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Summary: This Urumqi Sha'ban account begins on February 12, 2026, before Ramadan, and covers family meals, Jumu'ah at Shaanxi Grand Mosque, Beiliang Mosque history, and local Hui Muslim food. It keeps the source's dates, mosque history, dishes, religious gatherings, and photographs.

I flew from Beijing to Urumqi for the Spring Festival holiday on February 12, 2026. With a few days left before Ramadan, I attended some religious gatherings (ermei) and sat for several meals. I am sharing my experiences here.

February 13.

I spent the morning at home reciting prayers (nianye). We had braised beef steak, clear-stewed lamb, and braised fish. The fried dough (youxiang) had been prepared the day before.













At noon, I went to the Shaanxi Grand Mosque in Urumqi for Friday prayers (Jumu'ah). This was the last Friday prayer before Ramadan. It was very crowded, and the main hall was almost full.













The restaurants behind the Shaanxi Grand Mosque are all delicious. I wrote about them in my previous article, '2025 Urumqi Hui Muslim Street Tour'.







I only learned last year that the main hall of Urumqi's first mosque, Beiliang Mosque, still exists. It is now open to the public as the Wenchang Pavilion. After Friday prayers at the Shaanxi Grand Mosque, I took the subway one stop from South Gate to North Gate to visit it.

After the Qing Dynasty built Dihua City in Urumqi in 1758, it promoted policies to station troops and settle immigrants for border defense. Since then, Hui Muslims from the northwest moved there to settle. In 1780, they built Beiliang Mosque on a small hill inside the North Gate of Dihua City, making it the first mosque in Urumqi.

The first imam of Beiliang Mosque was an elder from the Weijiapu area, who belonged to the Salar people from Xunhua. When the elder from Weijiapu was young, he studied at the Jiezi Gongbei and the Grand Mosque in Xunhua. In 1763, he left to seek enlightenment during the Hehuang menhuan conflicts. He traveled through Linxia, Lanzhou, and Wuwei, eventually reaching Hami and Turpan to teach. In 1780, he was officially invited to Beiliang Mosque as its first imam.

In the mid-18th century, Yihewan Gali, a disciple of the Indian Sufi leader Imam Rabbani, entered Aksu to teach the Khufiyya doctrine. Ma Fang, a Qing military officer stationed in Aksu, accepted his teachings. Later, Ma Fang resigned from his post to preach across Xinjiang. He took five students, one of whom was Ma Pei, who went to Urumqi to preach. The elder from Weijiapu became his student. The elder from Weijiapu taught at Beiliang Mosque for nearly 30 years. He taught religious knowledge to ordinary community members and guided Khufiyya followers in their spiritual practice. He balanced the relationships between different groups well and was respected by everyone.

Beiliang Mosque existed for 94 years in total. Its last imam was Ma Zongfu. Ma Zongfu came from Datong, Qinghai. People called him the Datong Elder. When he was young, he taught at various mosques in Qinghai and practiced the Khufiyya path. Later, because he opposed the planting and selling of opium, he was persecuted by local wealthy landowners. In 1850, he led his family through great hardships to Xinjiang and settled at Beiliang Mosque. At that time, the mosque's religious leader, Qitaizhou, was the second-generation disciple of Ma Pei. Imam Ma Zongfu then became his student. In 1852, Ma Zongfu became the imam of Beiliang Mosque and oversaw its renovation in 1861.

In 1876, Zuo Zongtang sent Liu Jintang to lead the Qing army west, where they defeated Yaqub Beg and recaptured Urumqi. After the Qing army entered the city, they occupied Beiliang Mosque. In 1884, Xinjiang Governor Liu Jintang renamed it Wenchang Pavilion. Beiliang Mosque was not used as the Wenchang Pavilion for very long. During the Republic of China era, it was occupied by Kuomintang communication troops. After 1949, it was taken over by the People's Liberation Army communication troops and used as a military factory for a long time. It was not returned to the cultural heritage department for management until 2002.

