Mountain faction led the army of Galdan of the Dzungar Khanate to capture Yarkand. Khoja Abdullah of the Black Mountain faction fled to India, and Yarkand fell into the hands of the White Mountain faction.

However, shortly after Afaq Khoja died in 1694, the White Mountain faction fell into internal strife. In 1697, Galdan was defeated by the Qing army and committed suicide. Afterward, the Dzungar Khanate could no longer control southern Xinjiang, and the exiled Black Mountain Khoja, Khoja Daniyal, returned to Yarkand.

3. The Black Mountain faction under the Dzungar Khanate

In 1713, the Dzungar Khanate, having regained its strength, marched south to attack Yarkand. Khoja Daniyal surrendered without a fight and was taken to Ili. Because he was relatively loyal to the Dzungar Khanate, Khoja Daniyal was appointed by them in 1720 as the ruler of the four cities: Yarkand, Kashgar, Aksu, and Hotan. After Khoja Daniyal died in 1730, he was buried in Altun Mazar.

After Khoja Daniyal's death, the Dzungar Khan Galdan Tseren divided power by giving Yarkand, Kashgar, Aksu, and Hotan to each of Khoja Daniyal's four sons. Khoja Chagan ruled Yarkand.

After Galdan Tseren died in 1745, the Dzungar Khanate fell into intense infighting. Khoja Yusuf, the Black Mountain leader ruling Kashgar, broke away from Dzungar rule in 1754 and unified the entire southern Xinjiang region.

4. The fall of the Black Mountain faction.

In 1755, the Qing dynasty captured Ili. The White Mountain Khoja brothers, who had been held in Ili by the Dzungar Khanate, surrendered to the Qing. The Qing sent the elder Khoja, Khoja Burhan-ud-din, to lead an army into southern Xinjiang. He occupied most of the region, leaving the Black Mountain faction with only the isolated city of Yarkand. After fierce fighting, betrayals, wavering loyalties, and massacres, Yarkand was finally captured. The entire Black Mountain Khoja family was killed, and the faction exited the stage of history.

Today's Altun Mazar is the site of the former mausoleum of the Black Mountain Khojas.











Lecture hall







Scripture recitation room













The historical records in this article are mainly compiled from three books: A Brief History of the Islamic Khanates in Xinjiang, An Outline of the History of the Yarkand Khanate, and A History of Islam in China's Xinjiang Region. Additionally, one may refer to Ancient City of Yarkand and Map of Ancient Architecture in Xinjiang.

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Muslim friendly China travel guide keeps the original 2021 Gaoyou, Yangzhou, and Zhenjiang trip notes intact for Part 1. It is useful for Muslim travel guide China 2026, halal food in China, Chinese Muslim food, and mosque-friendly routes in Jiangsu.

On the morning of April 4, 2021, I left Nanjing by high-speed train. I arrived in Gaoyou in one hour and took a bus directly to the Gaoyou Mosque. Gaoyou and Lingtang were two places I missed during my canal mosque tour in 2016-17. Five years later, I finally made up for it.

Gaoyou

Gaoyou Mosque is a very beautiful traditional mosque. It is small and delicate, with the charm of a water town. The founding date of the mosque is unknown, but there is a cypress tree in the courtyard that is over two hundred years old. In 1864 (the third year of the Tongzhi reign), local elders Ma Guixing, Liu Xingtian, and Ma Hongxing rebuilt the mosque. The current entrance has a stone carving that says it was rebuilt in the middle of winter in the second year of the Tongzhi reign.

It was a pity that the mosque gate was locked when we arrived. We asked at a nearby noodle shop, and they said it only opens for Jumu'ah prayers. It seems I will have to wait for another chance to visit inside.















I wandered around Gaoyou, visiting Mengcheng Post Station and the West Dike. The Grand Canal and Gaoyou Lake run side by side, making it truly feel like a water town.













Lingtang

At noon, I took a taxi from Gaoyou to Lingtang Hui Muslim Township. Lingtang is the only Hui Muslim township in Jiangsu, home to the four major surnames: Yang, Xue, Li, and Sha. One branch of the Yang family moved here from Suzhou at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and another branch moved from Suzhou during the Qing Dynasty. The Xue family moved here from Xuebeizhuang in Gaoyou during the Qing Dynasty, later converted to Islam, and for generations have mostly only married into the Yang family. The Sha surname is said to come from the Persian word "Shah," as they are descendants of Persian ancestors from the Huihuiwan area during the Yuan Dynasty.

At Huixianglou Restaurant, I ate salted goose (yan shui e), egg yolk stir-fried buckwheat slices (dan huang shao ku qiao pian), amaranth stir-fried with fava beans (xian cai chao can dou), and beef wing soup (niu chi tang), all of which are local specialties. The founder of Huixianglou, Yang Yangui, opened a halal restaurant on Lingtang Bridge Old Street in 1969. It moved to its current location in 2010 and specializes in Lingtang salted goose from Gaoyou Lake.



















At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, a mosque was built in "Huihuiwan" by the side of Gaoyou Lake in Lingtang, but it was later destroyed by a flood. In the mid-Ming Dynasty, the mosque moved to Yangdazhuang, then to its current site in the early Qing Dynasty. It was rebuilt in 1844 (the twenty-fourth year of the Daoguang reign), expanded again in 1921, and completed in 1924.















The golden osmanthus tree (jin gui shu) next to the kiln hall (yao dian) was planted when local elder Xue Yukuan and his wife, Mrs. Xue Yang, asked an imam to recite the Nikah. It has a history of over 130 years.

















The exhibition hall of the Yangzhou Lingtang Mosque displays a water kettle (tang ping hu) made and gifted by the Jizhaoying Mosque in Nanjing during the Qing Dynasty, a Republic-era water kettle, a copper Xuande incense burner (tong xuande lu), a blue and white porcelain incense burner, and the steamer (guo zheng zi) and bucket (diao tong) from the mosque's 1950s washroom. The steamer was used to boil hot water, and the bucket had a hole at the bottom; you could pull out the wooden plug to take a shower.

















The mosque is also the inheritance site for the Yangzhou intangible cultural heritage, "Hui Muslim Customs of Lingtang Hui Muslim Township."



Yangzhou

In the afternoon, I took a taxi from Lingtang to Yangzhou, visiting the Yangzhou Xianhe Mosque for the second time after four years.

Yangzhou's Xianhe Mosque is one of the four great ancient mosques in Southeast China, along with the Phoenix Mosque in Hangzhou, the Lion Mosque in Guangzhou, and the Qilin Mosque in Quanzhou. It was founded in 1275 (the 12th year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty) by the Western sage Puhading before he passed away. It was rebuilt in 1390 (the 23rd year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty) by Ha San, renovated in 1523 (the 3rd year of the Jiajing era) by the merchant Ma Zongdao and the imam Ha Ming, and repaired again in 1791 (the 56th year of the Qianlong era).

