Reposted from the web

Summary: Beijing Muslim Heritage Walk 2021 is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: The Beijing-Fengtian Railway signal station and a small preserved section of track. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Walks, Muslim Heritage, Beijing Mosques while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.



The Beijing-Fengtian Railway signal station and a small preserved section of track. This signal station was designed and built in 1901 by British railway engineer Claude W. Kinder, just like the Qianmen Railway Station. The Beijing-Fengtian Railway opened fully in 1912, and this small section of track was discovered in 2002 during the construction of the Beijing Ming City Wall Ruins Park.





Then I went to the Wen Tianxiang Shrine. After his resistance against the Yuan dynasty failed in 1279, Wen Tianxiang was imprisoned in the Bingmasi jail in Dadu, and he was executed in 1282 at Chaishi, which is now Jiaodaokou. In 1376, the Ming Dynasty built the Wen Tianxiang Shrine on the former site of the Bingmasi prison.







Next to the Wen Tianxiang Shrine is my alma mater, Fuxue Hutong Primary School. During the Yuan Dynasty, this site was the Bao'en Mosque. It became the Daxing County School in 1368, was renamed Shuntian Prefecture School in 1403, and became the modern primary school Shuntian Prefecture Higher Primary School in 1903.

The picture below shows the classroom where I went to school. The ground floor is very high, and there are three more floors underground.



School gate



The Lingxing Gate (lingxingmen) that we sketched in our art class



The Dacheng Gate (Dachengmen), Dacheng Hall (Dachengdian), and Pan Pool (Panchi) where we used to run and play.



In the afternoon, we went to the Former Residence of Soong Ching-ling. During the Kangxi reign, this place was the garden of Mingzhu's mansion and the home of the poet Nalan Xingde. It became a villa for Heshen during the Qianlong reign, the garden of Prince Cheng's mansion during the Jiaqing reign, later the garden of the Prince Chun mansion belonging to the father of the Guangxu Emperor, and finally the garden of the Prince Regent's mansion belonging to the father of Puyi.







The surface of Houhai Lake after leaving the Former Residence of Soong Ching-ling.





We strolled along Shichahai and the Yu River to Dongbuyaqiao Bridge. This is the site of the Chengqing Middle Sluice of the Grand Canal from the Yuan Dynasty, built by the Yuan Dynasty water conservancy expert Guo Shoujing.



I went to the Duo Zhuayu bookstore in the evening and bought a very interesting book for 3 yuan called In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale, which is about a trip to 12th-century Egypt. I read a hundred pages in one sitting. The author is an Indian anthropology PhD who graduated from Oxford University. He learned about the story of a 12th-century Arab Jewish merchant and his Indian slave from some documents, so he went to Egypt in the 1980s to conduct research himself. The book mentions that a synagogue in Cairo had a manuscript storage room comparable to the Dunhuang library cave. In the 19th century, the British took hundreds of thousands of precious Jewish documents from it, including Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible that had never been discovered before. It also talks about the author's life while doing fieldwork in Cairo in the 1980s, and some of the descriptions, like those during Ramadan, are very interesting.









March 6, taking a walk.

The Dongsi Hutong Museum on Dongsi Fourth Alley is a classic three-courtyard traditional house (siheyuan) near my home. It was renovated a few years ago and is now a community space for the Dongsi area.











Next to the museum



After leaving, I went to the Beijing People's Art Theatre Museum at the Capital Theatre.



The restored desk of Cao Yu



A wooden makeup box handmade by the theatre during its early years



Sketches of characters from the play Teahouse (Chaguan) with an inscription by Lao She, drawn by Ye Qianyu.





Props used in the play Teahouse (Chaguan).



A scale model of the Teahouse (Chaguan) stage set.



Costume design sketches for the play The Top Restaurant in the World (Tianxia Diyi Lou).



March 7, Indonesian Modern and Contemporary Art Exhibition at the Tsinghua University Art Museum.

I visited the Tsinghua University Art Museum to see the Indonesian modern and contemporary art exhibition. It features a rich collection of works from various art groups and artists spanning from the 1930s to the present day. It is well worth a visit.

The first section displays representative works by early Indonesian contemporary artists. In the first half of the 20th century, the first contemporary art movement in Indonesia was called Sanggar, which means studio. At that time, different groups of artists formed many art studios across the islands of Java and Bali. The earliest of these was the Pita Maha studio, established in 1936 on Bali by artists including the Russian-German painter Walter Spies and the Dutch painter Johan Rudolf Bonnet. They combined traditional Balinese painting with modern European painting to create a new style of Balinese art.



The painting "Balinese Beauties Weaving and Sewing" by Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur. Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur was born in Belgium in 1880 and moved to Bali in 1932. In Bali, he met a 15-year-old dancer named Ni Nyoman Pollok. He used her as a model for many paintings, which became a big success after being shown in Singapore in 1933. Le Mayeur married Ni Pollok in 1935 and continued to use her as his model for his work from then on. Le Mayeur passed away due to illness in 1958. Ni Pollok handed over all of her husband's property to the Indonesian government and turned his former home into a museum.



The painting "Buffalo and Herdsman" by Lee Man Fong in 1959. Lee Man Fong was born in Guangzhou in 1913 and moved to Singapore with his father for business when he was young. After his father died in 1930, he made a living by painting advertisements. He moved to Jakarta in 1932 and was imprisoned for six months in 1942 for opposing Japanese colonial rule. After Indonesia gained independence, Lee Man Fong held a solo exhibition in Jakarta in 1946 and exhibited his work abroad many times. In 1955, he founded the Yin Hua Art Association for ethnic Chinese painters in Jakarta and organized many exhibitions. In 1956, the association was invited to visit China, where they held exhibitions for five months.



The second part explains that after the Bandung Higher Education Center for Art Teachers was established in 1947 and the Indonesian Academy of Arts in Yogyakarta in 1949, Indonesian modern art shifted from studio-based work to an academic model. Art courses in Bandung were set up by European painters and leaned toward European and American modern art standards, especially abstract formalism, while the Yogyakarta art academy system inherited the style of early art studios and leaned more toward social realism. In 1965, the military purged realism as communist art, and some artists were brutally massacred.



The 'Another Urban' theme introduces a group of Indonesian artists who became famous between the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their work mostly points directly to key issues in social development, such as social identity, marginalization, historical trauma, discrimination against women, and political corruption. Against the backdrop of international art focusing on multiculturalism in the 1990s, their work received high regard from the international art community.



The 'Post-Reform and Globalization' theme introduces the post-Suharto era that began in Indonesia in 1998. Political reform brought gradually relaxed censorship, and the internet brought the spread of information. Indonesian artists born in the 1970s became trendsetters in the early 21st century, and their work became more international.



Six young Minangkabau artists from West Sumatra established the 'Kelompok Seni Rupa Jendela,' or 'Window Art Group,' in Yogyakarta in 1996. They love to break down stereotypes and use visual images to create strange-looking symbols.



Indonesian curator Rain Rosidi coined the term Jogja Agro Pop to describe how young artists in Yogyakarta blended daily life with global pop culture in the early 21st century. They draw inspiration from everyday rural life in Yogyakarta as well as subcultures like sci-fi comics and graffiti.



I visited All Saints Bookstore (Wansheng Shuyuan) at noon and bought a book about early Arab ceramics. To be honest, I prefer the new book selection at All Saints Bookstore (Wansheng Shuyuan) over Sanlian Bookstore.







March 16, the Algerian film Papicha.

I attended the French Film Panorama hosted by the China Film Archive and the French Embassy, which was the first film exhibition in Beijing in 2021. In late 1990s Algeria, extremists used religion to carry out violence and oppression. Strong and brave Arab girls used a fashion show to resist, but it ended in tragedy. This is a film from a female perspective. After watching it, Zainab felt very depressed and could not pull herself out of it for a long time.



March 19, the Malaysian Chinese film The Story of Southern Islet (Nan Wu).

The opening film for the Southward Ambiguity exhibition, The Story of Southern Islet (Nan Wu), premiered on March 19 at the Yu She art space. This is a brilliant Malaysian film. It is not just about the Chinese community, but also about the diverse, blended cultures of Malaysia. Set in the rice fields (dao tian) beneath Mount Keriang on the border of Malaysia and Thailand, a Hokkien-descended Chinese person is cursed with black magic, and a Malay shaman performs rituals to break the spell. I was very excited to see Malay shadow puppetry (piyingxi) on the big screen for the first time; it was performed beautifully. After the screening, the director joined us for an online Q&A. He spoke very well and mentioned his next film, Snow in Midsummer (Wu Yue Xue). It tells the story of a Malaysian Chinese Teochew opera troupe struggling through the changing times from the 1950s to the 1990s. I am really looking forward to it.





March 20, Daliushu Second-hand Market and Panjiayuan Antique Book Market.

I went to Daliushu Second-hand Market on Saturday. It has been a long time since I last visited! I heard it was closed for a while, but it is lively again now. Beyond the market itself, the roadside by the entrance is full of informal stalls. The atmosphere is great and much more interesting than Panjiayuan.













While browsing the Panjiayuan Antique Book Market, I bought a copy of the Ningxia Pictorial from January 1988 for 5 yuan. I really enjoy looking at old pictorials.





In 1987, Najiahu had a mosque, fried dough twists (sanzi), carpet making, and a market.



A Hui Muslim bride in Linxia in 1987.



Autumn and winter fashion in Yinchuan in 1987.



April 9, walking through the alley in the evening.

After dinner, I took a walk through the alleyways. Beijing at night feels just like it did when I was a kid.



Beihai Bridge



Beihai Round City (Tuancheng)





City God Temple (Chenghuangmiao) on Daxing Alley



April 16, Nandouyacai Mosque





April 17: Panjiayuan Antique Book Market, Daliushu Second-hand Market, and Xinqiao Market.

I picked up some ethnic picture cards at the Panjiayuan Antique Book Market today, published by the Central Institute of Nationalities research department in the late 1970s. They really capture the style of that era. I was surprised to find cards of the Salar people; it would have been hard to identify them without checking the back.







I bought a 1984 issue of Nationalities Pictorial (Minzu Huabao) that features an article about halal meals served on the T43/44 train between Beijing and Lanzhou in the 1980s.



Kazakh people hunting with eagles.



I went to browse the Daliushu Second-hand Market again.



I spent the afternoon at the Xinqiao market and bought three world music records from documentary director Cong Feng. One was East African Zanzibar music, one was Pakistani devotional music, and one was Bosnian music. He had many other great records, like Azerbaijani mugham and Javanese gamelan, but I managed to stop myself from buying more.













April 18, Book market at Langyuan.

The book market at Langyuan was so crowded this afternoon! I bought three books at half price. They were A Brief History of Iran by Post Wave, Ibn Khaldun by Social Sciences Academic Press, and A Study of the Samanid Dynasty in Central Asia (Revised Edition) by The Commercial Press. It was a great deal.











April 23, Taoranting Park and Panjiayuan Ghost Market.

The weather in Beijing is so nice today.





The Panjiayuan Ghost Market is open from 7:00 PM on Friday until 4:00 AM on Saturday. Zainab said she has never seen so many Beijingers with stronger accents than mine all at once.









April 28, Dos Xinjiang Art Festival.

The Dost Xinjiang Art Festival features art exhibits, a market, and film screenings. It runs until May 4 at the Aotu Space in Beixinqiao.



















I watched three Uyghur short films. "Alex" is a dark comedy about Uyghur people in Yining, and it is quite fun.

"My Choice" tells the story of a Uyghur girl who dropped out of school to marry and have children early. She wants to take the college entrance exam and go to university, but she ultimately faces a life she cannot escape. The film shows many vivid details of daily life. What impressed me most was the story the main character tells her son about a little tiger who loved eating instant noodles and ended up with a stomach illness.

"Crossing the Calm River" is set in snow-covered fields. It follows a Uyghur father and son on their way home after buying pomegranates, as their memories begin to intertwine. The overall tone is quite dark, using empty shots, blurred focus, and close-ups. It is interesting to see the small emotions of young boys and girls. Last year, I also walked and talked in the snow in Xinjiang with someone I liked.



The art festival has places to read books and soak up the sun, with some books about Xinjiang art.





The place where they show movies has Uyghur calligraphy hanging up.





Paintings by Uyghur artists Reshidan Aili and Najimiding Aizezi.



I bought a cloth bag illustrated by Haidi, which shows an uncle at the bazaar.



May 13, Eid al-Fitr.

In the morning, we attended the Eid prayer at the Nandouyacai Mosque.







After the prayer, we gathered on the rooftop of the century-old Jianzhai shop on Yangmeizhu Xiejie street outside Qianmen for a buffet. The 21st-generation descendant of Wang Huihui from Jiantang personally fried the deep-fried dough (youxiang) for us. It was super delicious, with a chewy texture that was not hard at all. We also ate beef stew and sugar-rolled fruit (tang juanguo), which are traditional specialties of the Hui Muslims in old Beijing. The beef is brought in from Niujie street every morning and stewed fresh, never kept overnight. The sugar-rolled fruit is made by steaming yams, dates, and raisins, then stir-frying them in caramelized sugar, which is a very time-consuming process. Besides traditional old Beijing specialties, there was chicken curry, tomato pasta, fried cod fillets, fruit salad, and small cream cakes. It was a very satisfying meal.









May 23: Climbed the Drum Tower and visited the former residence of Mei Lanfang.

I took Zainab up to the top of the Drum Tower to look at the view.









Then we visited the former residence of Mei Lanfang. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Jianshui Old City — Yunnan History, Mosques and Food is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: Author: Zainab. The account keeps its focus on Jianshui Travel, Yunnan Travel, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

Author: Zainab

On October 5th at noon, we left Najiaying in Yuxi for Jianshui. We passed by the Guanyi Mosque in Qujiang, which houses the Awakening Dream Pavilion (Xingmeng Lou) built during the Qing Dynasty. The Awakening Dream Pavilion was first built in 1687 (the 26th year of the Kangxi reign) and was originally called the Awakening Heart Pavilion (Xingxin Lou). It was renamed the Prayer Pavilion (Bailou) after being rebuilt in 1752 (the 17th year of the Qianlong reign).











The mosque also keeps several stone lions in the local style, along with a plaque inscribed with the words "Vast, Refined, and Subtle" (Guangda Jingwei) erected in 1917 by Yunnan Army Major General Ma Wenzhong and Army Major Na Fuxing.









We traveled south from Guanyi to the Jianshui Ancient City and stayed at an old house inn called Xianting. It was very quiet and unique, and it had not been overdeveloped.



















In the evening, we went to the famous Zitao Street for a late-night snack. There were so many halal stalls on Zitao Street! The main items were grilled tofu, grilled potatoes, and grilled meat skewers. Of course, there were also various types of cattail shoot rice noodles (caoya mixian), tilapia, and pounded chicken feet. There was just too much to eat! We started with a fruit bowl, then had grilled skewers, grilled tofu, and grilled potatoes. Having lived in Beijing for a long time, it had been ages since I visited such a lively night market.

Actually, the area around Xiaogui Lake outside the Chaoyang Tower in Jianshui Ancient City is also very lively at night, with many halal restaurants. If you stay near Chaoyang Tower, you don't really need to go all the way to Zitao Street to have a great night out.



















At the Zitao Street night market, we drank pomegranate juice and ate local clay pot rice (guanguan fan) and corn cakes (yumi baba).















On the morning of October 6th, we ate the local specialty, cattail shoot bridge-crossing rice noodles, on Mashi Street near the Chaoyang Tower in the old city of Jianshui. We also bought beef jerky mooncakes (niu ganba yuebing) and purple rice lion cakes (zimi shizi gao) to eat on the road.



















According to the inscriptions inside, the Jianshui Ancient City Mosque was first built during the Huangqing era of the Yuan Dynasty and is the oldest mosque in southern Yunnan. The existing main hall was rebuilt in 1730 (the 8th year of the Yongzheng reign) and features a simplified hip-and-gable roof typical of the Jianshui region.



















The beam structure of the east-facing hall of the Jianshui Ancient City Mosque is simple and sturdy, and it is believed to be original woodwork from the Yuan Dynasty. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Beijing Muslim Heritage Walk 2021 is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: The Beijing-Fengtian Railway signal station and a small preserved section of track. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Walks, Muslim Heritage, Beijing Mosques while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.