In 2003, the cultural heritage department renovated the only remaining main hall of Beiliang Mosque. Citing 'site constraints and ease of public access,' they changed the traditional east-west orientation of the Hui Muslim hall to face south. Today, it is open as a place to introduce Taoist Wenchang culture.



















Hidden in the storefronts of the Guangyuan residential complex on Zhujiang Road in Urumqi is Li Yingping's Meatball and Vermicelli Soup (wanzifen tang). The owner has been selling meatball soup in the neighborhood for over twenty years and only moved to the Guangyuan complex in the last two years. This area is far from the food streets, so mostly only locals know about it.

Their signature dish is braised beef meatball noodle soup served with a steamed flower roll (huajuan). The beef is stewed until very flavorful and has a great texture, served with tofu, starch noodles, and wood ear mushrooms. I first thought their 'wonton dumplings' were two separate dishes, but I later learned they are dumplings shaped like wontons made by the owner. They have a lamb and onion (piyazi) filling, and you can eat them dry or in soup. The soup dumplings are served in the beef noodle soup, which I think is especially comforting in winter. I also tried their lentil noodle squares (biandou mianqizi). Small flag-shaped dough pieces simmer in the soup, paired with the creamy texture of lentils. It is a winter staple that warms the stomach for people in Xinjiang.



















February 14

Urumqi has so many food streets. From the early days of Shanxi Alley and Erdaoqiao to the later Lingguan Alley and Hotan Street, more and more places have become popular spots for food lovers. My biggest discovery on this trip back to Urumqi is that the area from Yingawati Road toward Zhujiang Road is getting busier. The ground-floor shops in the new residential area near the plastic factory are all restaurants newly opened by people from Hotan, each with its own unique style.

We first ate at this 1980s-style pan-fried bun (shuijianbao) shop. Pan-fried buns are a specialty of Ili, but this shop also sells Hotan-style corn naan (baogu nang) and old pigeon soup, making it a mix of northern and southern Xinjiang styles.

We ordered old pigeon soup, goose eggs, corn naan with milk tea, pan-fried buns, yogurt, and dried milk curds (naigeda). The old pigeon was delicious and very fragrant, though the soup was a little salty. The goose egg was large and looked crystal clear. The corn naan with milk tea is an incredible combination. The corn naan is a purely healthy food. The corn dough is filled with walnuts and topped with fried onions. It is a bit hard when dry, but it becomes soft on the outside and crispy on the inside when soaked in milk tea. Their milk tea is also very fresh. Of course, you can find fresh milk everywhere on the streets of Urumqi, so fresh milk tea is a given. They also sell various types of dried milk curds, including sheep milk, cow milk, and yogurt versions, some sour and some milder.

I had only eaten Henan-style pan-fried buns before. The biggest difference with Ili pan-fried buns is the use of a lamb and onion filling, seasoned with cumin and pepper. The dough is made with sourdough starter and fried in a flat pan just like in Henan, but it is served with salty milk tea instead of spicy soup. Ili pan-fried buns taste a bit like a leavened version of a baked bun (kaobaozi). Many people here love them and buy a lot at once.



























In the afternoon, while visiting relatives, we passed by the Chaiwopu No. 22 Spicy Chicken on Wuxing South Road. It is a 30-year-old shop, and it was packed with people and very lively. They serve Hui Muslim-style Xinjiang cuisine. A large portion of spicy chicken is a whole bird, and a medium portion is half. It is stir-fried to order, so it takes a while and you have to wait when it is busy, but the taste is better than Yang Le. Adding wide belt noodles (pidai mian) to it is very satisfying. Because the kids couldn't eat spicy food, we also ordered the mixed vegetable soup (dazahuai tang), which has beef meatballs, fried egg strips (jiasha), tofu, and wood ear mushrooms. The portion was large, and it was very warming in the winter. We also ordered stir-fried chestnut squash (banligua). The salty, fragrant, stir-fried squash was soft, waxy, and sweet. It was my first time eating it prepared this way, and it was quite good. The place is always too crowded and the service is just average, but the food is truly excellent. You cannot find this kind of spicy chicken (lazi ji) in Beijing.



