The gatehouse has a single-eave, ridge-roofed hard-mountain style, with some wooden parts dating back to the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty drum-shaped stone bases in front of the gate are very exquisite and rare among mosques in China.







The Xianhe Mosque layout uses small courtyards, unlike the four-sided courtyard (siheyuan) layout common in northern mosques. Xianhe Mosque divides the lecture hall, the main prayer hall, and the gate into three separate small courtyards. It also features a moon-viewing pavilion and a covered walkway outside the south gable of the main hall, giving the mosque a garden-like atmosphere.































Inside Xianhe Mosque stands a 745-year-old ginkgo tree, the oldest surviving ginkgo in Yangzhou.







From Xianhe Mosque, I went to the Puhading Tomb, but it was already locked after closing time, so I could not get in. Puhading is said to be a 16th-generation descendant of the Prophet. He came to Yangzhou during the Xianchun period of the Song Dynasty (1265–1274) and died in Yangzhou in 1275 (the 12th year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty). He was buried on a high ridge east of the East Gate River in the New City, a place later called Huihui Hall (commonly known as Baba Kiln). However, I had already explored the tomb carefully in 2016, so I did not feel it was a regret.













Behind the mihrab of the mosque at the Puhading Tomb.







Looking at the Puhading Tomb from the banks of the Grand Canal, watching the sunlight hit the bricks and feeling the breeze, I felt very relaxed.





The disappearance of local halal food in Yangzhou is a great pity. From the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, Yangzhou's halal food scene was once very popular. During the Republican era, there were over ten famous halal restaurants. Famous Peking opera actors Zhou Xinfang and Cheng Yanqiu would eat at the most famous halal restaurant at the time, Tianxing Restaurant, whenever they came to Yangzhou to perform.

During the Republic of China, Yangzhou also had over ten halal chicken and duck shops, over ten beef shops, more than thirty sesame flatbread (shaobing) shops, and two tea houses. The most famous chicken and duck shop was Linyuanxing, which later became the predecessor of Hongxing, the only halal restaurant left in Yangzhou. Linyuanxing was good at making oil-poached chicken and salted duck. At that time, it not only had multiple shops in Yangzhou but also had branches and stalls in Shanghai, Suzhou, and Zhenjiang.

Yangzhou's halal food industry declined sharply after 1949. When I visited in 2016, the only places serving local food were Tianxingzhai, which used the name of the old Tianxing Restaurant, Yixiangzhai next to the Puhading Tomb, and the old brand Hongxing. When I visited again in 2021, Tianxingzhai had become a small barbecue shop, Yixiangzhai had closed, Hongxing was under renovation with only a snack window, and the rest were just Lanzhou hand-pulled noodle (lamian) shops.

We bought vegetarian chicken and smoked fish at Hongxing. The preparation was similar to the style in Nanjing, and it was the only local Yangzhou halal food we could find during the 2021 Qingming Festival (I heard Hongxing is finished with renovations now, and inshaAllah I will have a chance to taste it again).







Zhenjiang

On the morning of April 5, I took the high-speed train from Yangzhou to Zhenjiang. I rode an e-bike to Yongan Road to eat beef vermicelli soup at Hualiji. The soup was slightly sweet and very refreshing.

The Hua family of Hui Muslims moved to Zhenjiang from Taierzhuang, Shandong, during the Taiping Rebellion. The Taiping Rebellion caused heavy damage to Zhenjiang, leading to a large population decrease and the arrival of many people from the north. This is one of the reasons why Zhenjiang eventually changed from a Wu-speaking area to a Jianghuai Mandarin-speaking area. Huali Ji is a family of halal butchers in Zhenjiang. They have been in business for six generations, starting from the Daoguang era. In 2002, they moved from the Zhenjiang mosque to their current location on Yongan Road.







Next, I went to the newly opened Yang Family Halal Restaurant (Yangjia Qingzhen Guan) next to Muyuan Restaurant. I had beef wontons, dried tofu strips (gansi), and pan-fried buns (jianbao). This place was opened in Zhenjiang by Hui Muslims from Heze, Shandong.







Then I went to Jianxiang Halal Food Store at the Jiangbin vegetable market to buy Zhenjiang specialties: egg crisps (jidan su), Jingjiang navel cakes (Jingjiang qi), and Jingguo powder (Jingguo fen). The owner, Ma Jian, was originally a worker at a Zhenjiang pastry factory. After being laid off in 1995, he started his own Jianxiang Halal Food Factory. In 2009, he opened this current shop next to the Jiangbin vegetable market. When I visited last winter, I bought some delicious cloud-slice cakes (yunpian gao), but they don't make them in the spring. Friends who want to try them can add the landlady on WeChat to have them shipped. 15262910548

Jingjiang navel cakes are a Zhenjiang specialty snack. Mr. Xia Rongguang described them in detail in his book, A Brief History of the Hui Economy in Modern Zhenjiang. Jingjiang navel cakes are commonly called 'vat navels' (gangqi) or 'navel-lets' (qier). Legend says they were originally octagonal, but they were changed to hexagonal during the Qing Dynasty to avoid the taboo of the 'Eight Banners'. Jingjiang navel cakes come in sweet and savory versions. The savory ones sell more because you can dip them in beef or chicken soup. In the past, Zhenjiang people often served Jingjiang navel cakes soaked in salted egg water to guests.

Making these cakes requires great skill and heat control. When shaping the hexagonal ones, the savory version must be rolled six and a half times, and the sweet version three and a half times. Missing even one roll affects the quality.

According to Fan Shoubao, a tea snack industry veteran born in the 1900s, he became an apprentice at the Wuyunzhai Halal Tea Shop in the 1910s at age fourteen. He made at least two bags of flour into nearly a thousand Jingjiang navel cakes every day. Back then, visitors to Zhenjiang or locals leaving town would often buy hundreds at a time.

















The Shanxiang Mosque in Zhenjiang is also called the West City Mosque or the West Great Mosque. Its founding date is unknown, but it was expanded during the Kangxi era. It was destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion in 1853 (the third year of the Xianfeng era) and rebuilt in 1873 (the twelfth year of the Tongzhi era). According to the History of Islam in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, the late Imam Tan Yuanshen, who lived to be over eighty, recalled hearing from his grandfather and elders in the community that before the Kangxi-era expansion, the West City Mosque was just three thatched huts. At that time, the area around the mosque was sparsely populated and vast; you could see the Zhenjiang city gate tower to the east and Yuntai Mountain to the west.