The Beijing-Fengtian Railway signal station and a small preserved section of track. This signal station was designed and built in 1901 by British railway engineer Claude W. Kinder, just like the Qianmen Railway Station. The Beijing-Fengtian Railway opened fully in 1912, and this small section of track was discovered in 2002 during the construction of the Beijing Ming City Wall Ruins Park.





Then I went to the Wen Tianxiang Shrine. After his resistance against the Yuan dynasty failed in 1279, Wen Tianxiang was imprisoned in the Bingmasi jail in Dadu, and he was executed in 1282 at Chaishi, which is now Jiaodaokou. In 1376, the Ming Dynasty built the Wen Tianxiang Shrine on the former site of the Bingmasi prison.







Next to the Wen Tianxiang Shrine is my alma mater, Fuxue Hutong Primary School. During the Yuan Dynasty, this site was the Bao'en Mosque. It became the Daxing County School in 1368, was renamed Shuntian Prefecture School in 1403, and became the modern primary school Shuntian Prefecture Higher Primary School in 1903.

The picture below shows the classroom where I went to school. The ground floor is very high, and there are three more floors underground.



School gate



The Lingxing Gate (lingxingmen) that we sketched in our art class



The Dacheng Gate (Dachengmen), Dacheng Hall (Dachengdian), and Pan Pool (Panchi) where we used to run and play.



In the afternoon, we went to the Former Residence of Soong Ching-ling. During the Kangxi reign, this place was the garden of Mingzhu's mansion and the home of the poet Nalan Xingde. It became a villa for Heshen during the Qianlong reign, the garden of Prince Cheng's mansion during the Jiaqing reign, later the garden of the Prince Chun mansion belonging to the father of the Guangxu Emperor, and finally the garden of the Prince Regent's mansion belonging to the father of Puyi.







The surface of Houhai Lake after leaving the Former Residence of Soong Ching-ling.





We strolled along Shichahai and the Yu River to Dongbuyaqiao Bridge. This is the site of the Chengqing Middle Sluice of the Grand Canal from the Yuan Dynasty, built by the Yuan Dynasty water conservancy expert Guo Shoujing.



I went to the Duo Zhuayu bookstore in the evening and bought a very interesting book for 3 yuan called In an Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveler's Tale, which is about a trip to 12th-century Egypt. I read a hundred pages in one sitting. The author is an Indian anthropology PhD who graduated from Oxford University. He learned about the story of a 12th-century Arab Jewish merchant and his Indian slave from some documents, so he went to Egypt in the 1980s to conduct research himself. The book mentions that a synagogue in Cairo had a manuscript storage room comparable to the Dunhuang library cave. In the 19th century, the British took hundreds of thousands of precious Jewish documents from it, including Hebrew manuscripts of the Bible that had never been discovered before. It also talks about the author's life while doing fieldwork in Cairo in the 1980s, and some of the descriptions, like those during Ramadan, are very interesting.









March 6, taking a walk.

The Dongsi Hutong Museum on Dongsi Fourth Alley is a classic three-courtyard traditional house (siheyuan) near my home. It was renovated a few years ago and is now a community space for the Dongsi area.











Next to the museum



After leaving, I went to the Beijing People's Art Theatre Museum at the Capital Theatre.



The restored desk of Cao Yu



A wooden makeup box handmade by the theatre during its early years



Sketches of characters from the play Teahouse (Chaguan) with an inscription by Lao She, drawn by Ye Qianyu.





Props used in the play Teahouse (Chaguan).



A scale model of the Teahouse (Chaguan) stage set.



Costume design sketches for the play The Top Restaurant in the World (Tianxia Diyi Lou).



March 7, Indonesian Modern and Contemporary Art Exhibition at the Tsinghua University Art Museum.

I visited the Tsinghua University Art Museum to see the Indonesian modern and contemporary art exhibition. It features a rich collection of works from various art groups and artists spanning from the 1930s to the present day. It is well worth a visit.

The first section displays representative works by early Indonesian contemporary artists. In the first half of the 20th century, the first contemporary art movement in Indonesia was called Sanggar, which means studio. At that time, different groups of artists formed many art studios across the islands of Java and Bali. The earliest of these was the Pita Maha studio, established in 1936 on Bali by artists including the Russian-German painter Walter Spies and the Dutch painter Johan Rudolf Bonnet. They combined traditional Balinese painting with modern European painting to create a new style of Balinese art.



The painting "Balinese Beauties Weaving and Sewing" by Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur. Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur was born in Belgium in 1880 and moved to Bali in 1932. In Bali, he met a 15-year-old dancer named Ni Nyoman Pollok. He used her as a model for many paintings, which became a big success after being shown in Singapore in 1933. Le Mayeur married Ni Pollok in 1935 and continued to use her as his model for his work from then on. Le Mayeur passed away due to illness in 1958. Ni Pollok handed over all of her husband's property to the Indonesian government and turned his former home into a museum.



The painting "Buffalo and Herdsman" by Lee Man Fong in 1959. Lee Man Fong was born in Guangzhou in 1913 and moved to Singapore with his father for business when he was young. After his father died in 1930, he made a living by painting advertisements. He moved to Jakarta in 1932 and was imprisoned for six months in 1942 for opposing Japanese colonial rule. After Indonesia gained independence, Lee Man Fong held a solo exhibition in Jakarta in 1946 and exhibited his work abroad many times. In 1955, he founded the Yin Hua Art Association for ethnic Chinese painters in Jakarta and organized many exhibitions. In 1956, the association was invited to visit China, where they held exhibitions for five months.



The second part explains that after the Bandung Higher Education Center for Art Teachers was established in 1947 and the Indonesian Academy of Arts in Yogyakarta in 1949, Indonesian modern art shifted from studio-based work to an academic model. Art courses in Bandung were set up by European painters and leaned toward European and American modern art standards, especially abstract formalism, while the Yogyakarta art academy system inherited the style of early art studios and leaned more toward social realism. In 1965, the military purged realism as communist art, and some artists were brutally massacred.



The 'Another Urban' theme introduces a group of Indonesian artists who became famous between the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their work mostly points directly to key issues in social development, such as social identity, marginalization, historical trauma, discrimination against women, and political corruption. Against the backdrop of international art focusing on multiculturalism in the 1990s, their work received high regard from the international art community.



The 'Post-Reform and Globalization' theme introduces the post-Suharto era that began in Indonesia in 1998. Political reform brought gradually relaxed censorship, and the internet brought the spread of information. Indonesian artists born in the 1970s became trendsetters in the early 21st century, and their work became more international.



Six young Minangkabau artists from West Sumatra established the 'Kelompok Seni Rupa Jendela,' or 'Window Art Group,' in Yogyakarta in 1996. They love to break down stereotypes and use visual images to create strange-looking symbols.



Indonesian curator Rain Rosidi coined the term Jogja Agro Pop to describe how young artists in Yogyakarta blended daily life with global pop culture in the early 21st century. They draw inspiration from everyday rural life in Yogyakarta as well as subcultures like sci-fi comics and graffiti.



I visited All Saints Bookstore (Wansheng Shuyuan) at noon and bought a book about early Arab ceramics. To be honest, I prefer the new book selection at All Saints Bookstore (Wansheng Shuyuan) over Sanlian Bookstore.







March 16, the Algerian film Papicha.

I attended the French Film Panorama hosted by the China Film Archive and the French Embassy, which was the first film exhibition in Beijing in 2021. In late 1990s Algeria, extremists used religion to carry out violence and oppression. Strong and brave Arab girls used a fashion show to resist, but it ended in tragedy. This is a film from a female perspective. After watching it, Zainab felt very depressed and could not pull herself out of it for a long time.



March 19, the Malaysian Chinese film The Story of Southern Islet (Nan Wu).

The opening film for the Southward Ambiguity exhibition, The Story of Southern Islet (Nan Wu), premiered on March 19 at the Yu She art space. This is a brilliant Malaysian film. It is not just about the Chinese community, but also about the diverse, blended cultures of Malaysia. Set in the rice fields (dao tian) beneath Mount Keriang on the border of Malaysia and Thailand, a Hokkien-descended Chinese person is cursed with black magic, and a Malay shaman performs rituals to break the spell. I was very excited to see Malay shadow puppetry (piyingxi) on the big screen for the first time; it was performed beautifully. After the screening, the director joined us for an online Q&A. He spoke very well and mentioned his next film, Snow in Midsummer (Wu Yue Xue). It tells the story of a Malaysian Chinese Teochew opera troupe struggling through the changing times from the 1950s to the 1990s. I am really looking forward to it.





March 20, Daliushu Second-hand Market and Panjiayuan Antique Book Market.

I went to Daliushu Second-hand Market on Saturday. It has been a long time since I last visited! I heard it was closed for a while, but it is lively again now. Beyond the market itself, the roadside by the entrance is full of informal stalls. The atmosphere is great and much more interesting than Panjiayuan.













While browsing the Panjiayuan Antique Book Market, I bought a copy of the Ningxia Pictorial from January 1988 for 5 yuan. I really enjoy looking at old pictorials.





In 1987, Najiahu had a mosque, fried dough twists (sanzi), carpet making, and a market.



A Hui Muslim bride in Linxia in 1987.



Autumn and winter fashion in Yinchuan in 1987.



April 9, walking through the alley in the evening.

After dinner, I took a walk through the alleyways. Beijing at night feels just like it did when I was a kid.



Beihai Bridge



Beihai Round City (Tuancheng)





City God Temple (Chenghuangmiao) on Daxing Alley



April 16, Nandouyacai Mosque





April 17: Panjiayuan Antique Book Market, Daliushu Second-hand Market, and Xinqiao Market.

I picked up some ethnic picture cards at the Panjiayuan Antique Book Market today, published by the Central Institute of Nationalities research department in the late 1970s. They really capture the style of that era. I was surprised to find cards of the Salar people; it would have been hard to identify them without checking the back.







I bought a 1984 issue of Nationalities Pictorial (Minzu Huabao) that features an article about halal meals served on the T43/44 train between Beijing and Lanzhou in the 1980s.



Kazakh people hunting with eagles.



I went to browse the Daliushu Second-hand Market again.



I spent the afternoon at the Xinqiao market and bought three world music records from documentary director Cong Feng. One was East African Zanzibar music, one was Pakistani devotional music, and one was Bosnian music. He had many other great records, like Azerbaijani mugham and Javanese gamelan, but I managed to stop myself from buying more.













April 18, Book market at Langyuan.

The book market at Langyuan was so crowded this afternoon! I bought three books at half price. They were A Brief History of Iran by Post Wave, Ibn Khaldun by Social Sciences Academic Press, and A Study of the Samanid Dynasty in Central Asia (Revised Edition) by The Commercial Press. It was a great deal.











April 23, Taoranting Park and Panjiayuan Ghost Market.

The weather in Beijing is so nice today.





The Panjiayuan Ghost Market is open from 7:00 PM on Friday until 4:00 AM on Saturday. Zainab said she has never seen so many Beijingers with stronger accents than mine all at once.









April 28, Dos Xinjiang Art Festival.

The Dost Xinjiang Art Festival features art exhibits, a market, and film screenings. It runs until May 4 at the Aotu Space in Beixinqiao.



















I watched three Uyghur short films. "Alex" is a dark comedy about Uyghur people in Yining, and it is quite fun.

"My Choice" tells the story of a Uyghur girl who dropped out of school to marry and have children early. She wants to take the college entrance exam and go to university, but she ultimately faces a life she cannot escape. The film shows many vivid details of daily life. What impressed me most was the story the main character tells her son about a little tiger who loved eating instant noodles and ended up with a stomach illness.

"Crossing the Calm River" is set in snow-covered fields. It follows a Uyghur father and son on their way home after buying pomegranates, as their memories begin to intertwine. The overall tone is quite dark, using empty shots, blurred focus, and close-ups. It is interesting to see the small emotions of young boys and girls. Last year, I also walked and talked in the snow in Xinjiang with someone I liked.



The art festival has places to read books and soak up the sun, with some books about Xinjiang art.





The place where they show movies has Uyghur calligraphy hanging up.





Paintings by Uyghur artists Reshidan Aili and Najimiding Aizezi.



I bought a cloth bag illustrated by Haidi, which shows an uncle at the bazaar.



May 13, Eid al-Fitr.

In the morning, we attended the Eid prayer at the Nandouyacai Mosque.







After the prayer, we gathered on the rooftop of the century-old Jianzhai shop on Yangmeizhu Xiejie street outside Qianmen for a buffet. The 21st-generation descendant of Wang Huihui from Jiantang personally fried the deep-fried dough (youxiang) for us. It was super delicious, with a chewy texture that was not hard at all. We also ate beef stew and sugar-rolled fruit (tang juanguo), which are traditional specialties of the Hui Muslims in old Beijing. The beef is brought in from Niujie street every morning and stewed fresh, never kept overnight. The sugar-rolled fruit is made by steaming yams, dates, and raisins, then stir-frying them in caramelized sugar, which is a very time-consuming process. Besides traditional old Beijing specialties, there was chicken curry, tomato pasta, fried cod fillets, fruit salad, and small cream cakes. It was a very satisfying meal.









May 23: Climbed the Drum Tower and visited the former residence of Mei Lanfang.

I took Zainab up to the top of the Drum Tower to look at the view.









Then we visited the former residence of Mei Lanfang. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Jianshui Old City — Yunnan History, Mosques and Food is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: Author: Zainab. The account keeps its focus on Jianshui Travel, Yunnan Travel, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

Author: Zainab

On October 5th at noon, we left Najiaying in Yuxi for Jianshui. We passed by the Guanyi Mosque in Qujiang, which houses the Awakening Dream Pavilion (Xingmeng Lou) built during the Qing Dynasty. The Awakening Dream Pavilion was first built in 1687 (the 26th year of the Kangxi reign) and was originally called the Awakening Heart Pavilion (Xingxin Lou). It was renamed the Prayer Pavilion (Bailou) after being rebuilt in 1752 (the 17th year of the Qianlong reign).











The mosque also keeps several stone lions in the local style, along with a plaque inscribed with the words "Vast, Refined, and Subtle" (Guangda Jingwei) erected in 1917 by Yunnan Army Major General Ma Wenzhong and Army Major Na Fuxing.









We traveled south from Guanyi to the Jianshui Ancient City and stayed at an old house inn called Xianting. It was very quiet and unique, and it had not been overdeveloped.



















In the evening, we went to the famous Zitao Street for a late-night snack. There were so many halal stalls on Zitao Street! The main items were grilled tofu, grilled potatoes, and grilled meat skewers. Of course, there were also various types of cattail shoot rice noodles (caoya mixian), tilapia, and pounded chicken feet. There was just too much to eat! We started with a fruit bowl, then had grilled skewers, grilled tofu, and grilled potatoes. Having lived in Beijing for a long time, it had been ages since I visited such a lively night market.

Actually, the area around Xiaogui Lake outside the Chaoyang Tower in Jianshui Ancient City is also very lively at night, with many halal restaurants. If you stay near Chaoyang Tower, you don't really need to go all the way to Zitao Street to have a great night out.



















At the Zitao Street night market, we drank pomegranate juice and ate local clay pot rice (guanguan fan) and corn cakes (yumi baba).















On the morning of October 6th, we ate the local specialty, cattail shoot bridge-crossing rice noodles, on Mashi Street near the Chaoyang Tower in the old city of Jianshui. We also bought beef jerky mooncakes (niu ganba yuebing) and purple rice lion cakes (zimi shizi gao) to eat on the road.



















According to the inscriptions inside, the Jianshui Ancient City Mosque was first built during the Huangqing era of the Yuan Dynasty and is the oldest mosque in southern Yunnan. The existing main hall was rebuilt in 1730 (the 8th year of the Yongzheng reign) and features a simplified hip-and-gable roof typical of the Jianshui region.



















The beam structure of the east-facing hall of the Jianshui Ancient City Mosque is simple and sturdy, and it is believed to be original woodwork from the Yuan Dynasty. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Beijing Muslim Heritage Walk 2021 is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: 2021 was a year spent stuck in Beijing, so I managed to visit many places and join many activities. I hope in 2022 I can spend less time wandering around Beijing and travel further afield, insha'Allah. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Walks, Muslim Heritage, Beijing Mosques while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

2021 was a year spent stuck in Beijing, so I managed to visit many places and join many activities. I hope in 2022 I can spend less time wandering around Beijing and travel further afield, insha'Allah.