In the evening, we went to the cute Xinjiang Silk Road Feast (Silu Yan) at Shengda Plaza near the high-speed railway station. It is great for family gatherings. They have song and dance performances at night, and the menu is a fusion of many different things.



















February 15

In the morning, I took Suleiman to the top of Yaomo Mountain in Urumqi. It was his first time climbing a snow-covered mountain. We entered through the southeast gate. The path up to Yunmantai is quite gentle and the shortest route, so both the elderly and children can climb it. We took a dirt path going up and the paved road coming down. The scenery on both sides was different, and we even saw a pheasant on the way down.



















Another restaurant on Zhujiang Road, Hotan Flower Black Pilaf (Heizhuafan), is also very unique. It was my first time eating black pilaf in Urumqi. They only sell it at noon. We asked at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and it was sold out both times. We finally got to eat it when we went after 4 p.m.

Black pilaf is made by frying onions (piyazi) until they are completely charred and caramelized, rather than frying them to a light golden color like regular pilaf. They also add whole garlic cloves for flavor. Black pilaf has a richer flavor than white pilaf. I had it before in Tashkent and loved it, so I was happy to eat it again this time. You can actually find black pilaf in Southern Xinjiang, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, but it is rare in Northern Xinjiang. My relatives said an elderly Uzbek man used to sell black pilaf on Zhujiang Road, but we don't know if he is still there.

Their black pilaf comes with lemonade, yogurt, and mung bean jelly (liangfen). The spicy vinegar in the jelly adds a great kick. The waiter will come over and ask if you want more rice.

We also ordered the Hotan-style corn porridge. Hotan corn porridge is called 'umash' in the Uyghur language. To make it, you stir-fry onions in lamb fat, add diced lamb, then pour in lamb broth and bring it to a boil. You also add fresh corn kernels. It is completely different from the clear corn porridge in inland China. It is salty, rich, and full of ingredients, making it very warming in autumn and winter.















There are some new Uyghur restaurants on Zhujiang Road. I want to try this Hotan noodle soup next time.













In the evening, we had a meal at a relative's house, eating meatball soup and slow-cooked beef bone marrow. The homemade meatballs have lots of meat and very little starch; you really can't find this taste in restaurants. The beef bone marrow was stewed until soft and flavorful, so even the elderly could eat it easily. Steamed oil bread (youxiang) is a specialty of Xinjiang Hui Muslims. It is not deep-fried, making it healthier. It is fluffy in layers and carries the unique aroma of vegetable oil and fragrant clover (xiangdouzi).













February 16

In the morning, we attended a meal at the Huashenglou Banquet Hall, located across from the Changsheng Brigade Mosque in the southern suburbs of Urumqi. This land originally belonged to my wife's relatives, but later it was rented to a friend (dost) from Midong to open a restaurant. Whenever the family hosts a banquet, they replace the kitchen staff with relatives to cook and serve their friends and family themselves.

Changsheng is located at the southern foot of Yamalike Mountain. Under the Qing Dynasty's policy of settling soldiers to farm the border and the migration waves during the Republic of China, Hui Muslims from Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Gansu arrived here to clear wasteland and farm, gradually forming a village. After the founding of New China, these Hui Muslim farming households were organized into the Changsheng Brigade, creating a stable Hui Muslim community. Compared to Hui Muslims living scattered in the city, the people here have kept more traditional customs, and their banquets are much larger.



