After Zhenjiang opened as a treaty port, the area outside the West Gate became a bustling commercial district. In 1865, the British established a concession by the river. With the opening of the Shanghai-Nanjing Railway, the area outside the West Gate developed further, and Hui Muslims kept arriving to trade and settle around the Shanxiang Mosque.

In 1902 (the 28th year of the Guangxu era), the Zhenjiang Hui community raised funds to expand the Shanxiang Mosque. The current layout of the mosque dates back to this renovation.

The Shanxiang Mosque consists of a small courtyard and a large courtyard. Entering the main gate, you find the first small courtyard. Passing through the front hall leads to the second small courtyard, with a side door and the second gate directly ahead. Passing through the second gate leads to the third small courtyard. Then, a corridor leads into the large courtyard, which is made up of the prayer hall, the south lecture hall, and the opposite hall. This layout of large and small courtyards is very characteristic of the Jianghuai region.

Main gate







The front hall was used as a classroom for Muyuan Primary School during the War of Resistance. The plaque above was written by Imam Hua Guilin in 1984, and the couplets were written by the famous Beijing Arabic calligrapher Li Wencai in 2010.







The stone door bases outside the front hall.



The rockery inside the second small courtyard.



The second gate.







Facing the side gate hall is a green screen door with the circular characters for "halal" (qingzhen) written in the center.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the mosque was smashed and then occupied, leaving only the side gate hall guarded by an elderly man named Ma Zhonglin. The occupying unit tried to force Ma Zhonglin out with various excuses, but he refused every time and spent ten difficult years there. During those ten years, all the Hui Muslims in Zhenjiang used this gate hall to store funeral supplies and to hold and prepare the deceased. At that time, only Ma Zhonglin washed the bodies of the deceased, led the namaz, and recited dua while burying them. He also slaughtered poultry for the elders in the side gate hall every morning.

In 1981, Ma Zhonglin passed away. Afterward, Tan Quanhong and Zhang Dagui took turns slaughtering poultry for the elders in the side gate hall every morning. That same year, the occupying unit began to move out, and the Shanxiang Mosque was finally recovered.







The third small courtyard outside the second gate.









The large courtyard. The courtyard has a cross-shaped path and is planted with pine and ginkgo trees. There were once two ginkgo trees over 200 years old in the courtyard, but they were cut down in 1958 to support the Great Leap Forward steel production.





Shanxiang Mosque was once an important national base for printing and publishing Islamic books. From the Qianlong to the Tongzhi periods of the Qing Dynasty, more than 20 types of philosophy and religious books, including the "Baoming Zhenjing," "Tianfang Dianli," "Guizhen Zongyi," and "Huihui Yuanlai," were woodblock printed in hundreds of editions and shipped across the country by land and water. To this day, the Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing, the Central University for Nationalities Library, and the Peking University Library all hold books printed by the Zhenjiang Shanxiang Mosque.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Shanxiang Mosque was severely damaged, and none of its scriptures, woodblocks, plaques, couplets, furniture, decorations, or other cultural relics survived.

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Muslim travel guide China 2026 update keeps the original Gaoyou, Yangzhou, and Zhenjiang trip notes intact for Part 2. It also helps readers looking for halal food in China, Chinese Muslim food, China Muslim travel tips, and mosque stops in Jiangsu canal towns.









In the main hall, there is a central calligraphy scroll hanging on the wall along with other calligraphy scrolls.













The traditional winding alleys.





The alley name comes from the Persian word Baba, which is what Hui Muslims often call Baba.



At noon, we ate pufferfish (hetun), mountain delicacy tofu pot (shanzhen doufu bao), and stir-fried shrimp with egg white (furong xiaren) at Muyuan Restaurant. Muyuan is the only local halal restaurant in Zhenjiang, and Hui Muslims always hold their gatherings and banquets here. Last time I came here, I ate Yangtze white fish (jiangbaiyu), which was very fresh and tender. Because of the ten-year fishing ban on the Yangtze River, the owner recommended pufferfish to us, saying that April is the best time for it. We had never eaten pufferfish before, but it was really delicious, and the fish soup was perfect with rice.

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Halal Food Guide keeps the original 2017 Xuzhou travel notes intact while making the English easier to read. It is useful for halal food in China, Chinese Muslim food, China Muslim travel tips, and mosque visits in Jiangsu.

On March 12, 2017, I went to Xuzhou to eat and explore.

The Xuzhou section of the Grand Canal.

In 1283 and 1289, Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty ordered the construction of the Jizhou River and the Huitong River. These connected the existing Sui and Tang Dynasty Grand Canal to the Si River, then linked it to the southern canal via the Yellow River. Xuzhou, located where the Yellow River flows into the Si River, became the central hub of the canal. After the Yuan Dynasty Grand Canal was finished, Xuzhou became a place for civilian boats to deliver grain and a transit point for government troops, making it increasingly busy and prosperous.

In 1855, the Yellow River burst its banks at Tongwaxian in Henan. The canal dikes in the Xuzhou section were washed away and the waterway dried up. By 1877, the Xuzhou section of the canal was completely silted over.



Jianguo Road Mosque.

In 1913, the Tianjin-Pukou Railway opened fully. In 1916, the Kaifeng-Xuzhou section of the Longhai Railway opened. As the intersection of the Tianjin-Pukou and Longhai railways, Xuzhou rose again as a transportation hub. According to the Jiangsu Provincial Gazetteer of Religion, in 1916, Hui Muslim merchant Lan Dengyun, railway worker Zhang Xuelou, and postal worker Yang Xianyun bought 1,500 square meters of wasteland on the west side of the old Yellow River bed south of Xuzhou city. They built a wall and three flat-roofed rooms, calling it the 'Traveler's Mosque in Xuzhou' (Lvxu Qingzhensi) for passing Muslims to perform namaz. In 1924, the Traveler's Mosque in Xuzhou was destroyed by a heavy rainstorm and was rebuilt in 1931.

In 1937, the famous Hui Muslim Peking Opera performer Ma Lianliang held a charity performance to raise funds for the mosque. The following year, leather merchants Ha Guanglu, Ma Yuqing, and others donated money to expand the mosque to 32 rooms. After 1949, Jianguo East Road was built in front of the mosque, and it was renamed Jianguo Road Mosque. After 1966, the mosque was occupied and 14 rooms in the back courtyard were demolished. It was restored and reopened in 1980. In 1997, the mosque was demolished again for road widening, then relocated and rebuilt into its current form.





Dakang Pastries.

Next to Jianguo Road Mosque, there is a deli and a pastry shop. At the pastry shop, I bought chestnut cakes (lizisu), peach cakes (taosu), sesame crisps (mapian'er), and honey-glazed horn-shaped pastries (jiaojiaomi).

















Taikang Hui Muslim Food Store.