Historical visits: Beijing Zoo, the former site of Sino-French University, the residence of Duke Cheng'en Zhijun, the Chengqing Middle Sluice and Lower Sluice ruins of the Grand Canal, the Lao She Memorial Hall, the Shijia Hutong Museum, Jingshan Park, Beihai Park, the Hengchang Ruiji shop on Dongsi Fourth Alley, Ritan Park, the Beijing Folklore Museum, the Southeast Corner Tower of the Inner City, the Wen Tianxiang Shrine, the Soong Ching-ling Former Residence, the Dongsi Hutong Museum, the Beijing People's Art Theatre Drama Museum, the Drum Tower, the Mei Lanfang Former Residence, the Huanghualing Great Wall, the old Ma Yinglong Eye Medicine shop building, the Lugou Bridge, and the Qianmen Gate Tower.

Performances: traditional music by Syrian Kurdish and Iranian Isfahan musicians, the Uyghur fusion band JAM, the Beijing People's Art Theatre production of "Teahouse" starring Liang Guanhua, Pu Cunxin, Feng Yuanzheng, Yang Lixin, and Wu Gang, folk musicians Xiao Liu and Zhou Yunpeng, the rock band SUBS, and the Zhihua Temple Music Culture Festival featuring Wuyin Dagu drums from Caijiawa in Miyun, Zhihua Temple Buddhist music, and Zhonghe Shaoyue music from the Temple of Heaven's Shenyueshu. I also saw the Xibe rock band Ajias and Wang Yuebo's storytelling of "Water Margin".

Film festivals: the Iranian film "The Salesman" at the China Film Archive, the Algerian film "Papicha," the Malaysian Chinese film "The Story of Southern Islet" as the opening film for the Ambiguous South exhibition, the Pakistani film festival featuring "Motorcycle Girl," "I Am Not Going to Punjab," and "Where is My Heart," and the Beijing International Film Festival screenings of the Moroccan film "Casablanca Beats," the Turkish film "The Cemil Show," the Iranian Kurdish film "The Outsider," and the Bosnian film "Quo Vadis, Aida?" The VR short film from Javanese Indonesians 'Change', the Iranian immigrant film 'This Is Love', the Malaysian film 'Year Without a Summer', the Abbas Kiarostami film exhibition from Iran including 'Close-Up', 'Taste of Cherry', 'The Wind Will Carry Us', 'Where Is the Friend's Home?', and 'Life, and Nothing More', and the Uyghur short films 'Alex', 'My Choice', and 'Crossing the Calm River'.

Exhibitions: The National Art Museum of China's New Year exhibition and Ming and Qing dynasty portrait exhibition; the National Museum of China's ancient clothing culture exhibition, Shenyang Imperial Palace exhibition, Grand Canal exhibition, ancient musical instruments exhibition, and Inner Mongolia cultural relics exhibition; the Tsinghua University Art Museum's Indonesian modern and contemporary art exhibition; the China Overseas Chinese History Museum; the Palace Museum's Wuying Hall ceramics gallery and Dunhuang exhibition; the Cultural Palace of Nationalities' collection exhibition; the China Millennium Monument's Egyptian mummy exhibition; and the Natural History Museum's reindeer and ethnic culture exhibition.

Shopping: At the Dongzhimenwai morning market, I found a porcelain plate from the state-run Beijing Enamel Factory, two bookshelf dividers made by the Beijing South Suburb Xihongmen Primary School factory, four enamel plates, three small glass plates, a 1983 wallet from the Beijing No. 3 Leather Goods Factory, a Deer brand thermos, a piece of fabric with a pattern of the Kaaba in Mecca (Kaba), several religious booklets (jiaomen cezi), a soap box from the Beijing Great Wall Plastic Factory, and a felt hat.

At the Daliushu market, I found a late 1980s White Antelope brand six-piece tableware set, a 1990s clock made in Taiwan, a Pakistani copper plate with silver Arabic calligraphy inlay, a badge from the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and a 1990s water kettle and cup set for drinking boiled water.

At Panjiayuan, I found an early porcelain plate with calligraphy by Li Wencai from the Tangshan Crescent Porcelain Factory, a 1990s door-hanging scripture scroll (mentou jingdu), and a Republic of China-era Zhengxingde tea canister.

An Afghan rug bought at the Aotu Space market in Beixinqiao.

Record hunting: At director Cong Feng's stall at the Xinqiao market, I found music from East African Zanzibar, Pakistani devotional music, Bosnian religious music, Zanzibar dance music, Ottoman military bands, Algerian music, Azerbaijani tar music, Egyptian musicians, North African Algerian and Moroccan bands, and North Indian music.

January 1, Tongzhou Mosque.

On Jumu'ah, I went to the Tongzhou Mosque. Tongzhou Mosque and Dongsi Mosque are the only two mosques in Beijing that use the corbeling technique to build their prayer hall domes. Since the Qing Dynasty, all prayer hall roofs have been changed to wooden pavilion-style structures.













The Arabic calligraphy brick carvings are beautiful and rare.





These are early stone carvings that the mosque has managed to preserve.



January 23, Beijing Zoo.

I walked around the zoo and took photos of some science education boards from my childhood.











January 31, Iranian traditional music performance.

The first explosive performance of 2021! At Fruit Space on Meishuguan East Street, it was such a thrill to hear traditional Persian and Kurdish music performed by Arian, a Kurdish musician from Syria, alongside Persian musicians Majid, Massoud, Camellia, Mohsen, and Mahdis from Isfahan.

The instruments used in the show included the oud, daf drum, santur hammered dulcimer, nay flute, sitar, and tombak drum.

The concert featured powerful pieces composed by a late master from Isfahan. The high-pitched santur and mid-range sitar echoed each other against the rhythm of the daf and tombak drums, all perfectly complemented by the deep tones of the oud.

The group sang "Sit Beside Me," a poem by the famous Persian Sufi poet Rumi. In Sufi poetry, the songs are not actually about worldly love, but a way to express deep love for Allah. Lyrics:

My beloved comes to sit by my side

You are just like my own heart

I hold my soulmate in my arms

We hold hands and talk.

You are far away.

I watch and wait for you.

You gave me life.

I will stay with you forever.

What a beautiful day, yet what can I do?

I would not trade this for half the world.

I wish to be the ball under your polo mallet.

Staying with you forever in both stillness and motion.

Yalong sang a Kurdish folk song while playing an Iraqi lute (oud). The lyrics mean:

I have a flower.

It comes from the garden in my heart.

I water it with my tears.

I picked this one from a garden full of flowers.

Oh my dear, you are my hope.



February 4, Iranian film

The first Iranian film of 2021, I watched "The Salesman" (Forushande) at the film archive. It felt like a movie about the suffering of women, and Zeinab was much more upset than I was after watching it. My feeling after watching is that the film is very professional and shows the standard of Iranian realist cinema, but the plot feels a bit forced, as if it is being pushed forward step by step.



February 6, daily walk

The alleyways (hutong) around Dongsi.



The south wall of Jingshan Park.





The east wall of Jingshan Park.





The former site of the Sino-French University, located at Donghuangchenggen.



The mounting stone at the residence of Duke Cheng'en Zhijun on Dafo Mosque East Street.



The Chengqing Lower Sluice site of the Grand Canal, built by Guo Shoujing during the Yuan Dynasty.





Nearby alleyways (hutong).



The northeast corner tower of the Forbidden City.



February 12, shopping and visiting exhibitions.

On the morning of the first day of the Lunar New Year, I kept eating dumplings (jiaozi), then took a walk to see the New Year exhibition at the National Art Museum of China. From January 9 to March 27, 2021, the National Art Museum of China hosted the exhibition Beauty in Cultivation: The National Art Museum of China 2021 New Year Exhibition Welcoming the Auspicious Ox. It featured paintings in many different styles and was well worth seeing.

I was very lucky to see the famous painting Muqam by the renowned artist Ghazi Ahmed. Countless Uyghur restaurants across the country hang this painting, and it has become an important symbol for the Uyghur people.













The painting Holiday of a Kazakh Young Woman, created in 1982 by Kang Shuzeng, the dean of the Fine Arts College at Xinjiang Normal University, has a very distinct style of that era.



After leaving the art museum, I wandered over to the Lao She Memorial Hall.











After leaving the Lao She Memorial Hall, I went to the Shijia Hutong Museum.







When I was little, my grandmother pushed me and my cousin around in a bamboo cart (zhuche) every day.









In the afternoon, I went to the Hall of Imperial Longevity (Shouhuangdian) in Jingshan Park. When I was a child, this place was the Beijing Children's Palace, and I spent many years there learning how to draw. The Children's Palace moved out later, and it only opened as a tourist site two years ago. I haven't been inside Shouhuang Hall for over 20 years, but I still have a faint memory of what it looks like. I loved running around the courtyard when I was a kid.





The classroom where I learned to draw as a child looks very desolate inside now.



The lions at Shouhuang Hall are beautiful. They look very different from the round, chubby style common to Qing Dynasty lions. The little lion's hair is so smooth. It is rare to see a little lion like this that doesn't have curly hair.





The bronze deer even has plum blossom patterns carved into it in great detail.



Next, I walked around Beihai Park. In Beijing, colorful glazed tile roofs were only allowed on Tibetan Buddhist buildings.









After leaving Beihai, I strolled home and saw the sign for the old grain store in Huanghuamen Hutong.



The Zongli Yamen (the office for managing foreign affairs) in Dongtangzi Hutong.



The storefront at the east entrance of Lishi Hutong.



The mounting block (shangmashi) in Lishi Hutong.



Hengchang Ruiji on Dongsi Fourth Alley



February 14, Wangfujing Department Store and Heping Guoju

I visited the Wangfujing Department Store and Heping Guoju. I followed the trend and took a vintage-style photo at Dabeizhao with Zainab and my father-in-law.



















February 15, National Museum of China

The most popular exhibit at the National Museum is the ancient clothing culture exhibition.

Sun Ji, an expert in ancient Chinese clothing history, led the restoration of the Yuan dynasty gugu crown (guguguan), summer veil hat (xiajimanli), and braided robe (bianxianpao).



The National Museum of China holds Ming dynasty portraits of Kublai Khan (Yuan Shizu) and Khayishan (Yuan Wuzong). Kublai wears a winter ermine hat and braided hair loops while dressed in a zhusun robe, while Khayishan wears a summer cymbal-shaped hat (bolì) and braided hair loops while dressed in a zhusun robe.





At the Shenyang Imperial Palace exhibition, the Shenyang Palace Museum displays a helmet used by the Qianlong Emperor.



The Shenyang Palace Museum holds a mink fur winter hat for women from the Qianlong era.



The Canal Exhibition features the Qing Dynasty painting of the Tianhou Palace procession in Tianjin from the National Museum collection, showing the scene during the traditional parade of the Menfan Laohui association.



Ancient musical instrument exhibition. The Qing Dynasty thirteen-string zither (zheng) in the collection of the Chinese National Academy of Arts once belonged to the Peking Opera artist Mr. Cheng Yanqiu. In 1958, Mr. Cheng donated his entire collection of over one hundred traditional musical instruments to the state for free.



The Ming Dynasty lute (huobusi) in the collection of the Chinese National Academy of Arts is made of redwood, covered in python skin, and features a bamboo bridge. The huobusi is a transliteration of the Turkic word Kopuz. It is an ancient Inner Asian musical instrument used widely by both Turkic and Mongolian peoples. According to Volume 71 of the History of Yuan, Records of Rites and Music, the huobusi is shaped like a lute (pipa). It has a straight neck, no frets, and a small sound box. Its belly is round like half a bottle, the face is covered in skin, and it has four strings made of skin stretched over a single post. During the Ming Dynasty, the huobusi was popular in Mongolia and Central Asia. The Veritable Records of the Ming Yingzong state that the Oirat leader Esen, who captured Emperor Yingzong, played the huobusi and sang for the emperor himself. Shen Chongsui’s Notes on Singing from the Ming Dynasty records that the zither (zheng) and the hunbusi were among the instruments used to accompany northern melodies.



After the exhibition, I visited the National Museum of China’s gift shop. The creative designs and elements of the accessories all come from the museum's artifacts. I bought a pair of earrings for Zainab, modeled after the Qianlong-era sacrificial blue glazed gold-painted vase with sea and river patterns (haiyanheqing zun).









Qianmen Mosque

After leaving the National Museum, I took a walk outside Qianmen. I took a few photos of the beautiful interlocking roof structure (goulianda) of the Qianmen Mosque, where you can also see the roof ridge ornaments (chiwen) replaced by scrolling vine patterns.











The alleys (hutong) outside Qianmen





February 16, Uyghur band JAM performance

I went to Jianghu Bar for a show tonight. I first saw a folk music performance here in early 2009, and now 12 years have passed in the blink of an eye.



One of the acts was the Uyghur fusion band JAM, which sounded great. It featured the master Aijieke player Adilijan. It reminded me of seeing him perform with the Dastan band at Jianghu Bar six years ago. The band JAM performed an original song using the unique Uyghur 8/7 time signature. The lyrics were very sufi, describing life as being in heaven one day and hell the next, or living in luxury one day and as a beggar the next. They also played some Uyghur folk songs and segments of Muqam.



I won a copy of 'Beijing Customs Illustrated' (Beijing Fengsu Tupu) from the organizers by answering a trivia question during the show. I looked through it when I got home and really liked it. Japanese sinologist Masaru Aoki planned this book while studying in Beijing from 1925 to 1926 and hired local Beijing artists to draw it. Coincidentally, Masaru Aoki lived in Dongsi at the time, at an address then known as the Honganji Mosque (Honganji) on Dongsi Liutiao. This collection of illustrations sat in a library for a long time, and it was only published decades later after another Japanese sinologist, Michio Uchida, wrote the commentary. The content of these illustrations is very precious.





February 17, near the Temple of the Sun (Ritan).

I passed by the North Korean Embassy.







I walked around Ritan Park.







I visited the tomb of the martyr Ma Jun.







Then I went to the Beijing Folklore Museum at Dongyue Temple. It currently has two Ming dynasty porcelain exhibits, a traditional Chinese medicine exhibit, and a Year of the Ox zodiac exhibit.











February 20, Panjiayuan Antique Market.

The weather in Beijing is great, but I didn't find anything worth buying after spending the whole morning at Panjiayuan. I'll just count it as a nice day out in the sun.



February 24, Canran Bookstore

The Canran Bookstore next to the Commercial Press has actually reopened. It was closed for about ten years because of subway construction, and I really missed it. Visiting the China Bookstore, Sanlian Bookstore, Hanfenlou Bookstore, and Canran Bookstore around Dongsi all in one go takes at least half a day.





February 25, second visit to the art museum's New Year exhibition

Visiting the National Art Museum of China's New Year exhibition for the second time. I saw Tang Bohu's 'View of Lakes and Mountains,' Zheng Banqiao's 'Orchids and Bamboo,' and Shitao's 'Visiting a Friend by the River.' The museum put together a great collection that lets you experience famous paintings in all kinds of styles.











Daily food walk through the alleyways (hutong).



February 27, taking a stroll.

I went for a walk on Saturday and visited the Southeast Corner Tower of the Inner City. The Southeast Corner Tower of the Inner City was built in 1439. It was saved from demolition in the 1960s because the subway line was rerouted around Beijing Railway Station. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Beijing Muslim Heritage Walk 2021 is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: I went to the early morning market (xiaoshi) by the Liangma River waterfall in Xiangheyuan, outside Dongzhimen, Beijing. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Walks, Muslim Heritage, Beijing Mosques while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.





May 28, Changying Blue.















June 3, team building at Huanghualing Water Great Wall.







June 15, evening stroll at Beihai Park.







June 21, evening stroll near Jingshan Park.







June 28, morning market at Xiangheyuan, outside Dongzhimen.

I went to the early morning market (xiaoshi) by the Liangma River waterfall in Xiangheyuan, outside Dongzhimen, Beijing. I arrived after 3:00 a.m. and many stalls were not set up yet, but there were more by 4:00 or 5:00 a.m. This morning market is really authentic. It reminded me of visiting the dawn markets (tianguangxu) in Guangzhou and the old days of visiting the Daliushu market years ago.





I picked up an enamel plate made by the state-run Beijing Enamel Factory and two book dividers made by the school-run factory of Xihongmen Primary School in the southern suburbs of Beijing. There were not many stalls here on Monday, so I will go back again on the weekend.