Following the order, nine small plates are served first while waiting for the main dishes, so people can drink tea and chat. The small plates contain things like dried fruits, snacks, and candied fruit. Then the small plates are cleared away and cold dishes are served, such as spiced dried tofu (xianggan), mung bean jelly (liangfen), and cold-tossed beef. Next come the stir-fried and stewed dishes, including clear-stewed lamb, braised beef steak, braised eggplant, pickled cabbage with lamb, fried hairtail fish, oil-seared meat (guoyourou), sauced meat-stuffed egg slices (jiashajiasha), stir-fried chives, and braised meatballs. These are all very traditional and have the true taste of a family banquet. Finally, they serve a sweet plate, also called eight-treasure rice (babaofan), which is very satisfying when drizzled with syrup.

































At noon, we had a gathering at Ma Laosan Huixiangge Restaurant in the Sangong area of Urumqi. The restaurant is near the northern edge of the city and specializes in Xinjiang Hui Muslim banquet dishes.

We ate the nine-bowl three-row banquet (jiuwan sanxingzi), which included sauced meat-stuffed egg slices, braised fish chunks, pearl meatballs, braised beef steak, sweet plate, yellow-braised beef, braised meatballs, spicy chicken chunks, and sauced jelly (menzi). The nine-bowl three-row banquet comes in large and small sizes. Ordering a small portion along with a few other dishes is just right. We had light dishes like shrimp with snow peas and wontons, as well as bold-flavored dishes like peppercorn fish and peppercorn chicken. The restaurant also gave us complimentary chive and meat dumplings. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This short second part of the Urumqi Sha'ban travel note is primarily a photo continuation from the local Hui Muslim food and community visit. It preserves the source's image sequence and article structure without adding details that were not present in the Chinese source. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: Halal Travel Guide: Urumqi - Hetian Street, Erdaoqiao and Tianshan Vanke is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear, natural English. The account focuses on Urumqi, Xinjiang Travel, Halal Food while preserving the names, places, food, photos, and historical details from the Chinese source.

Uyghur food on Hetian Street.

Every time I returned to Urumqi before, besides eating Hui Muslim food, I usually went to the Erdaoqiao and Dawan areas to eat Uyghur and Kazakh food. This Spring Festival, we went to another famous food street in Urumqi: Hetian Street.

Hetian Second Street is the busiest part of the area, and the place with the longest line is Kashgar Yibazhua. Yibazhua is a small-sized baked bun (kaobaotzi) with thin skin and a large filling. It is quite delicious. It used to be more common in southern Xinjiang, but now shops have opened in Urumqi too.











After finishing the Yibazhua, we had some pigeon soup. There are several pigeon soup shops on Hetian Second Street. The one we visited focused on an authentic taste with very few seasonings, which really highlighted the natural freshness of the pigeon soup.



















We bought some sour plums from a truck on the street that sells dried fruits and candied snacks.



The Uyghur pastry shops on the street are also very popular. We bought baklava and nut tarts at Xiahedana Pastry, and they were both delicious. The baklava was packed with walnuts and was not as sweet as the kind in Turkey.















The roasted goose eggs were hot; you peel them, take a bite, and then sprinkle on the seasoning.





The handmade yogurt was thick and came with its own layer of milk skin; you cannot find this in Beijing at all.















Yangle Spicy Chicken on Hetian First Street was packed. Over the years, all the bags of Yangle Spicy Chicken I bought online were shipped from here.







Taking photos on the street, I found the main store of Azhen Rice Noodles here. Zainabu loved eating at their place when she was in middle school.





























Kazakh milk tea on Hetian Street.

I always knew Dawan in Urumqi was a Kazakh neighborhood, but this time I found several Kazakh restaurants on Hetian Street. Just on the southern section of Hetian Second Street, there are four: Sahara Milk Tea House, Saiguluke Restaurant, Bashibai Restaurant, and Jinshan Specialty Restaurant. We ate horse sausage narin and milk tea at Saiguluke Restaurant. Next time, I want to try the khurdak and horse sausage pilaf.