Taikang Hui Muslim Food Store is a century-old halal shop in Xuzhou, founded in 1908. The owner was Bai Shaoxuan, a Hui Muslim from Jining, Shandong. It is most famous for making sesame crisps (mapian) and white sesame osmanthus sugar cakes (baima guihua su-tang). In May 1938, Taikang was destroyed by Japanese bombers. Owner Bai had to painfully switch to the beef and mutton business until he started selling pastries again after 1945.

At Taikang, I bought rose mung bean cakes (meigui lvdougao), honey-preserved sponge cakes (mizhi fenggao), egg rolls (danjuan), salted osmanthus sauce (xian guihua jiang), and rose sauce (meigui jiang).













Rose sauce (meigui jiang).



Osmanthus sauce (guihua jiang).





Honey-preserved sponge cake (mizhi fenggao).



Rose mung bean cake (meigui lvdougao).



Egg rolls (danjuan)

Feng Tianxing

Feng Tianxing is another long-standing halal shop in Xuzhou. Feng Shibo founded Feng Tianxing in Nanjing in 1757, the 22nd year of the Qianlong reign. It started by selling roasted chicken, then moved to Xuzhou and became a classic halal brand there. I bought duck tongue, duck liver, and dried tofu. Everything was delicious, especially the duck tongue, which was so fragrant.



I really like the design of this water pitcher (tangping) brand.

Reposted from the web

Summary: This China Mosque Travel Guide keeps the original 2016 Jining notes, places, and image order intact. It also helps readers researching Muslim travel guide China 2026, halal food in China, Chinese Muslim food, and Grand Canal mosque heritage.

On December 10, 2016, I went to Jining to eat and explore. This article uses information from the books "A Brief History of the Hui Muslims in Jining" and "A Sequel to the History of the Hui Muslims in Jining."

In 1292 (the 29th year of the Zhiyuan era), the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal opened completely. The Yuan Dynasty sent 12,000 soldiers to the Jining section to guard the canal and farm the land. At least 2,000 of these soldiers were Hui Muslim officers and troops. These Hui Muslim soldiers brought their families and settled down. At that time, there were already two mosques in Jining city, the Old East Mosque and the Old West Mosque.

When the Yuan Dynasty fell in 1368, the canal soldiers in Jining surrendered to Xu Da and Chang Yuchun. Most of them were settled where they were, and some of these Hui Muslim soldiers began to live together along the banks of the Yuehe River in the south of Jining city. After the wars of the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the Shandong section of the canal became blocked and unusable. It was not until 1411 (the 9th year of the Yongle era) that the Huitong River was reopened. The canal banks in Jining became orderly, and the business district began to thrive. The Hui Muslims living in the southern gate area built a new East Mosque, which is the current Shunhe East Mosque.

In 1622 (the 2nd year of the Tianqi era), an outer city was built in the south of the old Jining city, known as the "City Perimeter Corridor" or "Circle Dike." The areas where Hui Muslims lived—such as the Big and Small Zhakou, Liuhang, Zhongxin Gate, and the north and south banks of the Yuehe River—were all near this outer city. This formed the 53 streets and alleys where Hui Muslims lived before the old city was renovated. Among these 53 streets, the Hui Muslim population was most concentrated in Liuhang outside the Small South Gate, where they made up over 80 percent of the residents.

By 1953, Jining had seven mosques for men and two for women, known collectively as the Nine Mosques. The West Great Mosque, Liuhang East Mosque, Yuehe South Bank North Mosque, and Yangjiayuan Mosque belonged to the traditional Gedimu school. The East Great Mosque, Yuehe South Bank South Mosque, and Liuhang West Mosque belonged to the Yihewani school.





On Saturday morning, I went to the old Yang Xinghai shop at the Small South Gate for some mutton porridge (san tang), then went to the century-old shop Ma Daxing to buy chestnut-shaped pastries (fo shou) and date cakes (zao bing). Jining's mutton porridge is made by pouring hot, thick bone broth over eggs, then eating it with mutton and flatbread. It is so comforting to eat in winter. The date flavor in the Ma Daxing date cakes is very authentic. The chestnut-shaped pastries are so good that you want more after the first bite, so I bought several boxes before I left.











The Ma Daxing food shop posted a "Brief History of Ma Daxing Food Shop" written by Ma Biao. I have organized and copied it below:

Ma Daxing is a century-old food shop in Jining, originally named "Ma's Shop." The family's ancestral home was a prominent Ma family in the Shuiximen area of Nanjing. In the early Ming Dynasty, our ancestors traveled by boat along the ancient Grand Canal and drifted to Jining. They stayed at the Xiazhakou lower river west wharf and settled at the east end of the north side of Yueheya Road.

Later, my great-great-grandfather Ma Fuqi, courtesy name Huatang (July 28, 1843 – May 21, 1927), opened "Ma's Shop" on the south side of Yuehe North Road, west of Xiangling Pavilion, to sell general goods. It developed quite well.

Then, my great-grandfather Ma Luzeng (born 1870) and his younger brother Ma Yizeng used this as a foundation to carefully develop Shandong and Jiangsu style pastries. Over more than ten years, they created a book of over 10,000 words called "Ma's Preserved Fruits," learning the best techniques from both the north and south to create a wide variety of products.

Because the canal was a central hub and a key waterway for gathering and exchanging goods from the north and south, the shop's business grew daily. In 1910, the sign "Ma Daxing Fruit Shop" was put up.

My grandfather Ma Shijun, courtesy name Yangzhou, born on April 28, 1900, inherited and expanded the business in the 1920s. Until the public-private partnership on January 12, 1956, my father Ma Zhenshan was appointed by his superiors as the "Manager of the State-run Ma Daxing Food Factory and Director of the Retail Department," and Ma Zhenhai served as the pastry chef, inheriting and teaching the pastry-making skills.

The pastry business was interrupted in 1968. In 1986, Ma Yong reopened the shop at 15 Laiheguan North Street, inheriting his father's business and continuing to expand Ma Daxing Food.

Our business grew, so we moved to the Xuzhuang grain station in 1989, the breeding farm in 1992, and the Yudai shopping mall in 1997. On June 8, 2003, we opened the new Ma Daxing food shop at Xiaonanmen.

Note: The Ma Daxing shop name was written by a friend of my grandfather, Ma Xingchi. Ma Xingchi was a battlefield reporter who followed Sun Yat-sen and served as the editor-in-chief of the Shenzhou Newspaper.













After breakfast, I walked through the old 53 streets and alleys of the Hui Muslims. Even though new residential areas have been built, there are still many halal restaurants, so I made a mental note to try them tomorrow.

Jining Shunhe East Mosque

I walked through the Hui Muslim district and arrived at the Jining Shunhe East Mosque by the canal. The East Mosque was built around 1420 during the late Ming Dynasty Yongle period. It was renovated in 1459 (the third year of Tianshun), expanded during the Kangxi period, and renovated again during the Qianlong period, eventually reaching its current size.