June 30, Xiangheyuan Morning Market outside Dongzhimen

I arrived a little after four o'clock, just as it was getting light.







July 2nd, the first day the Panjiayuan Friday night market reopened.









After dinner, I walked around the Panjiayuan Ghost Market again.



July 4th, the morning market at Xiangheyuan outside Dongzhimen.

I found these at the Liangma River morning market in Xiangheyuan outside Dongzhimen: two small enamel plates, three small glass plates, and a wallet made by the Beijing Third Leather Goods Factory in 1983. Enamel plates and glass plates are perfect for serving dried fruits at a gathering.













July 9, the start of the month of Dhu al-Hijjah.





July 11, Panjiayuan Antique Market.

At the Panjiayuan Antique Market, I found a picture book of Iranian fables called The Story of the Parrot and the Merchant. It was organized by Vahid Farmand, the acting consul general of the Iranian Consulate in Shanghai. It uses a very special Iranian tea house painting (ghahveh-khaneh) style, which is rarely seen in China.

Tea house painting (ghahveh-khaneh) became popular in Iran during the 18th and 19th centuries. At that time, people loved listening to a storyteller (naqqal) in tea houses share traditional Iranian fables, religious stories, and epic tales. After hearing these stories, some artists would draw them on walls, bricks, or stones, which is how this painting style began. As tea house paintings became popular, some owners hired artists to paint right inside their tea houses. These artists painted and displayed their work on the spot, which was very well received.

Since modern times, the role of tea houses has changed. Tea house paintings have moved away from the tea houses themselves to become an independent art form, mostly used to show historical scenes and religious themes. Tea house paintings are not limited by classical Persian painting techniques. Artists paint from their hearts, though some elements still come from the art of miniature painting.











On July 13, I watched the play Tea House at the Capital Theatre.

I came to see the play Tea House, featuring Liang Guanhua, Pu Cunxin, Feng Yuanzheng, Yang Lixin, and Wu Gang.







July 16, the opening performance at 24D.

I came to see the opening performance at 24D, the new venue of my neighbor Duoyun. It was really good.



July 20, Eid al-Adha and the Daliushu Tuesday night market.

Attending the Eid prayer (Erde huili) in Changying.







The Daliushu night market is open every Tuesday from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m., and the items there are pretty decent.













I found a set of White Ant brand plum-blossom-shaped six-piece high-end stainless steel tableware made by the Guangdong Maoming Metal Rolling Factory. It was a commemorative product for the 1990 Asian Games, so I guess it was made in the late 1980s. It was cheap when I bought it, and it was still wrapped in oil paper and never used, so it felt like a great deal!













July 31, Xiangheyuan Morning Market outside Dongzhimen and Panjiayuan Antique Market.

I went to the Liangma River morning market at Xiangheyuan outside Dongzhimen this morning. I bought a Deer brand thermos, two enamel plates, and a tiny little keyboard. Everything was very cheap. The Deer brand thermos factory is in Nankou, Beijing. It started production in 1962 and was the first generation of thermos independently produced in China. Almost every family in Beijing had one in the 70s and 80s.













After wandering the dawn market (xiaoshier), I went home for a quick nap before heading out to explore Panjiayuan. I found a porcelain plate made by the old Tangshan Crescent Muslim Porcelain Factory, featuring the work of the famous calligrapher Li Wencai.







I picked up a massive, thick official photo album from Uzbekistan at Panjiayuan; it is very well made.











August 5, Pakistan Film Festival featuring "Motorcycle Girl" and "I Am Not Going to Punjab."

I attended the opening ceremony of the Pakistan Film Festival at the China Film Archive and watched the opening film, "Motorcycle Girl." People from the Embassy of Pakistan in China all came. The ambassador could not make it because he was in quarantine in Chengdu last week, so his wife attended on his behalf. The deputy ambassador gave the opening speech. His South Asian-accented English sounded so familiar and friendly, haha. There was a small incident. We had grabbed the best seats earlier, but the ambassador's wife needed them at the last minute, so we had to move. In the bottom right corner of picture 1, you can see someone taking photos of the ambassador's wife.

Motorcycle Girl is a very rare road movie about equal rights for Muslim women. It is quite special to be able to see this kind of subject on the big screen. The film is based on a true story. The main character finally tires of the restrictions placed on women by her conservative family and workplace, so she decides to ride her motorcycle alone from Lahore to the Khunjerab Pass. The Kashmir in the film is so beautiful that it feels like it must be close to the Valley of the Wind. I really wanted to travel there, but now I have no idea when I will be able to go, so I have to experience it through the movie instead.









The second film in the Pakistan Film Festival is 'I Am Not Going to Punjab.' I thought it would just be a musical, but it has a strong Sufi influence and focuses more on encouraging people to be loyal in love. The movie compares love to fasting, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, which is the first time I have seen that on the big screen. The singing and dancing were great, too. A long part featured Sufi whirling dances inside the gongbei, which was so exciting, and some of the Sufi poetry was beautiful to listen to.



August 7, morning market (xiaoshier) at Liangma River near Xiangheyuan outside Dongzhimen, and the Pakistani film screening of 'Where Is My Heart'.

The morning market has moved to a large area where the North Moat and Liangma River meet, and it is much bigger than before. Zainab bought a pair of shoes for just a few dozen yuan. They are brand new, super comfortable, and very cheap. I bought a piece of fabric with a pattern of the Kaaba (Kaba) for the price of a bottle of cola.











At the third screening of the Pakistan Film Festival at the China Film Archive, I watched the youth musical 'Where is the Heart'. I am really growing to love Pakistani song-and-dance films! Pakistani music is a massage for the soul. The three-hour runtime did not feel boring at all. It is worth noting that the first song at their wedding scene was Sufi music. It mentioned the South Asian Sufi master Nizam and his close friend Khusrau. Khusrau is the founder of South Asian Sufi music and the father of Urdu literature. I once visited their shrine (gongbei) and enjoyed beautiful Sufi music there. Hearing it again in the movie brought back so many memories.

Watching these Pakistani films over the past few days, I found that Urdu and the Hui Muslim dialect share many similarities because they both borrow words from Persian and Arabic. It feels very familiar. For example, they both use 'Khuda' for exclamations, 'dua' for blessings, and 'dosti' for friends. In the middle of the film, the band sings a song in the recording studio about dosti, haha.



August 14, Xiaoshi Market at Liangma River in Xiangheyuan, outside Dongzhimen, and the Overseas Chinese History Museum of China.

I picked up a few Islamic religious booklets (jiaomen cezi) at the Liangma River morning market outside Dongzhimen this morning. They started calling for vendors to pack up at 5:30, but everyone was moving so slowly that they still weren't finished by 6:00. People say if nobody stops them, some stay open until 8:00.







I visited the Overseas Chinese History Museum of China. The exhibits are very rich. Interestingly, they recreated a Nanyang Chinese street in the basement. It is not as big as the one at the Peace Museum, but it is still fun because it has both artifacts and descriptions. From the early days of rubber tapping to opening small tailor shops, restaurants, and pharmacies, then moving on to hotels, newspapers, and finally returning home, you can see that the step-by-step development of Nanyang Chinese was truly difficult.







August 19, Ceramics Gallery at the Hall of Martial Valor (Wuyingdian) in the Forbidden City.

The Ceramics Gallery in the Hall of Martial Valor (Wuyingdian) at the Forbidden City reopened on May 1st after a renovation. I visited last weekend and arrived early enough to experience the gallery without any crowds.







The collection includes a Ming Dynasty Yongle period blue-and-white porcelain vase with Arabic calligraphy (wudangzun) from the Jingdezhen imperial kilns. Both its shape and patterns mimic 14th-century Middle Eastern brass vessels inlaid with silver.



After the recent renovation, the gallery now displays a comparison photo of this vase alongside a 14th-century Egyptian Mamluk dynasty brass stand inlaid with silver from the British Museum. The shapes are truly identical.



There are blue-and-white porcelain candlesticks with Arabic calligraphy and white-glazed iron-red porcelain plates with Arabic and Persian calligraphy from the Ming Dynasty Zhengde period (1506–1521). The imperial court during the Zhengde reign really loved using porcelain featuring Arabic and Persian script.





A classic piece is the Ming Dynasty Tianshun period (1457–1464) blue-and-white porcelain three-legged cylindrical incense burner (sanfutongshilu) inscribed with Persian poetry and the 'Tianshun Year' mark. The outer wall features verses from the famous Persian poet Saadi’s 'The Orchard' (Bustan), and the new display thoughtfully includes a translation of the poem. I admired Persian poetry fired onto ceramics over 500 years ago at the Forbidden City, which really boosted my Inner Asian travel experience.







The newly renovated Ceramics Gallery has opened the Yude Hall on the west side of Wuying Hall as a space for export porcelain. The most interesting part of Yude Hall is the beamless hall behind the outer chamber, which looks just like a Turkish bath. Its ceiling and walls are covered in white glazed tiles that are perfectly clean and bright. Behind it, there is an iron fireplace for heating water, which was piped into the room through copper tubes.

In his article A Study of Yude Hall at Wuying Hall in the Forbidden City, Shan Shiyuan suggests that Yude Hall is a relic from the Yuan Dynasty imperial palace. He believes it was an Arabic-style bathhouse for the garrison located outside the southwest corner tower of the Yuan capital's palace city. During previous repairs at the Forbidden City, workers dug up white glazed tiles from the Yuan Dynasty near Yude Hall. These tiles have a glaze very similar to the ones in the bathhouse, which is quite different from the yellow and green glazed tiles commonly used in the Ming and Qing Dynasty sections of the Forbidden City. Before the War of Resistance, the Society for Research in Chinese Architecture identified this domed bathhouse as looking very much like the Hagia Sophia (Shengsuofeiya Si) in Constantinople, suggesting it might be a Yuan Dynasty structure.

It is a pity that only the outer hall of the Ceramics Museum was open this time. The Turkish bath (tuerqi yushi) in the back was closed to visitors because the passageway is too narrow. I could only see part of the dome from the outside, and it really looks just like the traditional bathhouse domes I saw in Turkey.







August 21: A stroll around Shichahai and a visit to the cultural relic exhibition at the Cultural Palace of Nationalities.





I went to the Cultural Palace of Nationalities to see the exhibition of fine cultural relics, and there were many great pieces.



Iron armor gifted to the Sakya Pandita of Tibet during the Yuan Dynasty.



A satin-lined robe once worn by the Dalai Lama during the Qing Dynasty.



Tibetan official clothing from 1720, dating to the Qing Dynasty period of pacifying the Dzungars and stabilizing Tibet.



A dragon-patterned official robe (longgua) gifted by the Qianlong Emperor to the Pacification Commissioner of Cheli, who was the local chieftain ruling the Xishuangbanna region at the time.



August 28, Baihujian in the Beijing Back Garden, Changping.

I spent the afternoon exploring the Beijing Back Garden Baihujian scenic area in Changping, and the scenery at the 81 Caves to Heaven (tongtian 81 dong) is truly beautiful.











Climb past the babbling stream and towering boulders to the top of the mountain for a view over the entire city of Beijing. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Beijing Muslim Heritage Walk 2021 is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: I visited the Egyptian Mummy Exhibition at the China Millennium Monument at night. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Walks, Muslim Heritage, Beijing Mosques while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.





September 3: Night visit to the Egyptian Mummy Exhibition at the China Millennium Monument.

I visited the Egyptian Mummy Exhibition at the China Millennium Monument at night. It is usually only open during the day, but they occasionally host a 'Night at the Museum' event, which I found quite interesting. The collection comes entirely from the Manchester Museum in the UK, and most of the mummies are from the Greco-Roman period.









September 4: Morning market on Dongzhimen Outer Slanting Street.

The early morning market outside Dongzhimen has moved again. I spent nearly half an hour searching for it with a vendor near the triangular area in Xiangheyuan, and only found it after following an old man driving a motorized tricycle. It turns out it moved to Dongzhimen Outer Slanting Street.

I found a soap box made by the Beijing Great Wall Plastic Factory. It is quite unique, right?







September 5: Reindeer and Ethnic Culture Exhibition at the Natural History Museum.

I went to the Natural History Museum in the afternoon to see the 'Reindeer and Ethnic Culture Exhibition.' Most of the items are from the National Museum of Ethnology of China. I was very lucky to see the roe deer skin paintings and oil paintings created between 2016 and 2020 by Weijia, the 'spokesperson' for the Ewenki people. He is the main character in the documentary 'The Last Moose of Aoluguya' (Hadahan). One of the paintings had a note he wrote:

'Animals are sometimes servants, sometimes friends, and sometimes enemies; animals are the mythology of human art.' "









September 11: Xiangheyuan morning market, Panjiayuan Antique Market, and the reopening of the Daliushu Dongpeng Saturday Night Market.

I visited the Xiangheyuan morning market early and picked up a felt hat for 5 yuan.









At noon, I found an old door knocker (mendu'er) from the last century at the Panjiayuan Antique Market. I compared it to the new one at my house, and the craftsmanship is definitely different.









The Daliushu Dongpeng Saturday Night Market has reopened. It is so lively! I found some more good things.





Here are photos of the clock I bought after unboxing it. I installed the dome and minaret myself, and the details are pretty good! It says 'Made in Taiwan' on the bottom, and also mentions England and Hong Kong, so it was likely produced before 1997.













September 14: Daliushu Tuesday Night Market.

I found a Pakistani copper plate with silver Arabic calligraphy at the Daliushu Night Market. It says, 'Where there is a will, there is a way.'





September 17: Beijing Film Festival screenings of the Moroccan film 'Casablanca Beats' (Gao'ang Xiangliang) and the Turkish film 'The Cemil Show' (Jiemier Biaoyanxiu).

After work today, I watched two Beijing Film Festival movies back-to-back at the Beijing Theater—one Moroccan and one Turkish. I quickly biked to grab a bowl of hand-pulled noodles (lamian) in between. It felt very fulfilling!

The first was an Arabic-language film about Moroccan rap music called 'Casablanca Beats.' It tells the story of an art center in a small town near Casablanca. It was a wonderful surprise; it is a rare film that directly explores Islam and modern art. As Muslims, how should we view and participate in modern art and youth subcultures? Can rap music use religion as a topic, or should modern art set artificial boundaries when it involves religion? The film shows this by having the young rappers discuss it directly, and I think this format is quite good.

The second film was 'The Cemil Show,' a tribute to classic Turkish cinema from the 1960s. The story takes place in a large supermarket in Istanbul and the old town by the Golden Horn. It made me miss Istanbul so much! The film is about a movie fanatic who lives his life like a film. The way it seamlessly connects the 'film within a film' is really impressive!



September 18: Came to 24D to see Xiao Liu and SUBS.

Came to 24D for a show. This is the famous folk musician Xiao Liu, known for his hit song 'Sou'.



I love the band SUBS!



September 18: Daliushu Dongpeng Saturday Night Market.

I found an ISAF (International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan) badge at the Daliushu Dongpeng Saturday Night Market tonight. ISAF was established by a UN resolution in 2001, with members rotating between NATO and EU forces. After 2011, security responsibilities were gradually handed over to the Afghan army, and the mission was officially completed after 2014.

In the center of the badge is the national emblem of the Republic of Afghanistan, which is a mosque (masjid) featuring a dome (gongbei), a prayer niche (mihrab), and a pulpit (minbar). Above the mosque are the Shahada and the Takbir, and below is the year 1298 (in the Hijri calendar), which is 1919 AD, the year Afghanistan broke free from British rule.









September 19, the Duo Zhuayu market in Sanlitun.

I visited the Duo Zhuayu market in Sanlitun in the evening. It was extremely crowded and there were not many books, mostly the same ones you find in the Duo Zhuayu bookstore. I just treated it as a post-dinner stroll.







September 20, seeing the Dunhuang exhibition at the Forbidden City and the old Ma Yinglong eye medicine shop building.





I was very lucky to see the Yuan Dynasty Syriac Nestorian 'Holy Scripture' and the Song Dynasty Nestorian cross from the Dunhuang Academy collection! The 'Travels of Marco Polo' once recorded that in Shazhou, Gansu, more than half of the population were Buddhists, and there were also Nestorian Christians. These two artifacts are the proof.