In the morning, we went to Baorsak on Hetian First Street for a Kazakh breakfast. Baorsak now has three locations. I have already eaten at the first two, the Dawan branch and the Heba Lane branch, so this time I came to try the Hetian First Street branch. We ordered a set meal for two, which included milk tea, fried dough (baorsak), jam, yogurt, cold dishes, and flatbread (nang). Even though it was the Spring Festival holiday, their business was very good. A line started forming right after we ordered. I noticed that most of the customers were local Uyghurs. It seems Kazakh breakfast is quite popular with the Uyghur community.













Musical instrument shops in Erdaoqiao.

After drinking Kazakh milk tea, I went for a stroll in the Erdaoqiao Grand Bazaar. I really wanted to visit the instrument shop run by Erkin, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Uyghur instrument making, but I found it was gone. Plus, the Kazakh girl I used to take photos with in the felt tent got married and moved away. Now, the Grand Bazaar is mostly just souvenir shops.

As I left through the north gate of the Grand Bazaar, I found the sabayi I had wanted to buy for a long time at Duoluzhe Ethnic Musical Instrument Shop, a place I had not paid much attention to before. They had two types: mulberry wood and desert poplar wood. The desert poplar ones were more expensive, heavier, and were made in the past. I bought two, which fulfilled a wish of mine. Before I left, the owner specifically told me to take good care of them because it will be very hard to find this kind of old-fashioned sabayi in the future.

I first learned about the sabayi in the 2010 documentary 'Ashik: The Last Troubadour' filmed by Liu Xiangchen. The sabayi is the most common accompaniment instrument when Uyghur Ashiks perform Dhikr. Accompanied by the sabayi, Sufi practitioners enter a state of ecstasy (Wajd) through Dhikr to draw closer to Allah.









I continued walking around Erdaoqiao and bought an osma eyebrow pencil for Suleiman to use on his eyebrows when I get back. Osman grass is actually the leaf of the woad plant (banlangen), scientifically known as Isatis indigotica, which has been an important blue dye since ancient times. In Xinjiang, if a child has thin eyebrows, many parents use an Osman eyebrow pencil to paint them.







Then I bought some homemade yogurt on the street. After traveling to so many places, the best yogurt I have ever had is this kind sold on the streets of Xinjiang, with no labels, made at home and brought out to sell. It beats any packaged yogurt in the supermarket.





Tianshan Vanke

Urumqi Tianshan Vanke is near Dawan and is known as the Wangfujing for Uyghur and Kazakh people. It has Japanese, Thai, and Western food, as well as traditional Hui, Uyghur, and Kazakh restaurants. There is also spicy fish hotpot, fried chicken, burgers, and plenty of places for children to play. When we went, it was snowing, and there were so many friends (dosti) shopping at the mall.



























The most popular spots at Tianshan Vanke are probably Mayouyu Naan-pit Roasted Whole Fish and Yangle Spicy Chicken. We ate a spicy chicken. At first, it felt a little fishy, but it was spicy, fragrant, and very satisfying to eat.













Also, the mall has a rare children's food restaurant called Jia'er Mengdou, opened by a Uyghur female boss, which is very popular with Uyghur parents. We took Suleiman to eat chicken and mushroom risotto, which came with a bowl of soup. This was Suleiman's first time eating at a restaurant in his life. They gave us a bib and a small cooling fan, which was quite thoughtful.















Then we checked out the local Xinjiang milk tea brand Tea Ballet, which has been very popular for the past two years. They specialize in various fruit yogurts, and the founder, Ma Xue'er, is a post-90s Urumqi native. I feel their style really suits young people, but I still prefer the handmade yogurt sold on the street.









At the Turkish restaurant in the mall, we ordered hollow bread, grilled lamb chops, and mint yogurt. The prices are a bit high, and they focus on a nice atmosphere, so it feels like a good place for a date. The hollow bread (nang) is quite tasty, but the lamb chops feel a bit overcooked.









Further reading:

[Halal Travel Review] Urumqi in 2018, the beautiful Dawan area.

The night markets in Urumqi are so much fun to explore!