As Professor Liu Zhiping said, the rear archway, the Moon-Watching Tower (Wangyuelou), the rear hall, and the main hall of the East Mosque create a grand and towering atmosphere with their overlapping structures. Therefore, the artistic style of all its architecture represents the spirit and boldness of the Qianlong era.







The mosque's original Call to Prayer Tower (Bangkelou), built during the Ming Dynasty Chenghua period and renovated during the Kangxi period, was destroyed along with the main gate and archway in 1968. A new Call to Prayer Pavilion (Bangleting) was built in 1999.































On the martial arts practice ground north of the main hall, I met a group of older men practicing their moves.



Single saber against flower spear



Double sabers





The most famous Hui Muslim martial art in Jining is Rencheng Chaquan. Because the most complete set of Chaquan routines is held by the family of Li Enju, a Hui Muslim from Jining, it is also called Li-style Chaquan.

Chaquan is based on the spring-leg (tantui) technique. There are ten routes of spring-leg and ten routes of boxing, with each boxing route incorporating spring-leg techniques. With running, walking, flying, and striking, the ten routes can expand into over fifty.

The names of the ten routes of Jining Li-style Chaquan:

First route: Charging tip like a whip

Second route: Cross-shaped rush to the toe

Third route: Covering style for night travel

Fourth route: Supporting and stepping to block the path

Fifth route: Single spread

Sixth route: Double spread

Seventh route: Re-engaging to strike in a crisis

Eighth Road Turning Ring (balu zhuanhuan).

Ninth Road Holding Lock (jiulu pengsuo).

Tenth Road Somersault Kick (shilu jiandan).

Li Enju was born in Nanguan, Jining, in 1857. As a young man, he was an officer in the Hebiaoying battalion. He later spent fifteen years traveling to improve his martial arts. In middle age, he returned to Jining to open the Jinyuan Hui Yongshun Escort Agency. In his later years, he went to Shanghai to teach at the Shanghai Jingwu Association founded by Huo Yuanjia. He eventually returned to Jining to teach Chaquan boxing until he passed away from illness in 1932 at the age of 75.





There are some cute little clay figurines inside the East Great Mosque (Dongdasi) in Jining.



Funeral procession team (taimaidui).





Namaz (namazi).





Some cultural relics.



A large Ming Dynasty blue and white incense burner that the East Great Mosque has kept for generations.







I knew about Jining before, mostly because of Chang Zhimei, the founder of the Shandong School.

Chang Zhimei, whose courtesy name was Yunhua, was known as Chang Xianxue or Chang Baba. He was born in Jining in 1610. In 1634 (the seventh year of the Chongzhen reign), 24-year-old Chang Baba returned to Jining after completing his studies elsewhere and began teaching in a courtyard next to the East Great Mosque. Because his views on religious doctrine differed from those of the East Great Mosque, Chang Baba led the construction of the West Great Mosque (Xidasi) two years later, where he continued to teach and eventually founded the Shandong School.

The Shandong School values Persian-language religious law and Sufi philosophy. It uses the 13 classic texts popular in the north as its basic curriculum, with a large portion being Persian classics.

The Chang Zhimei Memorial Hall at the East Great Mosque in Jining holds many relics from the Jining West Great Mosque that Chang Baba established. It is a great pity that the Jining West Great Mosque, which had a massive 30-meter-high ridge-style main hall, was completely demolished in 1968. Otherwise, having both the eastern and western mosques standing would have been spectacular.







Handwritten by Chang Baba: The mosque is the House of Allah, and the Muslims who come to the mosque can receive the love of Allah.

The stone tablet was originally embedded above the archway of the gate of the Jining West Great Mosque and was destroyed along with the mosque in 1968. It was rediscovered a few years ago, and the missing middle section was rewritten by Imam Chen Yudong.











Liuhang East Mosque.

Besides the East Great Mosque, Jining also has an ancient Ming Dynasty mosque called the Liuhang East Mosque. The Liuhang East Mosque was built during the Wanli reign, expanded during the Kangxi reign, and reopened in 1989. When we visited, it was completely empty. Only a cat led us around to see everything, which felt like a strange and wonderful encounter. After taking us for a tour, the cat returned to the courtyard gate and watched us leave. It felt like being in a Hayao Miyazaki animation.





The stone tablet inscribed with 'Jiao Ze Kong Chang' was erected in 1940. After the Japanese army occupied Jining in January 1938, Imam Liu Hanguang risked his life to set up a refugee shelter inside the mosque. He took in many Hui and Han people, and this stone tablet was erected by the Hui and Han community to thank Imam Liu.







Exquisite Shandong-style calligraphy.









Other ancient mosques in Jining that no longer exist are recorded here to remember history:

Liuhang West Mosque was built during the Wanli period. The mosque was destroyed in 1960, the main hall was torn down in 1979, and the only remaining 400-year-old Chinese honey locust tree (zaojia) was cut down at the end of 2002.

Yuehe Nanya North Mosque was built before 1749 (the 14th year of the Qianlong reign). It underwent its last major expansion and renovation in March 1939. Activities stopped in January 1958 after the anti-rightist rectification movement, and the site was occupied by the Xinhua Leather Factory. The Xinhua Leather Factory returned the site in 1984. It was converted into a women's mosque in 1989, and the main hall, scripture hall, and water room were renovated in 1995. It was demolished in late January 2001 due to urban renewal and rebuilt as an Arabic-style women's mosque in October 2002.

Laiheguan North Street South Mosque was built during the Yongzheng period (1730) and was destroyed in 1960.

Fangjia Courtyard Women's Mosque was built in 1944 and destroyed in 1960.

Yuehe Nanya Women's Mosque was built in 1944 and destroyed in 1958 during the '58 Religious Reform'.

I had grass carp with pan-wiped flatbread (moguobing) at Xiaonanmen on Saturday night. Jining has plenty of freshwater fish because it is near Weishan Lake. A pot of fish costs 50 yuan, and the portion is huge! You can compare it to the bowl and chopsticks on the right. The fish is very fresh, and the glass noodles (fensi) taste especially good! I especially recommend the braised gluten (huimianjin), which is perfect with rice.







I had mixed offal soup (zagetang) at Xiaonanmen on Sunday morning. It is a bowl of lamb and tripe soup. I slurped down a big bowl and finished by spreading chopped chili peppers inside a flatbread. It was so comfortable, and I didn't feel hungry until the afternoon.











On Sunday afternoon, I had Zhan Family chicken soup wontons on Nanchayuan Street. The auntie wrapped the wontons very quickly, and she even added an egg on top. It was warm and very nourishing. Then I went to the famous Xiaoquan Roasted Chicken shop on Xidasi Street to buy roasted chicken and chicken liver. The roasted chicken is wrapped in lotus leaves. It falls off the bone with a slight tug and is very fragrant.