The Yuan dynasty Syriac Nestorian Bible (Shengajing) was found in 1989 in Cave 53 of the Mogao Caves' northern area. It is a four-page, double-folded manuscript written on white hemp paper. Because a Chinese document dated to the 30th year of the Zhiyuan reign (1293) and a Yuan dynasty Phags-pa script seal were found at the same time, it is believed to date back to the Yuan dynasty. The first page on the left is written in alternating lines of Syriac and Old Uyghur. The Old Uyghur text is unrelated to Christianity and may be a Buddhist hymn or scripture, while the Syriac text contains fragments of the Psalms from the Old Testament of the Bible (Shengajing). Pages 2 and 3 are on the back, and the right side is page 4. All of these contain fragments of the Syriac Psalms.





After seeing the Dunhuang exhibition at the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, I rode my bike to Qianmen Xiheyan to see the old storefront building of the Ma Yinglong Eye Medicine shop. In 1875 (the first year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty), Hui Muslim Ma Wanxing from Dingzhou, Hebei, moved his family eye medicine shop from Dingzhou to Beijing. He opened the Beijing Ma Yinglong Eye Medicine Shop on Xiheyan Street in Qianmen, naming it after his father, Ma Yinglong.

In 1923, Ma Wanxing's third son, Ma Liting, took over the shop and built the current storefront in the Republic of China style on Xiheyan Street in Qianmen. The storefront features a plaque that says Ma Yinglong, with the words eye medicine (yanyao) visible on the right, though partially blocked by an air conditioner. The plaque was inscribed by Ma Liang, a Beiyang warlord and Hui Muslim from Qingyuan, Hebei (now Qingyuan District, Baoding).











September 21: Zhihua Mosque Beijing Music and the Iranian Kurdish film The Outsider at the Beijing International Film Festival.

I took Zainab to listen to Zhihua Mosque (Zhihuasi) Beijing music.



The third film I saw at the Beijing International Film Festival was The Outsider, a movie about Iranian Kurds. It was excellent! The Bakhtiar family are Kurds living in Tabriz, the capital of Iran's East Azerbaijan province. It was interesting to hear Kurdish, Persian, and Azerbaijani spoken in the film. The film starts with a scene of a small Iranian shop that I know very well, with a big stack of stone-baked flatbread (shizi nang) sitting by the door. The small shops I saw on the streets when I visited Tehran looked exactly like this one.

The film also features Kurdish music. Beyond the Kurdish pop songs playing in the car, the main character, Bakhtiar, surprises us by playing a hand drum and singing a Kurdish folk song at a family gathering.

The film uses a car parked on the side of the road, which seems to be watching the whole neighborhood, to reflect the social state of the Kurds in Iran and the entire country. People live in fear of unknown surveillance, constantly hiding, yet they cannot escape.





September 22, Beijing International Film Festival, Bosnian film Quo Vadis, Aida? "

The fourth film at the Beijing International Film Festival, a heartbreaking masterpiece! A film worth remembering forever! In 1995, the largest massacre in contemporary Europe took place. Over 8,000 unarmed Bosnian Muslim civilians were killed by Serbian forces outside a United Nations base. There were no survivors, no one spared them, only endless despair. Yesterday they were your neighbors and classmates, but today they are the people killing your entire family. When the main character Aida recognized the remains of her husband and sons and sobbed uncontrollably, I broke down in tears too.

The director is a Bosnian Muslim woman from Sarajevo. The film uses a female perspective to capture the main character's love for her husband and son perfectly.

September 24, Beijing International Film Festival, Indonesian VR short film "Transition".

For my fifth screening at the Beijing International Film Festival, I watched four VR short films. The most interesting one was "Transition," which tells the story of how a small alley in the suburbs of Jakarta, Indonesia, changed from 1980 to 2020. This short stretch of alley vividly reflects 40 years of change in Jakarta and all of Indonesia, covering the economy, politics, culture, social ecology, and urbanization. I think it is excellent.

At the start of the film, this area is a traditional Javanese community filled with wooden houses. You can see the multi-layered pyramid roofs unique to traditional Javanese mosques, Javanese-style gates passed down from the pre-Islamic era, and elderly people wearing traditional Javanese clothing. Life was very relaxed back then. People ate and chatted while children ran through the alleys.

In the second phase, traditional wooden houses were rebuilt into brick and tile homes, and dirt roads became concrete. Ads for pop music appeared, but life remained quite relaxed. Later, as urbanization progressed, Jakarta kept expanding, and high-rise buildings began to surround the alley. People from all over Indonesia poured into Jakarta. Many new houses were built here, along with snack shops and fried rice (nasi goreng) stalls. The traditional Javanese mosque added a metal roof and a minaret, replacing the old practice of beating a drum to call for namaz.

Eventually, the traditional Javanese families disappeared and were replaced by modern convenience stores. A new-style mosque was built across the street, and the area became completely integrated into the Jakarta metropolis.









On September 25, the 10th Zhihua Mosque Music Culture Festival took place, along with the Beijing International Film Festival screening of the Iranian-Finnish film 'At This Moment, This Love'.

The five-tone drum (wuyin dagu) of Caijiawa in Miyun, Beijing. Before the 1960s, Miyun County had several groups performing the five-tone drum, but they all disbanded after the 'Four Clean-ups' movement in the 1960s. By 1978, only the Caijiawa group remained. This style of drum music once died out, until the Miyun Cultural Center rediscovered it in Caijiawa Village in 1998.

In 1998, only five elderly people in Caijiawa Village could still perform it; the oldest was 80 and the youngest was 60. Twenty-three years have passed. The oldest brothers of the Caijiawa Wuyin Drum troupe, Qi Dianming and Qi Dianzhang, have passed away, joining the drum and clapper storyteller Huang Qingjun and the qin player Qi Chuntong.

Among the instruments used in the Caijiawa Wuyin Drum, the tile zither (waqin) is rarely used in drum music. It was originally passed down by Chen Zhenquan’s great-grandfather, Chen Diangong. The tile zither (waqin) is also called the rolling zither (yaqin) or tooth zither (yaqin). The Old Book of Tang (Jiu Tang Shu) records that the elegant zither (yaqin) is an ancient instrument played by rubbing the end of a bamboo strip against it. The four-stringed fiddle (sihu) was originally made by Qi Dianzhang in 1951. He used shell casings he found when Miyun County was liberated in 1948, cutting them down to build it. The zither (qin) was originally traded by Qi Dianzhang in 1949 for two and a half dou of millet from the home of Li Lianmo, a relative of the imperial family in Miyun. It is over one hundred years old. The daqin is similar to the hammered dulcimer (yangqin), but it has a smaller sound box. Because the yangqin is too loud, the daqin is better suited for accompanying drum storytelling. These old instruments are now kept in the Miyun Museum, and a musical instrument factory has made replicas for performers to use.

The first teacher of Caijiawa Wuyin Dagu was Liu Yukun, a famous Wuyin Dagu performer from Anci (Langfang), Hebei, during the late Qing Dynasty. This style of drum storytelling appeared in the rural areas of Anci, Chengde, and the outskirts of Beijing during the Daoguang period. Guan Xuezeng, a master of qinshu, learned this style as a child before it eventually developed into Beijing qinshu. During the Republic of China era, veteran Caijiawa Wuyin Dagu performers would travel to nearby lantern sheds (dengpeng) to perform drum stories during the winter off-season. A three-day, four-night performance was called a "peng." They mainly performed long stories like "The Hu Family Generals" (Hu Jia Jiang), "The Legend of the Five Women Rising to Tang" (Wu Nu Xing Tang Zhuan), "The Legend of the Qing Dynasty Bandits" (Qing Chao Xiang Ma Zhuan), "The Return of the Yang Family" (Yang Jia Gui Xi), and "The Velvet Story" (Si Rong Ji).



The hosts, who are inheritors of Zhihua Mosque Beijing Music, teamed up with the Traditional Music Department of the Central Conservatory of Music. The group is now much larger, making the overall performance fuller and more powerful. It is a shame that while I enjoyed their Buddhist music chants a few years ago, the Zhihua Mosque now seems limited by its status as a museum and only plays instrumental music without the chanting.

Zhihua Mosque Beijing music began in the Ming Dynasty. In 1955, all the monk musicians at Zhihua Mosque returned to secular life, and the mosque was taken over by the Cultural Relics Bureau engineering team. The key figure in the modern revival of Zhihua Mosque Beijing music is the 26th-generation monk musician, Benxing. Benxing became a monk at Guangji Nunnery in 1932. He spent four years learning Beijing music at Zhihua Mosque starting in 1938. He was skilled at playing the flute and also managed the drums, cloud gongs (yunluo), and Buddhist chanting. In 1951, Benxing answered the call to return to secular life and became a materials clerk for a construction company. He retired in 1984. It was not until 1986, when Benxing and other monk musicians formed the Beijing Buddhist Music Ensemble and caused a sensation during a tour of Europe, that Benxing began performing the Zhihua Mosque Beijing music again.

In 1991, the Beijing Municipal Administration of Cultural Heritage invited 26th-generation monk musicians like Benxing, Fuguang, and Huiming back to Zhihua Mosque to pass on the music. That same year, ancient music inheritors Hu Qingxue, Qu Bingqing, Qu Yongzeng, Yao Zhiguo, Lin Zhongcheng, and Hu Qingyou from Gu'an, Hebei, came to Beijing to perform. Benxing and the other monk musicians chose them to become the 27th-generation inheritors. The good times did not last long. Because of financial hardship, the six inheritors could not make a living and decided to leave Zhihua Mosque after much thought. In 2004, the project to save the Zhihua Mosque Beijing music began. The six inheritors returned to the mosque and have continued to pass on the music ever since. They perform at Zhihua Mosque every day at 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.



The performance of Temple of Heaven Ritual Music (Zhonghe Shaoyue) was just named a fifth-batch national intangible cultural heritage this May. Zhonghe Shaoyue is the court music used for sacrifices, morning assemblies, and banquets during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Divine Music Office (Shenleshu) was established in 1420 to manage the music and dance for royal ceremonies at the Temple of Heaven. It was officially named the Divine Music Office in 1743 (the eighth year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty) and had nearly 500 musicians and dancers.

The Divine Music Office at the Temple of Heaven was occupied after the Republic of China period. It was renovated and opened in 2004. The Divine Music Office Elegant Music Troupe was officially formed in 2005. They restored the instruments and musical scores using ancient documents and began performing in 2006.

Before the performance starts, the most eye-catching thing is the robes they wear. Figure 12 shows the rather unique golden sunflower rank badge (buzi). According to the Illustrated Regulations for Ceremonial Paraphernalia of the Qing Dynasty, the robes for civil dance performers during rituals were made of silk. The color was stone blue for the Southern Suburb Altar and black for the Northern Suburb Altar. Red was used for the Altar of Prayer for Grain, the Altar of Land and Grain, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Altar of the Sun, the Temple of Emperors, the Confucius Temple, the Altar of Agriculture, and the Altar of Taisui. Moon white was used for the Altar of the Moon. All robes featured gold-printed sunflower patterns on the front and back borders. The belts for civil dance performers during rituals in this dynasty were made of green silk. "





The performers holding shields and axes in the front wore martial dance robes. Actually, the martial dance performers at the Temple of Heaven should also wear red. Only the Fangze Altar and the Altar of Earth in the north use black. I suspect the orchestra might have switched to black for better stage effect.



The sixth film at the Beijing International Film Festival, 'Any Day Now' (Cishi Ci'ai), tells the story of an Iranian family seeking asylum in Finland. The lead actress is truly beautiful! It reminds me of how I felt when I first watched Once Upon a Time in America over a decade ago. The whole movie is warm and relaxing, full of family, friendship, and growing up. It is great to finally see a movie that portrays the lives of Muslim immigrants in such a positive way. The final line of text after the movie ends is so moving: If you do not know where you will be tomorrow, please cherish the love you have right now. "





September 26, Xibe rock band Ajiyas.

I saw the Xibe rock band Ajiyas at Jianghu Bar. 'Derwenchiake' is my favorite song. It is so cheerful. Zainab and I kept singing it on the way back. It is stuck in our heads! Manchu-Tungusic value +10086.



September 29, Malaysian film 'Year Without a Summer'.

The seventh film at the Beijing International Film Festival. It features a Malay village by the tropical sea, where people hunt during the day and fish at night, along with childhood memories and legends. The whole movie is filled with the sounds of ocean waves and birds chirping. It has a very slow pace and very little dialogue, making it both sleep-inducing and immersive.



October 12, Daliushu Tuesday Night Market.

At the Daliushu Night Market tonight, I found a set of water pitcher and cups for drinking plain boiled water. This is exactly the kind we used at home when I was a kid! The only difference is that the one at my house was beige. When I bought it, the old man was just about to close up. He had already put the set in his cart to push away, but I spotted it right away. I feel like using this set to host guests in the future will be quite impressive.











October 13, Zhou Yunpeng Jianghu special show.

Coming to Jianghu to see Zhou Yunpeng. In March 2009, I first saw a Jianghu event on Douban City. I rode my bike over from Dongsi to watch a folk music show for the first time. It featured Zhou Yunpeng, Wu Tun, and the Traveler Band with Wu Junde, and I have loved them ever since.

Twelve years have passed now. Jianghu is still the same Jianghu, and Zhou Yunpeng is still the same Zhou Yunpeng, only this time I rode my bike over from Dongsi with Zainab to see the show. Listening to Zhou Yunpeng sing September, I felt like I was back in middle school over a decade ago. Back then, I had endless dreams for the future. Those were such wonderful times. Now I have a family and a stable life. Even though many of my old wishes didn't come true, I feel happy with where I am.



October 23: Shangfang Mountain, Doudian Mosque, and Lugou Bridge.

I went hiking at Shangfang Mountain in Fangshan District on Saturday. The terrain is so steep and rugged, exactly how people imagine the Taihang Mountains.







Some old artifacts from the Doudian Mosque.















I passed by Lugou Bridge in the evening.







Bullet holes at Wanping City.



October 24, Huafangzhai and Haopujian in Beihai Park.

















November 6, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's film Close-Up and the first snow in Beijing.

At the China Film Archive for the Abbas Kiarostami film festival, my first film was Close-Up. A film about filmmaking set in a wealthy neighborhood of Tehran in the 1990s, with a brilliant ending.





I bought a bookmark at the Abbas Kiarostami film exhibition at the China Film Archive that features five of his movies. This must be the most complete collection of Abbas Kiarostami films ever shown in China.



There are two main sights at the China Film Archive that everyone photographs after leaving the Abbas Kiarostami exhibition.







I am enjoying the snow while practicing calligraphy and drinking tea.





November 7, Dongsi in the snow.







Two films at the Abbas Kiarostami exhibition at the China Film Archive. Taste of Cherry is a rare film by Abbas that talks directly about faith, and it is the first time I have seen a film start with the Basmala (tasimi) on screen. It is a film about life and death, and it was very rare to see Hazara people from Afghanistan working in Tehran.

The Wind Will Carry Us is also a film about life and death, and autumn in the Kurdistan countryside is truly beautiful. Also, there is a girl inside named Zaynab, haha, but the subtitles translated it as "Zenabu," which doesn't sound very good.



November 8, Beijing after the snow.





November 13, Iranian Abbas film "Where Is the Friend's House?" and the original language book fair at PAGE ONE in Wudaokou.

At the Abbas film exhibition at the China Film Archive, I watched the fourth film of the series, "Where Is the Friend's House?" Abbas is truly amazing at filming children's stories; it was very heart-wrenching to watch.

In the evening, after eating at a Syrian restaurant, I went for a stroll at PAGE ONE in Wudaokou and happened to catch the original language book fair. Members get a 10% discount, so Zaynab bought me a book I had always been reluctant to purchase: "The Palestinian Table: Memories of My Mother's Kitchen."

The author of this book, Joudie Kalla, is a famous Palestinian-British chef whose grandparents fled to Syria during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Growing up in her family, Joudie Kalla learned how to cook many traditional Palestinian dishes from before the war.

In 2016, Joudie Kalla published the book Palestine on a Plate: Memories from My Mother's Kitchen. The publisher donates 50% of the book's profits to the Palestine House of Friendship (PHF) in the central Palestinian city of Nablus to help them buy permanent property. The Palestine House of Friendship is a well-known youth education and cultural organization in Palestine. It helps young Palestinians affected by war and poverty overcome challenges, enjoy a proper childhood, and learn about Palestinian history and culture.













November 14, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's film Life, and Nothing More..., and old items in an old house.