Getting married in Urumqi view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This Urumqi article records Hui Muslim life during the Spring Festival, including nianye, luohuali, Jumuah prayer, and visiting relatives and friends. It preserves the original religious customs, family scenes, food details, and community observations in natural English.

Night of Prayer (nianye).

During the 2024 Spring Festival holiday, I took Suleiman to visit his grandparents (anai aye) in Urumqi, just in time for the noble month of Sha'ban (the eighth month of the Islamic calendar). The evening of the 15th day of the eighth month is the Night of Bara'at, which means the Night of Atonement. On this night, the two angels on our shoulders replace the scrolls that record our good and bad deeds for the year. They seal the old scrolls and open new ones, which serve as evidence for questioning when we enter the afterlife, so it is also called the Night of Exchanging Scrolls. In the traditions of Hui Muslims in some regions, when the month of Sha'ban arrives, everyone takes turns inviting the imam and friends and family to their homes for a Night of Prayer. The main process includes reciting scriptures, praising the Prophet, performing repentance (tawbah), and asking for forgiveness for family members and the deceased. Afterward, everyone eats a rich meal to strengthen bonds, boost faith, and prepare for the noble month of Ramadan.

February 17 was our family's Night of Prayer, and we also celebrated Suleiman's first birthday (suisuizi). We invited four imams and a large group of relatives to recite surahs, recite the Bara'at praise, perform repentance, and receive dua, followed by a meal. First, we served appetizers (diediezi) and tea. The appetizers included nut tarts and baklava we bought at a Uyghur pastry shop on Hetian Street, as well as traditional flaky pastries and fried flour cakes (saqima) made by my aunt. After everyone chatted for a while, we cleared the appetizers and brought out the main dishes to officially start the feast.

With the help of my aunts, we prepared a rich feast. The main dishes were clear-stewed lamb, braised beef steak, followed by steamed starch jelly (mengzi), pearl meatballs, peppercorn chicken, steamed fish, sweet rice platter (tianpanzi), and various stir-fried dishes. The staples were fried dough (youxiang), steamed buns (momo), and rice.



















The fried dough was deep-fried a day in advance. Before frying, we first performed ablution (wudu), then leavened the dough. After it rose, we scalded a small portion with hot oil and mixed in a little baking soda and fenugreek powder. We kneaded the scalded dough into the leavened dough, covered the basin, and let it rest for 15 minutes. After resting, we rolled it into a long shape, pinched off pieces, rolled them into flat cakes, cut four small slits with a knife, and it was ready to be fried. When putting them into the pot, we recited the Tasmiyah. We fried them for a while, flipped them, and tapped the edges with chopsticks; once they were firm, they were done.











To make sweet rice platter (tianpanzi), first wash the glutinous rice and soak it for three days. Then, add a little brown sugar (shazitang) and steam it, using more water than you would for regular rice. Next, wash red dates, walnut kernels, and raisins, and spread them at the bottom of a bowl. Cover them with the steamed glutinous rice and let it cool. After that, boil rock sugar to make a syrup. Finally, flip the bowl of rice onto a plate and pour the syrup over it.







Meatloaf (munzi) is made with ground beef. When mixing the filling, beat it repeatedly, then shape it into a cylinder. Pinch the top to look like a railing, pour an egg into the center, and steam it.







For spicy peppercorn chicken (jiaomaji), first wash a free-range chicken, cut it in half, and put it in a pressure cooker. Add water to cover it, along with red chili, Sichuan peppercorns, salt, bay leaves, cinnamon, and ginger slices. Once cooked, take it out, let it cool in a basin, tear the meat into strips, and top with green onions. Heat oil in a pan. Once hot, turn off the heat and add dried chili skins (lapizi), Sichuan peppercorns, salt, and white pepper. Stir well, pour in some chicken broth, and then pour everything over the chicken in the basin and mix well.













We spent the night at my aunt's house near the cement factory. My uncle is an imam at a small mosque in Shanxi, and we are very grateful (zhigan) for that.