The Jining section of the Grand Canal.

Jining has both a new and an old canal. The Old Canal is also called the South Canal, the Grain Transport River, or the Cao River. It was once the ancient Jizhou River and Huitong River. Today, it is just a waterway inside Jining city and is no longer used for shipping. The New Canal, also known as the Liangji Canal or the Grand Canal, is a waterway dug in the 1950s to handle canal shipping.

Before the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was officially connected in the Yuan Dynasty, the Old Canal was split into two sections, north and south. North of Jining is the Jizhou River, which was built in 1283 (the 20th year of the Zhiyuan reign) by order of Kublai Khan, the Emperor Shizu of Yuan. South of Jining is the old path of the Si River. In 1289 (the 26th year of the Zhiyuan reign), the Huitong River north of the Jizhou River was finished. This completed the entire Shandong section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal during the Yuan Dynasty.

In 1855 (the 5th year of the Xianfeng reign), the Yellow River burst its banks at Tongwaxiang in Lankao, Henan. This cut off the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and the Old Canal began to decline. Finally, in 1901 (the 27th year of the Guangxu reign), the grain tribute system was replaced by silver payments, and official canal transport ended completely. The Old Canal changed from an official shipping route to a local transport route.

The Old Canal flows through Jining city. The entrance to the Shunhe East Mosque (Shunhe Dong Dasi) in Jining sits right by the Old Canal waterway.



From the late 1950s to the early 1960s, the Liangji Canal was built. The North Four Lakes of Jining and the low-lying land on both sides of the Old Canal were drained and turned into farmland. Most of the Old Canal was abandoned, and the Liangji Canal became the new navigable section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which it remains today.

Jining Port on the Liangji Canal in winter

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Muslim friendly China travel article keeps the original 2016 Dezhou notes intact while improving the English flow. It is useful for readers researching halal food in China, Chinese Muslim food, Muslim tourist in China experience, and old mosque heritage in Shandong.

On December 17, 2016, I left Beijing South Railway Station on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed train. I arrived in Dezhou in one hour and twenty minutes and started my one-day trip there.

The first thing I wanted to see in Dezhou was the Tomb of the Sultan of Sulu. The information in this article about the Tomb of the Sultan of Sulu and Beiying Village comes partly from the books The Sultan of Sulu and His Descendants and The Sultan of Sulu in China.



Sulu Kingdom

The Sulu Archipelago is in the far southwest of the Philippines, right next to the easternmost part of Malaysia.

The Moro people live on the Sulu Archipelago. The term Moro has been used by Spaniards to describe Muslims since the 15th century. Before the 15th century, when Spain reconquered Andalusia, they called the Muslims there Moros.

In the Middle Ages, as maritime trade grew in the Indian Ocean, the faith spread along the Maritime Silk Road into Southeast Asia. Between the 14th and 16th centuries, the faith centered in Malacca, passed through Sumatra and Java, went north through Borneo, and reached the Sulu Archipelago in the southwest Philippines.

Around 1380, the famous Arab judge and religious scholar Makhdum Karim arrived at Simunul Island in the far southwest of the Sulu Archipelago with an Arab caravan and built the first mosque in the Philippines there. On November 7, 1407, Sharif ul-Hashim, a descendant of the Prophet born in Johor, Malaysia, led an army to occupy the Sulu Archipelago. He married a local princess and established the Sulu Kingdom.

Between 1405 (the third year of the Yongle reign) and 1417 (the fifteenth year of the Yongle reign), the Ming Emperor Chengzu, Zhu Di, sent Zheng He to visit the countries of the Philippine archipelago three times. In 1417, the chiefs of the Eastern and Western Sulu Kingdoms and the wife of the chief of the Dong Kingdom led a delegation of over 340 people to visit the Ming Dynasty. In July, they arrived at Quanzhou Port. They then traveled north along the coastline, entered the Yangtze River at Wusongkou, and reached Longjiang Station in Yingtian Prefecture (Nanjing). After resting at Longjiang Station, the Sulu delegation traveled north along the Grand Canal and reached Beijing in mid-August. Ming Emperor Chengzu, Zhu Di, held a grand meeting in the Fengtian Hall (later renamed the Hall of Supreme Harmony). He named the two chiefs the Eastern King and the Western King, and the wife of the Dong Kingdom chief the Dong Queen, with the Eastern King Paduka Batara as the most honored.

In September, the three rulers started their journey home, and Emperor Chengzu sent a special envoy to escort them. The delegation traveled south along the canal. When they passed Anling, north of Dezhou, the Eastern King suddenly fell ill and sadly passed away on September 13. When the news reached Beijing, Emperor Chengzu sent a minister from the Ministry of Rites to bury the Eastern King of Sulu with royal honors. The Tomb of the Eastern King of Sulu was built north of Dezhou city and finished in October 1418 (the sixteenth year of the Yongle reign).

The completed tomb faces south. From south to north, it includes a memorial archway (paifang), an imperial stele pavilion, ornamental columns (huabiao), stone statues, a ceremonial gate, the Ling'en Gate (hall gate), the Ling'en Hall (main hall), and the burial mound.



Today, the tomb still has its ornamental columns and five pairs of stone statues. In the autumn of 1917, the canal burst, causing great damage to the tomb. The stone statues were knocked over, and some were washed into the fields. The statues were not straightened and aligned until 1965, but they were pushed over again by the Red Guards in 1966. Luckily, Ma Jingui, a militia leader who had just retired from the army, led the village's young people to stand their ground in front of the tomb and the mosque. He made the Red Guards go to the Dezhou Municipal Committee to get a permit to destroy the Four Olds, which saved the tomb and the mosque.

The Tomb of the Sultan of Sulu in the early 1980s, from Selected Cultural Relics of Zheng He's Voyages.





The Tomb of the Sultan of Sulu in the early 1980s, from Selected Cultural Relics of Zheng He's Voyages.

















The inscription of the imperial decree issued by the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty in 1418 to build a shrine in front of the Tomb of the Eastern King.







The main burial mound of the Eastern King's tomb.



The Tomb of the Sultan of Sulu in the early 1980s, from Selected Cultural Relics of Zheng He's Voyages.



The original tombstone is now kept in the exhibition hall of the west side hall.



Descendants of the Sultan of Sulu settle in Dezhou.

After the Eastern King of Sulu passed away, the Ming Dynasty arranged for his eldest son, Dumahan, to return home to inherit the throne. His second son Andulu, third son Wenhala, his wife Gemuning, and ten servants stayed behind to guard the tomb. This began the life of the Eastern King's descendants as residents in China.