At the China Film Archive's Abbas Kiarostami retrospective, I watched the fifth film of the series, Life, and Nothing More... I watched the sequel to Where Is the Friend's Home? yesterday. It is a film about rebuilding after a disaster. The visuals are beautiful and feel like a gentle breeze on your face. The film mentions the strength that faith (imani) brings to people many times, which is very rare.

After the movie, I walked around my old family courtyard and took photos of some old items.



This is an old photo of my grandfather from the mid-20th century. In 1958, after China and Cambodia established diplomatic relations, he was sent to the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia as part of the first group of staff from the Ministry of Foreign Trade.





My grandfather's driver's license from the 1970s or 1980s.





A souvenir given to my grandfather by someone who lost their valuables in 1990, which he returned. For years, it hung on the wall of our living room.



A portable safe from the mid-Showa era made by Misono, purchased by my father's workplace in 1958. Misono was a famous safe brand in Tokyo at the time. Although it is quite damaged, this safe served as the financial vault for my father's workplace for over half a century before it was finally retired a few years ago.

The safe used to have a handle on top, but it got lost. I attached a jade face roller my mom used in the 90s to one side, which looks like a very strange mix. There is a clockwork mechanism inside the safe. My dad showed me how to wind it up to set the alarm, which was actually pretty interesting. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Beijing Muslim Heritage Walk 2021 is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: A photo of my grandfather (second from right) and his colleagues in the 1950s, when they were all workers building the Great Hall of the People. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Walks, Muslim Heritage, Beijing Mosques while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.











A photo of my grandfather (second from right) and his colleagues in the 1950s, when they were all workers building the Great Hall of the People.



My dad in the early 1970s in the courtyard of my grandfather's house.



My dad, my aunts, and neighbors at the gate of my grandfather's courtyard at the turn of the century.



The old house number plate from my grandfather's courtyard. Twenty years ago, this place was turned into ruins to make way for Financial Street.



Something my dad made himself in the 1980s.



The toy car I played with as a child, with 1985 and 1990 written on it.







The last photo shows the places where our family developed photos over the years; I think only Dabe is still around now.



November 28, Inner Mongolia Cultural Relics Exhibition at the National Museum of China.

A Nestorian bronze cross from the Inner Mongolia Museum collection on display at the National Museum. The label on the left says it was unearthed in Dalu Commune, Jungar Banner, Ordos City.

Most of these Nestorian bronze crosses were found in the Ordos region. They were first discovered in 1929 by the missionary Shi Peizhi while he was preaching in Baotou. Later, a Beijing missionary named Nie Kexun commissioned others to collect over a thousand of them, which are now kept at the Fung Ping Shan Museum at the University of Hong Kong.

These bronze crosses have a loop on the back for wearing. Besides the cross, they also feature bird and swastika shapes, which may have been used as seals. Scholars previously thought the Ordos Nestorian bronze crosses belonged to the Ongud tribe of the Yuan Dynasty, but in his book Between Pine and Desert (Songmo Zhijian), Lin Meicun argues they should belong to the Turkic Hun Nestorian Christians from the Liao, Jin, and Western Xia periods.

In the early 10th century, the Mongol Qiyan tribe moved west from Hulunbuir, forcing the Nestorian Turkic Hun tribe in the Tuul River valley to scatter. One branch migrated to Ordos and lived there until the 14th century.

Since these Nestorian bronze cross plaques were unearthed in ancient tombs from the Liao and Western Xia periods, and the Turkic Ongud tribe only moved south to Ordos from north of the Yin Mountains in the early Yuan Dynasty, Lin Meicun believes they should not be attributed to the Ongud tribe.



I saw a very special artifact at the National Museum's Inner Mongolia exhibition. The label said it was a bronze brush washer with Islamic script, only noting it was collected in Hohhot. The writing on it doesn't look like Arabic or Persian. I think the pattern in the middle looks like the style of the Seljuk Empire and the Ilkhanate. The lion mane mentioned on the label is, in my opinion, the halo often seen behind figures in Seljuk-Ilkhanate and later miniature paintings.

The sphinx image with a halo was very common during the Seljuk period. I once traveled to the capital of the Sultanate of Rum, modern-day Konya in Turkey, and saw it at the Karatay Tile Museum there.









December 3, Nandouya Mosque reopened.





December 10, Dongsi Mosque.













December 11, bought an Afghan rug at the market.

At the market in the Aotu Space in Beixinqiao, I bought a handmade Afghan wool rug. The young man's name is Taj, and he is from Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan. He came to China to study three years ago and ended up staying. The rug brand is called Biraro, which means brothers. They have a shop in Shanghai. Besides various handmade Afghan wool rugs, they also sell Afghan pine nuts, lapis lazuli, and saffron. The young man even gave me a bottle of saffron, and I plan to see how it compares to the Iranian kind.













December 17, digging for records at Cong Feng's stall at the Xinqiao Market.

At the Xinqiao Market in the Sunshine Building outside Xizhimen, director Cong Feng is back to set up his stall and sell records. He will be there both Saturday and Sunday. During the Xinqiao Market in April this year, I bought East African Zanzibar music, Pakistani devotional music, and Bosnian Muslim music from director Cong Feng, and I really love them. This time I bought Zanzibar dance music, Ottoman military band music, Algerian music, and Azerbaijani tar music. I had just chatted with director Cong for a moment when he recognized me as Wang Dongsi, haha. He said a friend showed him the diary entry I wrote about him before. Finally, director Cong gave me a record of American-Irish immigrant music from the 1920s-30s.







December 18, second visit to the Xinqiao Market.

I found a copy of the October 1978 issue of Nationalities Pictorial at the Xinqiao Market. It is a special issue commemorating the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. The cover features the Goji Berry Dance by the Yinchuan Art Troupe. Inside, there is a special feature on Hui working women in the Guyuan region, including the women's well-digging team and basketball team in Guyuan County, midwife Ma Xiulan from Jingyuan County, and militia deputy battalion commander Wang Yaohua from Xiji County.









Second visit to director Cong Feng's record shop on the third floor of the Xinqiao Market! I bought three more.

The first is an album by Egyptian musician Ammar El Sherei paying tribute to the legendary Egyptian music master Abdel Halim Hafez.

The second is by the Orchestre national de Barbès, a band formed in Paris by North African musicians from Algeria and Morocco.

The third is a sarangi album by North Indian musician Murad Ali Khan.







December 19, found a Republic of China-era Zhengxingde tea canister at Panjiayuan.

I found a Republic of China-era Zhengxingde tea canister at Panjiayuan. It is in decent condition and has a lot of interesting information on it. It says the main Zhengxingde store was on Zhugan Lane outside the North Gate of Tianjin, and the branch was on the east side of Lizhan Street in the French Concession. At that time, Zhengxingde had branches in Beiping, Baoding, and Cang County, while its tea-scenting factories were located in Fuzhou, Sukou, Hangzhou, Chun'an, Huizhou, Huangshan, Huoshan, and Jieyuan.

It also says the tea canisters were made by Zhengxingde's own canning department and printed by the Zhicheng Tin Printing Factory inside the North Gate of Tianjin.







December 21, evening stroll.



December 22, evening stroll.







December 24, evening stroll.







December 25, Ming and Qing Dynasty portrait exhibition at the National Art Museum of China.

The Ming and Qing Dynasty portrait exhibition at the National Art Museum of China features items from the Nanjing Museum.







The lacquer painting exhibition includes a 2014 painting of a Twelve Muqam performance; the lacquer painting really has a great texture.





Art book fair at the Guardian Art Center.





Nearly 100-year-old art designer Sheng Xishan painted these Beijing folk customs in the 1990s, and the Forbidden City Publishing House released them as a set called 'Beijing Dream Splendor Record' (Beijing Menghua Lu).







Listening to Wang Yuebo tell stories from Water Margin at the Lao She Teahouse.









Passing by Dongdan Park in the afternoon. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Khujand, Tajikistan — Night Walks, Food and Muslim Heritage is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: Khujand was the final stop on my 2019 Spring Festival trip through Central Asia. Although I only stayed for one night, it left me with many unforgettable memories. The account keeps its focus on Khujand Travel, Tajikistan Travel, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

Khujand was the final stop on my 2019 Spring Festival trip through Central Asia. Although I only stayed for one night, it left me with many unforgettable memories.

Table of Contents

1. Heading to Khujand

2. A Tajik city in the Fergana Valley

3. The city of Cyrus and Alexander

4. Traditional Tajik hats

5. The Syr Darya River

6. Thursday Bazaar

7. Saint's tomb

8. Dinner

9. The uncle playing the accordion

10. Khujand night view

1. Heading to Khujand

On the morning of February 14, 2019, I was in Penjikent, a border city in the far west of Tajikistan, waiting for a shared taxi to the capital, Dushanbe. However, because of a blizzard the night before, the mountain road to Dushanbe, which sits at an altitude of over 3,000 meters, remained closed. After waiting all morning, I was told there was no hope of the road to Dushanbe opening that day. I changed my plans and decided to head to Khujand, Tajikistan's second-largest city.

Around noon, our car left Penjikent heading east, driving through the Zeravshan River valley. The Zeravshan River, formerly known as the Sughd River, is called the mother river of the Sogdians. It flows through the most important Sogdian cities of Bukhara, Samarkand, and Penjikent, where countless stories of the Sogdian people have unfolded.





An hour later, we moved from the Zeravshan River valley into the upper Zeravshan River gorge, where all vegetation disappeared.



Then we drove north, entered Tajikistan's main north-south highway, and began crossing the Turkestan mountain range. The Turkestan range has an average altitude of over 3,000 meters, with its highest peak reaching over 5,000 meters. As the altitude rose sharply, the temperature dropped suddenly and visibility became very low.



We finally crossed the Turkestan range, headed north into the Fergana Valley, and arrived in Khujand after four hours.



The driver dropped me off directly at the Khujand Grand Hotel I had booked on Booking.com. The receptionist was a young Russian woman. Her English wasn't very good, but we communicated using a mix of Russian and English words and eventually understood each other.



The suite I stayed in



I bought a wool coaster before I left

2. A Tajik city in the Fergana Valley

Khujand is located at the entrance to the Fergana Valley and is the only large city in the valley with a Tajik majority. After the Soviet Union redrew the borders of Central Asia in 1924, Khujand was incorporated into the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR).

When the establishment of a Tajik Autonomous Oblast within the Uzbek Republic was discussed in 1924, the issue of the Tajiks in the western Fergana Valley was already mentioned. But the prevailing view at the time was to include this land in the Uzbek Republic. This was because the Tajiks and Uzbeks here had deeply intertwined farmland and their economic ties were inseparable. the main point of contention at the time was the distinction between settled and nomadic peoples, so the conflict between the settled Uzbeks and Tajiks seemed insignificant. Although a Tajik subcommittee was set up within the territorial commission, it was actually very passive and simply agreed to the routes proposed by the Uzbek side.

However, after the Central Asian border demarcation ended, conflicts between the Uzbek and Tajik sides began to intensify. After 1926, the leaders and elites of the Tajik Autonomous Republic began to protest continuously, demanding to join the Soviet Union directly to ensure the normal development and cultural independence of the Tajik people. The Soviet Union agreed to this request. One reason was a concern about the dominant position of the Uzbek Republic in Central Asia, and another was the desire to use a "Tajik nation-state" to influence the Afghan civil war and attract the Tajiks of Afghanistan.

In 1929, the Tajik and Uzbek territorial demarcation commission began its work. The leaders of the Uzbek Republic quickly agreed to transfer the Khujand region, which was dominated by Tajiks in western Fergana, to the Tajik Republic, in order to gain the upper hand in the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, which had large Tajik populations.

With Khujand incorporated into the Tajik Republic, the current territorial layout of Tajikistan was officially formed. This is why there is a protrusion on the north side of Tajikistan.



In 1927, blue represented the Uzbek SSR, and yellow represented the subordinate Tajik ASSR.



On today's map of Tajikistan, Khujand sits in a northern protrusion that reaches into the Fergana Valley.

3. The city of Cyrus and Alexander

From my hotel room window, I could see the most important historical site in Khujand: the Khujand Fortress.



Between 545 and 539 BC, the Persian Emperor Cyrus the Great led an eastern campaign into Central Asia and established the province of Sogdia in the Transoxiana region. To counter the Saka people on the north bank of the Syr Darya River, Cyrus the Great built seven cities on the south bank in 544 BC. The largest was called Cyropolis, which became one of the earliest and most famous cities of the Sogdians.

In 329 BC, the army of Alexander the Great entered the Transoxiana region. According to the Anabasis of Alexander, the Sogdians resisted the Greek army fiercely, and Alexander himself even suffered a broken leg from an arrow during the fighting. After reaching the south bank of the Syr Darya, Alexander used siege ladders and stone-throwing machines to capture five cities in a row before finally arriving at Cyropolis. The Greek army entered the city through a water channel beneath the walls, and about 8,000 residents were killed. Most of them were Sogdians defending the city.

After taking Cyropolis, Alexander built the furthest Greek city on its foundation, naming it Alexandria Eschate, and moved many Greeks there.

There is still no definitive evidence for the exact locations of Cyropolis and Alexandria Eschate, but the Khujand Fortress is the most likely site. Although the earliest visible walls of the Khujand Fortress date back no further than the 10th century AD, archaeological excavations show layers from the Hellenistic and ancient Persian periods beneath the walls, along with many unearthed Hellenistic coins and pottery.

The Khujand Fortress has been rebuilt many times in history, with the current main structure dating to the 10th century AD. Between 1219 and 1220, the city of Khujand was besieged by Genghis Khan's Mongol army, which severely damaged the fortress. It was rebuilt again in the 15th century.

In 1999, a section of the eastern wall, which dated back to the 8th or 10th century, underwent a historically inaccurate restoration and was converted into the Sughd Museum and the Museum of Archaeology and Fortification. I was very disappointed that I couldn't visit the museum because it was already closed when I arrived in Khujand.









From May 17 to 24, 1866, Russia captured the Khujand Fortress. Mikhail Afrikanovich Terentʹev, a Russian officer, orientalist, linguist, and writer who was present, took photos of the fortress that were later included in the Turkestan Album.



This image is a battle map used during the Russian siege of Khujand in May 1866. The map shows the central Khujand Fortress and the outer city walls.



Khujand Fortress.



Looking at the market from the city walls.

4. Traditional Tajik hats

The east side of the Khujand Fortress has been turned into a small park. At a shop near the wall, I bought a few hats worn by people from the Badakhshan region of Tajikistan and the Kulob area on the edge of the Pamirs. The style of these hats is clearly different from the skullcaps (dopa) worn by lowland Tajiks; they have wool trim on the edges and decorative borders.













Below is a hat worn by the Pamiri people of Tajikistan that I found online; you can see it also has pom-poms on the side.







5. The Syr Darya River

Not far to the north of the Khujand Fortress is the Syr Darya River. The Syr Darya originates in the Tianshan Mountains, flows west into the Fergana Valley, and exits the valley after passing through Khujand.





The Syr Darya River near Khujand, photographed for the Turkestan Album, which was edited by Russian orientalist Aleksandr L. Kun between 1865 and 1872.







Sculptures by the river.

6. Thursday Bazaar

Then I caught a ride with an older man to the Panjshanbe Bazaar. Even though we didn't speak the same language, we chatted the whole way. Using hand gestures, I understood that the Panjshanbe Bazaar has two main entrances, which one is closest to the main road, and the best way to walk through it.



The Panjshanbe Bazaar is actually open every day, but it is busiest on Thursdays. It is known as the largest bazaar in the Fergana Valley. The main hall was built in 1964 and is one of the most important Soviet buildings in Khujand.

















People of Khujand in the 1860s and 1870s, from the Turkestan Album.







7. Saint's tomb

Sheikh Muslihiddin (1133–1223) was a poet and ruler of Khujand. His tomb was originally outside the suburbs of Khujand, but later those who revered him moved it to its current location. The original tomb was quite small and was later destroyed by the Mongols. People rebuilt the tomb after the 14th century, rebuilt it again into its current form in the 16th century, and built the current minaret in 1865. During the Soviet era, this place served as a regional history museum, and it only returned to its religious function after the museum moved out in the 1990s.









The tomb mosque in the 1860s-70s from the Turkestan Album.



A 19th-century minaret.