The Ming Dynasty granted the descendants 238 mu of sacrificial land, exempting them from all land taxes. Each person received a monthly stipend of one shi of grain. The government also assigned three Hui Muslim families—the Xia, Ma, and Chen families from Licheng, Shandong—to farm the land and manage the annual memorial services, exempting them from all labor duties.

Later, the descendants of Andulu and Wenhala married into the Xia, Ma, and Chen families. Their descendants took the surnames An and Wen, gradually forming Beiying Village in Dezhou, which consists of the five families of An, Wen, Xia, Ma, and Chen next to the Sultan of Sulu's tomb.

After Andulu, Wenhala, and the wife Gemuning passed away, they were buried to the southeast of the Eastern King.



The Tomb of the Sultan of Sulu in the early 1980s, from Selected Cultural Relics of Zheng He's Voyages.



Andulu was actually the second son, but because the Wen family later produced a prefect named Wen Xianyu, oral tradition gradually shifted the Wen family to be the second son and the An family to be the third.



Division Commander An Shude.

Among the descendants of the An family, the most famous in modern times is Division Commander An Shude. An Shude was the 15th-generation grandson of the Sultan of Sulu. He began following Feng Yuxiang in 1913 and led his troops into the Forbidden City to help expel Puyi during the 1924 Beijing Coup.

In 1928, An Shude was promoted to commander of the 18th Division and served as the garrison commander of Longdong. After the uprising of the young commander Ma Zhongying, An Shude served as the commander-in-chief for the suppression of Ma Zhongying in Qinghai and captured Xining.

After moving into Xining, An Shude placed great importance on Hui Muslim education. He served as the president of the Qinghai Hui Muslim Education Promotion Association and opened the first primary school for Hui Muslim girls in Qinghai.

After the Central Plains War in 1930, An Shude retired from military life to start businesses and renovate the Sultan of Sulu's tomb and the mosque. He passed away in 1950.







On December 3, 1995, the descendant of the eldest son Dumahan and heir to the Sultanate of Sulu, Ismael Kiram, visited the tomb. This was the first meeting between the descendants of the eldest son and the descendants of the second and third sons in hundreds of years.





Beiying Village.

During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the descendants of the Sultan of Sulu built a mosque southwest of the tomb. The Ming Dynasty issued an imperial decree to select one religious leader from the Wen and An families to inherit the lineage and manage the Hui Muslim community. In 1917, the canal burst, and the mosque and the entire Beiying Village were washed away. It was not rebuilt until 1940, which is the building we see today. According to the old imam, the pavilions at the four corners of the mosque were actually used as watchtowers.

After the 1960s, a factory took over the mosque. It was not until June 1980, when the Philippine ambassador to China visited the Tomb of the Sultan of Sulu, that the factory was moved out and the main hall was repaired.













The descendants of the Sultan of Sulu were still considered foreign residents during the Ming Dynasty and the early Qing Dynasty, as they lived under the protection of the Sultan and received imperial favors throughout both dynasties. In 1730, the eighth year of the Yongzheng reign, the Sultan of Sulu, Sultan Badaruddin, who was a descendant of the Sultan of Sulu's eldest son, Dumatuh, paid a visit. He first went to the Tomb of the Sultan of Sulu in Dezhou to pay his respects and met the Sultan's descendants, An Ruqi and Wen Chongkai, who asked him to help them become Chinese citizens. Sultan Badaruddin also felt that since they were separated by vast oceans, it would be difficult for them to return, so he petitioned the imperial court to allow them to join China.

In 1731, the ninth year of the Yongzheng reign, the Qing government agreed to let the descendants of the Sultan of Sulu become citizens of Dezhou and officially assigned them the surnames Wen and An. As a result, 193 people, including An Ruqi and Wen Chongkai, were registered as commoners and finally became Chinese citizens.

After becoming citizens, the descendants of the Sultan of Sulu began opening halal snack shops in busy areas of Dezhou like Beichang Street, Shuncheng Street, Xiguan, Qiaokou Street, Xuanhuajiao, and the Rice Market. They usually rented a whole or half storefront, built a stove, and the husband and wife or father and son would make pan-fried flatbread (guobing), sesame flatbread (shaobing), roasted beef, and roasted lamb. They hung a wooden sign with a soup pot symbol in front of the shop, with Arabic script written horizontally and the Chinese characters for Western Regions Hui Muslims and Halal Faith written on it. Today, in the southwest of Beiying Village, there is a braised chicken (paji) shop run by descendants of the An family. We bought braised chicken, chicken gizzards, and chicken livers, and they were especially delicious.









Before the Republic of China era, the life of the villagers in Beiying Village was quite simple: they received regular imperial grants, farmed the sacrificial land, and visited the tomb. Because they were exempt from taxes and labor service, the villagers of Beiying Village lived a peaceful and quiet life like a paradise.

In the first year of the Republic of China, the Tomb of the Sultan of Sulu held its last official memorial ceremony. According to the elders, the magistrate of De County arrived that year in a large sedan chair carried by four men, accompanied by flags, umbrellas, fans, gongs, and long horns. The procession walked in order to the Tomb of the Sultan of Sulu, where they set up a temporary shed and an altar table, with dozens of soldiers guarding the area.

After this, the government took back the 2 qing and 38 mu of sacrificial land and stopped the regular grants, ending the paradise-like life of Beiying Village.

Soon after, Dezhou suffered from the 1917 canal flood. The entire Beiying Village was severely damaged, leaving only nine houses standing. Many villagers survived only because they climbed onto the dome of the Tomb of the Sultan of Sulu to avoid being swept away by the water. After that, the villagers of Beiying Village began to move away one after another, and many girls married Hui Muslims from neighboring counties.

In 1955, the De County government bought the houses of the Beiying villagers at a set price under the name of ethnic minorities returning to their ancestral homes and forced them to move to the rural areas in the suburbs of Xining, Qinghai. The villagers of Beiying packed their bags and left their homes with their families. At that time, the train only went as far as Lanzhou, so they traveled in batches by car, horse-drawn carriage, and on foot to meet in Xining, where they were assigned to work in a commune in the eastern suburbs of Xining.

After the Beiying villagers arrived in Qinghai, some elders passed away because they could not adapt to the local environment. Most people were not used to life in the Northwest and returned to Dezhou one after another within two or three years.

Lamb soup (yangtang) of Beiying Village

Next to the Tomb of the Sultan of Sulu, a new North Camp Ethnic Style Street (Beiying Minzu Fengqing Jie) has been built. It features beef and lamb shops run by the descendants of the Wen family, as well as a whole lamb soup (quanyangtang) shop owned by the Li family. Their lamb soup tastes amazing, though it comes with a lot of green onions and onions. It wasn't until we visited the farmers' market on the site of the old Dezhou Canal cargo yard that we understood why the soup had so many green onions and onions (piyazi). Shandong really has a lot of green onions!