8. Dinner

It was almost dark after I finished walking around the Thursday Bazaar, so I strolled toward my accommodation while looking for a restaurant. As I walked, I suddenly smelled grilled meat. A young man at the door called out to me, so I went into this barbecue restaurant. Besides the grilled meat, the restaurant had various self-service options. I ordered horse sausage (machangzi), beef wrapped with potatoes, flatbread (nang), and rice soup (mastava). The meat skewers they served were really huge, and I couldn't finish them in the end. The young waiters inside were all very kind, always smiling and asking how my meal was. One of the young men spoke fluent English, and I had a great time chatting with him.





Grilled meat (kaorou).



Horse sausage (machangzi).





Rice soup (mitang).



Flatbread (nang).







The barbecue uncle.



The barbecue uncle.

9. The uncle playing the accordion

After dinner, I strolled back to my hotel and met an uncle playing the accordion in the courtyard of a restaurant next to the hotel. The uncle's job was to go from one private room to another in the restaurant to sing for the guests. When there were no new guests, the uncle sang a few songs for me too. The uncle could sing all kinds of Uzbek, Tajik, and Soviet songs, and you could see the marks left by the Soviet era on him.



10. Khujand night view

I walked around the streets of Khujand at night. Since it was the last night of this trip, I was a bit reluctant to leave, so I took more night photos to share with everyone.



Shops on the Thursday Bazaar square.



World War II Memorial. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Tajikistan — Sogdian Old City, Muslim Heritage and History is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: On the morning of February 13, 2019, I left Samarkand for Panjakent, Tajikistan. The border crossing east of Samarkand leading to Tajikistan had been closed for many years and only reopened in 2018. The account keeps its focus on Tajikistan Travel, Sogdian History, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

On the morning of February 13, 2019, I left Samarkand for Panjakent, Tajikistan. The border crossing east of Samarkand leading to Tajikistan had been closed for many years and only reopened in 2018. After the border opened, the trip from Samarkand to Panjakent took just over an hour, which is the main reason I added Panjakent to my Uzbekistan trip.

Because I was worried about language barriers, I booked a day tour online with ADVANTOUR. ADVANTOUR is a reliable travel agency specializing in Central Asia and the Caucasus, and it is recommended in the Lonely Planet Central Asia guidebook. Besides custom tours, ADVANTOUR can also handle hotel, transport, and visa bookings. After I placed my order on their website, I communicated with the manager, Kodirov Anvar, via email to confirm the details. He was patient and polite, and we had a very pleasant exchange.

Table of Contents

1. Samarkand Border Crossing

2. Ancient City of Sarazm

3. Lunch

4. Accommodation

5. Rudaki Museum

6. Buying a Hat

7. Grand Bazaar

8. Olim Dodho Madrasa

9. Capital of Sogdiana: Ancient City of Panjakent

10. Mausoleum of Rudaki

11. Tajik Families Deep in the Mountains

1. Samarkand Border Crossing

Early on the 13th, an Uzbek driver arranged by ADVANTOUR picked me up from my hotel to head to the border, and we arrived in less than an hour. After security checks, exit stamps, entry stamps, and another security check, I arrived in Tajikistan. Two reminders for crossing the border: keep the registration slips from your hotels in Uzbekistan, as they will check them when you leave. Also, if you buy any antiques, you must get the relevant certificates, which can usually be issued at the place where you buy the items.



After entering, my Tajik guide, Afridun, waved at me with a sign showing my name, and my Tajikistan trip officially began. Afridun told me this border had been closed for many years, and some young people did not even know that hundreds of thousands of Tajiks lived in Samarkand and Bukhara across the border. The border finally opened during Nowruz last spring, and Panjakent held a grand ceremony, with many people traveling to Samarkand to see it. A friend of the guide was waiting to pay at a supermarket in Samarkand when he heard the person in front of him speaking Tajik to the cashier, and that was how he realized so many Tajiks lived in Samarkand.

2. Ancient City of Sarazm

Not far east from the border, after passing an Uzbek village, I arrived at Tajikistan's only UNESCO World Heritage site, the ancient city of Sarazm. This ancient city is one of the earliest in Central Asia and was the largest metallurgical center in the region during the Bronze Age.







According to carbon-14 dating, the city dates from roughly 3500 BC to 2000 BC, spanning from the Chalcolithic period to the early and middle Bronze Age. The city is located 45 kilometers east of Samarkand and 15 kilometers west of Panjakent in the Zeravshan River valley, at an average altitude of 910 meters. Geographically, the city sits right between the agricultural plains of Transoxiana and the pastoral areas of the Pamir-Alay mountains, making it a perfect spot for mountain herders and plain farmers to trade goods and share skills and culture.

Additionally, the Zeravshan valley is rich in metal resources, with tin and gold found in the river sand being the most important. The area gradually became a metal smelting center, and industries like pottery and stone processing also began to emerge.

By around 3000 BC, the ancient city of Sarazm became a long-distance trade hub focused on tin exports. Its trade network reached north to the Aral Sea and the Eurasian Steppe, west to Turkmenistan, the Iranian plateau, and Mesopotamia, and south to Balochistan and the Indus Valley.



Trade map of the ancient city, from UNESCO documents.

In 1976, a villager named Mr. Achurali Taïkonov accidentally found a bronze axe while farming. He handed it to Professor A. Isakov, an archaeologist, who then began working with the villagers to excavate the site. Archaeological work officially started in 1977, and the ancient city of Sarazm, which had been missing for over 3,000 years, appeared once again.

Between 1977 and 1994, a period of 17 years, Professor A. Isakov led 11 excavations and 20 surveys. From 1984 to 1991, a French archaeological team (CNRS) also conducted archaeological work here.



On the right is the site's discoverer, Achurali Taïkonov, and on the left is the head of archaeology, Professor A. Isakov. The image is from a UNESCO document.



Professor A. Isakov at the archaeological site. The photo is from a UNESCO document.

Looking at the terrain, the ancient city of Sarazm had no clear urban planning; it extended naturally in different directions without city walls. The total area of the ancient city exceeds 50 hectares, consisting of 10 hills of varying heights and 5 depressions, which correspond to the city's building areas and ponds. The building area consisted of houses, temples, and workshops. Palaces also appeared between 2900 BC and 2700 BC, and it is estimated that the population exceeded 3,000 at its peak.

Early buildings in the ancient city used rectangular clay bricks mixed with straw. Later, they also began using river stones, but these were mainly used for building wall foundations. The roofs were flat with wooden beams, covered by one or several layers of branches and reeds.

Residential courtyards included storage rooms, workshops, kitchens, and living areas. Most had fenced yards where most handicraft work took place.

After 3300 BC, family altars for sacrificial activities appeared inside the rooms, with a circular furnace altar in the center. Starting in 2900 BC, the altars became larger, and square fireplaces with circular altars began to appear, inside which charred seeds were found.

Workshops focused mainly on metal smelting. Furnaces, clay molds, crucibles, and many metal products were found at the site. Next was pottery making. Early pieces were handmade, but after 2700 BC, a potter's wheel (taojun) appeared. there were workshops for processing various gemstones such as turquoise, lapis lazuli, ruby, and agate.









The most important discovery in the ancient city was a tomb called the 'Lady of Sarazm,' which contained a woman's skeleton surrounded by thousands of beads and various jewelry, and even shells from the Indian Ocean or the Arabian Sea. The most important burial item for the Lady of Sarazm was her bracelet, which clearly came from the Indus civilization.

Another important artifact is a cylindrical seal discovered in 1984, which can print a bull when rolled. This bull has distinct Mesopotamian characteristics.



The location where the Lady of Sarazm and the bull seal were unearthed, from a UNESCO document.



The bull seal, from a UNESCO document.



Beads unearthed from the tomb of the Lady of Sarazm, displayed in the Rudaki Museum.

3. Lunch

After visiting the ancient city of Sarazm, we continued east to the Penjikent urban area and ate pilaf (zhuafan), baked meat buns (kaobaozi), and flatbread (nang) at a local restaurant.

Plain Tajiks and Uzbeks have lived together for hundreds of years and have influenced each other deeply; it is hard to tell them apart from their diet to their clothing. While eating, a waiter was a Pamiri who came here to work during winter break, so I followed the topic and chatted with them about the differences between plain Tajiks and Pamiris. The Tajik language spoken by plain Tajiks belongs to the Western Iranian branch, like Persian and Kurdish. The language spoken by Pamiris belongs to the Eastern Iranian branch, like Pashto and Sogdian. The two cannot communicate. Pamiris in Tajikistan learn Tajik as a second language in school from a young age. the obvious difference between plain Tajiks and Pamiris is that the former are Sunni and the latter are Shia; the former wear a skullcap (duopa), and the latter wear a flat-topped hat.





Pilaf (zhuafan)



Cold dish



Baked meat buns (kaobaozi)



On the left is the young guide, and on the right is the driver.



4. Accommodation

After lunch, I went to the hotel to drop off my luggage. I booked the Umariyon Hotel myself on Booking. It is a pretty good hotel in Penjikent with a good location.



5. Rudaki Museum

The Rudaki Museum is the main museum in Penjikent. It is similar to a county museum in China, with few but comprehensive collections.





The guide is explaining things to me.

Traditional jewelry collected in the Rudaki Museum.













6. Buying a Hat

An auntie sells tourist souvenirs right inside the entrance of the Rudaki Museum hall, which is quite rare. I bought a skullcap (doppa) and a coaster. The auntie sewed the coaster herself, and the doppa is from the late Soviet era.

This dark green velvet almond skullcap (Badam Doppa) is quite rare, as most are black nowadays. The almond skullcap is known as "Chust do‘ppisi" in Uzbekistan. Chust is a handicraft center in the Fergana Valley famous for producing skullcaps. The almond skullcap likely originated in the 19th century. It spread rapidly among Uzbeks, lowland Tajiks, and Uyghurs from the late 19th to the early 20th century. It later became the most common type of skullcap for adult Uzbek and lowland Tajik men, and it also accounts for a significant proportion among adult Uyghur men.











7. Grand Bazaar

After leaving the museum, we went to the Grand Bazaar in Panjakent.











I bought traditional lowland Tajik music discs at two shops. I asked the grandmother at the shop to play them, and they sounded quite similar to Uzbek music.







Our guide is buying flatbread (nan).



8. Olim Dodho Madrasa

The Olim Dodho Madrasa is across from the bazaar. It dates back to the 14th century, was rebuilt twice in the 17th century and in 1826, and was renovated in 1958 and 1982. It is currently closed to the public and is the most important Islamic monument in the city of Panjakent.







9. Capital of Sogdiana: Ancient City of Panjakent

Next, we arrived at the ancient city of Panjakent on the outskirts of town.



The entrance to the ancient city, which is the site of the southeast corner tower.



A restoration drawing of the southeast corner.



We climbed down from the corner tower site and officially entered the ancient city.



Entering the main road of the inner city.



The ancient city of Panjakent was the capital of the Kingdom of Mymoghe, one of the Nine Sogdian Kingdoms. In the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions, Mymoghe is recorded as "Mimoguo," and its capital was called Poshide City. In 1946, Soviet scholars began archaeological excavations of the ancient city of Panjakent. They initially determined that the city was founded in the 5th century AD and flourished during the 7th and 8th centuries.

The ancient city of Panjakent was a trading city on the Silk Road. Its citizens were mainly merchants who managed trade from inland China all the way to the coast of the Caspian Sea. According to the Hudud 'Alam, there were thousands of caravanserais in the ancient city of Panjakent, and merchants from nearby countries would come here to trade. Therefore, the large number of copper coins unearthed in the ancient city of Panjakent include not only local currency but also coins from the nearby Kang Kingdom (Samarkand), An Kingdom (Bukhara), and Shi Kingdom (Tashkent).

Starting in the 7th century, the Arabs began to invade Sogdiana. In 674, the Arab army first looted the ancient city of Panjakent. In 706, the famous Arab general Qutaybah surrounded the ancient city of Panjakent again. Upon hearing the news, the various countries of the Nine Sogdian Kingdoms sent troops to surround the Arab army for two months. The Arab army, fighting with their backs to the river, eventually defeated the Sogdian reinforcements and continued to besiege the ancient city of Panjakent for 50 days. According to the History of Bukhara, to boost morale, Qutaybah announced that whoever broke through the gap would be rewarded, and if they died in battle, the reward would go to their children. Eventually, the Arab army broke into the ancient city of Panjakent. Qutaybah set the amount of tribute and then continued on to attack other Sogdian cities.

After Qutaybah left, the Sogdian nobleman Divashtich became the last ruler of Panjakent. Initially, Divashtich submitted to Arab rule and even sent his own children to the Arabs as hostages. But in 720, Divashtich joined several Sogdian lords to launch a war against the Arabs. In 722, Divashtich was defeated and captured, and the Arab army burned the houses and Zoroastrian temples of Panjakent. The Arabs then beheaded Divashtich, nailed his body to a Zoroastrian tomb building in Panjakent, and took his head back to Iraq.

After Divashtich died, the ancient city of Panjakent was gradually abandoned at the end of the 8th century and disappeared into history.



The north wall of the inner city; below the cliff is the new city of Panjakent from the post-Islamic era.







The ancient city of Panjakent was divided into three parts: the citadel, the inner city, and the outer city, all surrounded by city walls. The citadel was in the far west, with palaces and walls, and was where the rulers lived. The inner city is on the east side with a complex network of streets. Main roads are 3 to 5 meters wide, lined with houses, workshops, and shops.



Homes of the wealthy usually have two floors, with a storage room and a spiral staircase leading to the second floor on the ground level. The second floor features a grand hall with murals, where four wooden pillars support intricate wood carvings.







Murals are among the most important artifacts in the ancient city of Panjakent. They have been found in over 50 room ruins, and some are very well preserved. The main wall of the hall features murals of various guardian deities. The other three walls show scenes of festivals, hunting, Sassanid heroic epics, and folklore. There are even themes from the Persian epic Shahnameh and images of the Indian god Shiva. Most of these murals are now kept in the Dushanbe Museum of Antiquities and the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. A small number are also in the Panjakent Ancient City Museum and the Rudaki Museum.











Wood carvings are also very important artifacts from the ancient city. Wooden structures are hard to preserve for long in the damp environment of Panjakent. However, archaeologists were surprised to find charred wood carvings in houses that were covered by collapsed roofs after fires.

Some of these wood carvings are in the Panjakent Ancient City Museum.













There are two Zoroastrian (fire-worshipping) temples on the north side of the city, which were once the most important buildings in the inner city. Although Buddhism and Manichaeism were widespread in the Sogdian region, most people in Panjakent followed Zoroastrianism. The Zoroastrianism practiced by the people of Panjakent is called Sogdian Zoroastrianism, which is a unique sect. This sect was influenced by many other religions, even those from ancient Mesopotamia, including the goddess Nanaya worshipped by the Sumerians.











Pottery shards unearthed in the temples bear the names of donors in the Sogdian language and are now kept in the Rudaki Museum in Panjakent.



Sogdian wooden slips unearthed from the ancient city are now kept in the Rudaki Museum in Panjakent.

A wine vat site was found in the ruins of the ancient city of Panjakent. It could store over 1,400 liters of grape juice, showing that winemaking was well-developed at the time. According to the Jin Dynasty book Bowuzhi, there was wine in the Western Regions that would not spoil for many years. "

ruins of iron workshops and glass workshops can be seen in the ancient city of Panjakent. The Sogdians were skilled at making ironware, pottery, and gold and silver items, and were especially famous for their armor. In 718 AD, the Sogdians presented chainmail as a gift to Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty.





The cemetery is located south of the city and covers 10 hectares. Over 50 tombs have been found, including single and double burials. They contain pottery ossuaries with typical Zoroastrian ash urns and fire altars.



Currently kept in the Panjakent Ancient City Museum.



Currently kept in the Panjakent Ancient City Museum.

Nestorianism was another important religion followed by the Sogdians of Panjakent besides Zoroastrianism. The image below shows a Nestorian tombstone carved with a cross.



Currently kept in the Panjakent Ancient City Museum.



Outside the east city wall is the suburban area.

The Soviet Union began archaeological excavations in Panjakent in 1946. In 1954, 21-year-old Moscow State University archaeology student Boris Marshak came to the ancient city of Panjakent to participate in excavations. He worked there for over fifty years until he passed away.

Marshak began leading the archaeological work at the ancient city of Panjakent in 1978 and became the head of the Central Asia and Caucasus department at the Hermitage in Leningrad in 1979.