The shop introduction says the owner's uncle, Li Qingyun, was once the manager of the Dezhou Third Restaurant and studied the preparation of whole lamb soup in depth.





Qiaokou Street

Qiaokou Street was the busiest canal market in Dezhou during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Next to it is Xiaoguoshi, another village for Hui Muslims in Dezhou besides Beiying Village. Xiaoguoshi was where pots were unloaded at the canal docks back in the day. From the charity (nietie) notices at the mosque entrance, you can see that descendants of the Sultan of Sulu with the surname An live here, along with the Man and Wan surnames common among Dezhou Hui Muslims.















Nanying Street

Besides the North Camp Hui Muslim village in the north of Dezhou, there is also a South Camp Hui Muslim street in the south. We visited the Dezhou Nanying Mosque before dark. The Nanying Street Mosque was built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, but unfortunately, it was rebuilt as a concrete structure in 2006.













In the evening, we ate braised goose and fish-flavored eggplant at Guixianglou in Dezhou. Shandong food portions are huge! The goose was really big! The outside of the eggplant was crispy, with a texture a bit like french fries covered in sauce.









Dezhou Section of the Grand Canal

The Dezhou section of the Grand Canal began in 608 (the fourth year of the Daye era of the Sui Dynasty) when Emperor Yang of Sui opened the Yongji Canal. During the Jin Dynasty, the Lingcang granaries were built in Dezhou, making the city an important hub for grain transport storage. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Shandong section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was fully opened, and the volume of grain transport through Dezhou increased year by year. The Dezhou section of the canal in the Qing Dynasty followed the Ming Dynasty model, with comprehensive renovations carried out during the reigns of Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong. Finally, in 1901 (the 27th year of the Guangxu era), the official grain transport system was completely abolished as taxes were converted to silver payments. The imperial court dissolved all canal management agencies and divided the canal's jurisdiction among the provinces.

After the Republic of China was established, the Dezhou section of the canal fell into disrepair. The riverbed gradually silted up and frequently breached its banks until navigation was restored following a project to manage the northern section of the Shandong Canal in 1934. In 1940, the Dezhou-Shijiazhuang Railway opened. Coal from Shanxi was transported east by rail directly to the Dezhou docks for unloading, and the Dezhou section of the canal became busy again.

The Dezhou Power Plant engine room by the canal was built in 1938. It was originally the De County Electric Light Plant, which began operations in July 1938. It shut down during the day and generated power at night, mainly providing electricity for the Japanese barracks and some shops in front of the train station.

In early 1949, the Dezhou City Power Company built a power plant based on the De County Electric Light Plant, which officially began generating power in January 1950. This was also the first thermal power generator in Dezhou. Later, the Dezhou Power Plant renovated and expanded its facilities in 1953 and 1956. After a new thermal power plant was built in 1959, the old power plant gradually stopped operating, but it has kept its 1950s appearance to this day.



After 1949, the Dezhou Port built tracks connecting the Jinpu and Deshi railways, and the canal entered its peak period. The Dezhou Shipping Bureau was established in 1958, and it reached its peak in 1960 with 5,409 employees.

After 1962, several reservoirs were built on the upper reaches of the Zhanghe and Weihe rivers, which were the main water sources for the Dezhou section of the canal. After the Yuecheng Reservoir was completed in 1965, the Zhanghe water was completely blocked, causing the water level in the Shandong section of the canal to drop significantly. This became a turning point for the Dezhou canal port. By 1979, the Dezhou section of the canal finally stopped shipping due to a lack of water. The Dezhou Shipping Bureau was dissolved, and canal shipping in Dezhou became history.

In 1956, the Dezhou canal port began to replace its traditional slope-style docks with wall-style docks. Seven permanent docks were built in 1958, followed by five more loading and unloading docks. These included three reinforced concrete frame docks and two wooden trestle docks, providing 16 berths. By 1960, there were 43 pieces of loading and unloading machinery, creating a mechanized port.

Today, the old canal docks are still preserved and serve as waterfront platforms.



Before 1956, the companies at Dezhou Port from south to north were the Grain Company, the Coal Construction Company, the Shipping Company, and the Cotton and Textile Company, with the Coal Construction Company at the northernmost end. A bit further from the port were the Oil and Fat Company, the Timber Company, the Commercial Storage and Transport Company, and the Department Store. These companies formed a storage cluster at Dezhou Port, and many guard towers were built to protect the warehouses. After the Dezhou Port Management Station was set up in 1956, the area to the south containing the Grain and Coal Construction companies was incorporated into the Dezhou port area. The Cotton and Textile Company remained because it had an advanced cotton baling plant.

Dezhou storage in the 1950s:







The guard tower built by the Cotton and Textile Company in the 1950s not only served as a security post but also marked the boundary between the company and Dezhou Port.



The Dezhou Port of that time connected directly to the Jinpu Railway, allowing canal cargo to be transferred straight to the trains. The building below is the former train station dedicated to Dezhou Port.



This is the remains of the Dezhou Port freight yard.



Around 1963, a dispatch tower was built on the canal bank, and loudspeakers were installed on top. The duty dispatcher would stand in a small glass room on the roof and direct ships through a microphone, while the chief dispatcher and planners coordinated from below. This was a symbol of how busy the Dezhou section of the Grand Canal used to be.



Dezhou's Jiulongwan Park is a rare industrial heritage park. It was originally the first water plant in Dezhou, built in the 1920s. Between 1925 and 1928, while Zhang Zongchang was governor of Shandong, tens of thousands of Fengtian Army troops were stationed in Dezhou to prepare for the Zhili-Fengtian War. To provide drinking water for the troops, Zhang Zongchang built the earliest water supply facility at Jiulongwan by the canal, using the Grand Canal as the water source. Due to military security needs, the water plant was heavily guarded by troops and was known at the time as the Water Camp.

In 1953, the Dezhou State-Owned Water Company opened its first water plant on the site of the old Water Camp (Shuiying). It continued to draw water from the Grand Canal, finally bringing the tap water that many local factories and residents had long dreamed of. After the Dezhou section of the Grand Canal dried up in 1966, the water plant gradually shut down. It is now an industrial heritage park where you can see exactly how tap water was produced 60 years ago.





Raw water from the canal was first pre-settled before entering the water-jet clarifier. Workers added water treatment agents to create flocculated water, then used mechanical force to speed up the reaction.



The water then flowed into filter tanks. Granular materials like quartz sand trapped particles to remove suspended impurities, organic matter, bacteria, and germs before the filtered water was disinfected.





The finished water flowed into a clear water reservoir, where a pump station pressurized it into the supply network to serve the city.





The 1960 diesel engine stands as the final witness to the Dezhou section of the canal.