After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, a five-year civil war broke out in Tajikistan. Many ethnic Russians left the country, but Marshak continued to serve as the director of the site excavations. At that time, the archaeological work faced not only a lack of funding but also the danger of looting. Through close cooperation with the Tajik government, Marshak ensured the safety of the site. By connecting with international organizations and traveling to countries like Italy, the United States, and Austria to teach and give lectures, Marshak also secured enough funding.

On July 28, 2006, Marshak passed away at the work site in the ancient city. According to his will, he was buried at the entrance to the ancient city.













Panjakent Ancient City Museum.

10. Mausoleum of Rudaki

After visiting the ancient city, I went to visit the hometown of my guide, Afridun. The guide's home is deep in the Fann Mountains, 60 kilometers east of Panjakent. The Fann Mountains are praised in the Lonely Planet Central Asia guide as one of the best hiking spots in Central Asia, but there are almost no tourists in winter.

On the way to the guide's home, I passed the Mausoleum of Rudaki, but unfortunately, it was already closed. Rudaki is known as the father of modern Persian literature, the founder of classical Persian literature, and is even called the Adam of Poets. Rudaki was born in present-day Tajikistan in 858 AD. He spent most of his life as a court poet for the Samanid Empire in Bukhara, but he fell out of favor in his later years and died in poverty near his hometown in 941.

In the early 20th century, Sadriddin Ayni, known as the father of modern Tajik literature, studied various historical manuscripts to determine the approximate location of Rudaki's tomb. He worked with Russian anthropologist Professor Mikhail Gerasimov and several Tajik scholars to finally locate the tomb. A new tomb for Rudaki was built in 1958.







11. Tajik Families Deep in the Mountains

After passing Rudaki's tomb, the road turned into a dirt path in the valley that became increasingly difficult to travel.





We finally arrived at our guide's home just as it started to snow heavily.



The guide's wife made us meatball soup (wanzi tang) and yogurt made from their own fresh milk, both of which were delicious. The snow outside kept getting heavier, but we had a great time sitting by the fire, watching TV, and chatting with the children.







The guide's youngest daughter, Fatima, is only 10 months old, while his older daughter, Oisha, and son, Samir, were watching Kung Fu Panda and Ice Age on TV.









The snow fell harder on our way back, but we made it safely to the city, successfully completing our one-day trip to Panjakent. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Beijing — Mosques, Islamic New Year and Muslim Heritage is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: July 30, 2022, was the Islamic New Year. Since it fell on a Saturday, I decided to go on a mosque-visiting trip. The account keeps its focus on Beijing Mosques, Islamic New Year, Muslim Heritage while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

July 30, 2022, was the Islamic New Year. Since it fell on a Saturday, I decided to go on a mosque-visiting trip.

Dongzhimenwai Mosque

A great day starts with a good morning (bangda). I went to the Dongzhimenwai Mosque, which is relatively close to my home. Dongzhimenwai Mosque was originally called Erlizhuang Mosque. It was first built during the Yuan Dynasty and renovated during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. In the late 1980s, Shougang Group and a Danish business partner built international apartments in Erlizhuang. Because of this, the mosque was moved one kilometer to the northwest and rebuilt. It was completed in 1991 and reopened in 1993.

The mosque currently houses a precious wooden carving of a dua, which is said to be an original piece from the Yuan Dynasty.













After finishing my namaz, I visited the morning market (xiaoshier) by the Liangma River outside Dongzhimen. I went there often last summer, but this was my first time this year. It felt like the items weren't as interesting as before.









After the market, I grabbed a quick breakfast at Bai Kui in Kuanjie, then went home to take a nap.



Knife-cut noodles (daoxiaomian) in Xiguanshi

I woke up in the morning and set off for the Qinghe Mosque, but the information was wrong and it was closed. I continued on to Xiguanshi in Changping.

I had knife-cut noodles (daoxiaomian) at Yiyuan Restaurant in Xiguanshi. They also serve corn noodles (yumigeluomian) and oat noodles (bashanyouman). Because the Hui Muslims of Xiguanshi were used to traveling the western routes as armed escorts during the Qing Dynasty, their dietary habits were influenced by the Jin dialect region. This makes them very different from Hui Muslims in other parts of Beijing. Eating a bowl of these Hui Muslim knife-cut noodles is a way to get a taste of the Qing Dynasty culture of traveling the western routes (zouxikou).









Street view of Xiguanshi



This meat flatbread (roushaobing) shop is also very famous.







Xiguanshi Mosque

After lunch, I performed my namaz at the Xiguanshi Mosque.

Xiguanshi Mosque was originally called the Guan Shi Village Mosque. It was first built in 1494 (the seventh year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty). The main hall was rebuilt in 1709 (the 48th year of Kangxi), the main gate in 1723 (the first year of Yongzheng), the hall rooms in 1732 (the tenth year of Yongzheng), and the kiln hall in 1761 (the 26th year of Qianlong). It continued to be renovated during the Guangxu period and the Republic of China.

On August 15, 1900, the Eight-Nation Alliance entered Beijing. Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor fled the city to the west, arriving in Xiguanshi at dusk. The Hui Muslims of Xiguanshi, led by clan elder Li Xilun, welcomed the imperial party south of the village. They led Cixi and her group to stay at the Xiguanshi Mosque, where they were received by Imam Cai Wanchun. According to the late Qing record 'Gengzi Guobian Ji' by Luo Dunrong, 'At dusk, they arrived at Guan Shi in Changping. The Emperor and the Empress Dowager had not eaten for a day.' The villagers offered them sorghum, which they ate with their hands. The Empress Dowager wept, and the Emperor wept as well. It was cold, and they could not find bedding. A village woman offered a cloth quilt that was still damp from washing. Afterward, Cixi slept in the main hall, the Emperor and his consorts slept in the side halls, and the rest of the party stayed in nearby civilian homes.

The next day, Li Xijun, the owner of the Xiguangyu Escort Agency in Xiguanshi, prepared twenty mule-drawn sedan chairs, along with silver ingots and grain for the imperial party. A villager named Yang Juchuan volunteered to lead the way, and Li Jintang provided an escort to the next stop. Wu Lu, a compiler at the Hanlin Academy who experienced the Gengzi Incident, wrote in his 'Hundred Sorrows Poems': 'The imperial carriage stopped at the ancient mosque, and the happy villagers offered their humble vegetables.' They donated a thousand pieces of gold for imperial use and transported a hundred loads of grain from their own stores. In times of hardship, they opened the channels for speech, and I read the imperial edict with tears streaming down my face. I sigh at the border officials who received such great favor, while they live in deep seclusion in their offices. "

Two years later, when Cixi returned to Beijing, she granted silver for the renovation of Xiguanshi. She also had glazed tiles, roof treasures, and ridge beasts fired at the Liulihe Imperial Kiln to be gifted to the Xiguanshi Mosque and the mosque in Gaotou Village, Wuji County, which was the hometown of Imam Cai Wanchun. Cixi inscribed a plaque for the mosque that read 'Spiritual Inspiration Manifested,' the Guangxu Emperor inscribed 'Loyalty Dedicated to the Sovereign,' Prince Su Shanqi inscribed 'Pure Emptiness Tastes of the Way,' and Prince Li inscribed 'Profound and Infinite.' She also granted Yang Juchuan, who helped lead the way, the title of 'Marquis of Leading the Way,' and Li Jintang, who helped with the escort, the rank of a second-grade official in Zhejiang. Many others, including village elder Li Xilun and Imam Cai Wanchun, were awarded fifth, sixth, and seventh-grade official headwear.

In 1958, when a communal canteen was set up, the plaques in the main hall were taken down and used as cutting boards. Their whereabouts are now unknown. After the 1960s, the main hall was turned into a warehouse, and all the plaques and couplets were burned. All buildings except for the main hall and the main gate were demolished until it was restored and reopened in 1982.































The 1879 stone tablet titled 'Record of Li Yongxin's Donation for Annual Repairs in Xiguanshi Village' documents how Li Yongxin donated land and silver to renovate the mosque. The author of the tablet, Ma Zhaoqing, was a famous Qing Dynasty scholar. His compilation, the 'Changping Outer Gazetteer,' corrected and supplemented the 'Changping Prefecture Gazetteer,' making it a valuable historical source. Ma Zhaoqing also wrote a couplet for the Xiguanshi main hall: 'Since the Tang Dynasty, thirty volumes of treasure have been received, pure and clean;' Follow Allah's commands, observe the five daily namaz, and lead the people to prosperity and peace. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in the 1960s.







The 1909 stele titled 'Public Record of Donations for the Xiguan Mosque School' notes that during the Boxer Rebellion, Xiguanshi was not only spared from harassment but also received rewards for hosting Empress Dowager Cixi and her entourage during their flight west. Consequently, local elders donated money and land to support the mosque and its school.

The stele mentions that many donors held official ranks. Among them was Li Jintang, owner of the Xiguangyu Security Firm, who had protected Cixi. He later followed a general to oversee Xinjiang. When a Uyghur uprising broke out in Ili, Li Jintang returned to his hometown of Xiguanshi via Russia under the protection of Uyghurs, and he passed away shortly after.

Dongyuhe Sheep Shop Public Fund

Li Jintang, Second-Rank Official with Peacock Feather, Zhejiang Expectant Circuit Intendant

Li Mingda, Fifth-Rank Official with Peacock Feather

Li Guozhen, Fifth-Rank Official

Li Xilun, Fifth-Rank Official with Blue Feather, Candidate for County Magistrate

Li Baochen, Sixth-Rank Official with Blue Feather

Li Yukuan, Li Xitian, Li Xi'en, Li Xihou, Hai Mingzhu, and Li Sheng, all Sixth-Rank Officials

Li Zhensheng, Seventh-Rank Official







Additionally, the tomb garden of the sage Bo Hazhi in Changping also contains a donation stele from 1909. It lists Hui Muslims from Xiguanshi who donated to the tomb, and some names overlap with those on the Xiguanshi stele:

Ma Jinsheng, Imam of the mosque

Zhang Jizong, Gao Zhaoming, and Li Chunze, Seventh-Rank Officials and religious leaders

Li Jintang, Second-Rank Official with Peacock Feather, Zhejiang Expectant Circuit Intendant

Yang Deqing, Third-Rank Official with Peacock Feather

Li Minghe, Li Mingda, and Li Fengrui, Fifth-Rank Officials with Peacock Feather

Li Baochen, Fifth-Rank Official with Blue Feather

Li Xilun, Fifth-Rank Official with Blue Feather, Candidate for County Magistrate

Huang Jinbao, Fifth-Rank Official

Li Qingyuan, Li Xichun, Li Xihou, and Li Xi'en, Sixth-Rank Officials

Li Qingzhen, Li Qing, Zhang Dahai, and Li Guishen, Seventh-Rank Officials

Li Xilin, Candidate for Prefect

Wen Shengkang and others

Ma Qi, graduate of the Shuntian Police Academy







Fayuan Mosque outside Deshengmen

I took the 919 bus from Shahe to its final stop outside Deshengmen, which was the perfect chance to visit the Fayuan Mosque.

The founding date of Fayuan Mosque is unknown. It was originally located on a slope north of Jiaochangkou outside Deshengmen. It was moved and expanded during the Kangxi era, and the main hall was expanded again during the Republic of China period, featuring four interconnected roofs and a four-cornered pavilion top.

The entrance to the main hall now displays a plaque reading 'All Things Return to Truth,' inscribed in 1928 by General Ma Fuxiang. In the late 1920s, Ma Fuxiang was living in Beijing. He studied Islamic classics deeply and donated money to help Muslims build schools. In 1928, he helped organize the Beiping Muslim Middle School, later renamed Northwest Public School, and donated over a dozen school buildings he had purchased in the backyard of the Dongsi Mosque to the Chengda Teachers' College.



















I bought two door hangings (mendu'er) at the mosque. These are quite old. The one in the picture below shows how they looked after hanging on the streets of Xiguanshi village for many years.







Digging for records at Fusheng Record Store

There is a long-standing record shop called Fusheng near Bingjiaokou outside Deshengmen. When I was a child, they were located in Ping'anli before moving to the area outside Deshengmen. After leaving the mosque, I bought two albums related to the faith at their shop.





One is a cut-out disc of early music from 1978-1982 by the Pakistani Sufi Qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is known as the 'King of Qawwali' and had a major influence on South Asian pop music. He was born in 1948 into a Punjabi Muslim family in Pakistan. It is said his family has passed down Qawwali music for nearly 600 years, singing mainly in Urdu and Punjabi.

Nusrat performed for the first time in London at the WOMAD festival in 1985, and after that, he toured all over the world. In the late 1980s, he signed with the British world music label Real World. He released a series of world music albums in the 1990s and collaborated with many different types of musicians, earning him the title of a pioneer of world music.

Unlike his later polished remix and fusion albums, this early collection features raw, traditional Sufi Qawwali music that was not yet well-known to the Western mainstream.

South Asian classical music is traditionally divided into different schools (gharānā), which are passed down steadily through the relationship between master and student. Nusrat belonged to the ancient Qawwal Bacchon school, founded in the late 13th century by Amir Khusrow, a sage of the Chisti Sufi order in Delhi, India. It developed and was passed down in Delhi, centered at the shrine (Nizamuddin Dargah) of the Sufi saint Nizamuddin, until it moved to Pakistan during the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. In 2018, I was lucky enough to experience traditional Qawwali music at a Sufi shrine in Delhi.













Another album is the English nasheed (nasheed) album Allah Knows, created in 2006 by South African Muslim musician Zain Bhikha for his son Rashid and all Muslim children approaching puberty.

Zain Bhikha was born in South Africa in 1974. He began releasing albums as a singer after 1994 and is very famous in the South African Muslim community. In the 1990s, the famous British singer Yusuf Islam (stage name Cat Stevens), who converted to Islam, began creating English nasheed music and received a great response. After hearing Zain's album, Yusuf invited him to London to collaborate.

In 2000, with Zain's help, Yusuf released the album A is for Allah for Muslim children, which is a representative album of modern English nasheed music. After this, Zain released a series of nasheed albums, the most famous of which is Mountains of Makkah, released after he returned from Hajj in 2004.

Nasheed means chanting in Arabic, and the themes are mostly about faith, religious history, and culture. Historically, there has been disagreement within the faith about whether music is allowed and how it should be used. Some Muslims believe that religious music should only be sung a cappella or accompanied by drums, while others believe that any instrument is fine as long as the performance and content do not violate the faith.

Historically, the most famous nasheed music is the Ta'zieh music of the Shia sect commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein and the South Asian Sufi Qawwali music. There is also Madih nabawi music, which is praise for the Prophet that circulates throughout the Arab world. After the 2000s, modern nasheed music began to develop everywhere. to Yusuf Islam and Zain Bhikha mentioned above, the Malaysian group Raihan has been the most famous nasheed group in Malaysia since the late 90s, and they were invited by the Queen of England to perform in the UK in 1997. In 2005, the Washington-based nasheed group Native Deen released the album Deen You Know, which combined American rap with nasheed music.







Zhengyuan Mosque

I rode my bike from outside Deshengmen to the Zhengyuan Mosque in Dongguanying Hutong inside Xizhimen.

The predecessor of Zhengyuan Mosque was the Beigouyan Mosque inside Xizhimen, which was built during the Daoguang reign. After 1946, Beigouyan was renamed Zhaodengyu Road, so it was also called Zhaodengyu Road Mosque. In 1997, it was relocated and rebuilt at its current site due to demolition, and it was renamed Zhengyuan Mosque. According to the Beijing City Gazetteer written in the 1930s, the mosque in Beijing originally called Zhengyuan should be the Jiaochangkou Mosque outside Fuchengmen.

The mosque has just finished renovations. The tiles and dome were removed from the gate, leaving only the plaque inscribed by Hei Boli, the former chairman of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.















After visiting the mosque, I went home, cooked two home-style dishes, and had dinner with Zainab.



Nandouyacai Mosque

After eating, I went to the Nandouyacai Mosque inside Chaoyangmen to attend the Isha prayer.

People say the Nandouyacai Mosque was originally a mosque, which was bought and rebuilt by Muslims with funds raised in 1798 (the third year of the Jiaqing reign). In 2002, due to the demolition of Chaonei Street, the mosque was moved more than 20 meters to the south and rebuilt, changing its entrance to face west toward Douban Hutong. view all