The main dishes were definitely braised beef steak and clear-stewed lamb. The chicken was raised by my uncle himself, and the lamb was from the southern mountains of Urumqi.













We spent the night at my second aunt's house in the New City District. My aunt is the recognized master chef of our family. She makes authentic home-style stir-fries, meatloaf (munzi), stuffed meat slices (jiasha), and tripe.















We spent the night at my aunt's house near the flour mill and had basin meat (penpenrou) with fried dough (youxiang) for breakfast.







We hosted our guests at Lanpin Banquet. It is currently the most popular restaurant in Urumqi for Hui Muslims to hold religious gatherings (niansuoer). They don't sell alcohol, the food is refined, and the owner is warm and attentive. It is usually packed on weekends and holidays, so you must book in advance. On the day we went, they hosted 30 tables for a circumcision ceremony and 15 tables for a special occasion.

We ate stir-fried beef tendon, spicy peppercorn chicken (jiaomaji), cold-dressed beef, hand-grabbed lamb (shoubarou), sauced stuffed meat slices (jiasha), pearl meatballs, and flatfish, along with complimentary side dishes. These are the most popular dishes for Hui Muslim gatherings in Urumqi right now. Their hand-grabbed lamb (shoubarou) is excellent; the meat is tender and fragrant, making it perfect for elderly people to eat.

























I spent the night at Uncle Saisai's house in the Changsheng Brigade in the southern suburbs of Urumqi. The hospitality was generous, with dishes like sweet platter (tianpanzi), fried dough snacks (youguozi), pearl meatballs (zhenzhu wanzi), braised ribbonfish, clear-stewed meat, and braised lamb. I also met many relatives.















Engagement acceptance ceremony (luohuali)

This time, I arrived just in time for my brother-in-law's engagement acceptance ceremony (luohuali). We had a feast at a small community (xiaofang) of the Jahriyya order (Zhepai) in Anningqu, in the northern suburbs of Urumqi, where I ate some homemade fried twisted sugar dough (tangningningzi). The feast started with small appetizer plates, which were then cleared to make room for the main dishes, including clear-stewed meat, braised meatballs, braised fish, and beef head meat.

The traditional wedding customs of Hui Muslims in Xinjiang are very specific. Before a formal marriage proposal, there is a 'preliminary inquiry' where the man's family learns about the woman's family. Then, they send a matchmaker with four types of gifts—tea leaves, sugar cubes, red dates, and walnuts (or pastries)—wrapped in four colors, known as the 'four-color gift' (sese li). The first time a matchmaker brings the four-color gift to propose, it is called the 'opening gift' (kaikouli). The matchmaker gives the red-cloth-wrapped gifts to the woman's family, but they do not give an answer right away. After careful consideration, the woman's family sends a message through the matchmaker. The man's family then sends the four-color gift again, which is called the 'engagement acceptance ceremony' (luohuali), and after that, they enter the engagement stage.















Friday prayer (Jumu'ah)

At noon, I attended the Friday prayer (Jumu'ah) at the Changsheng Grand Mosque. The Changsheng Grand Mosque is located in the Changsheng Brigade at the foot of Yaomo Mountain (Yamalike Mountain) in the southern suburbs of Urumqi. It has the highest number of congregants among the Hui Muslim mosques in the Saybagh District, with over a hundred people attending the Friday prayer (Jumu'ah). The Changsheng Brigade used to be a series of large courtyards where everyone farmed. Now, everyone has moved collectively to the Fumin Anju residential area, and the houses are very spacious.

Imam Fanta of the Changsheng Grand Mosque is my wife's uncle. Uncle Fanta is the one who performed our marriage contract (nikah). Uncle Fanta's surname is Su. The Su family is a large clan in Changsheng. Over three hundred years ago, they left Ankang, Shaanxi, and traveled through Ningxia and Jimsar to Urumqi to do business. Later, their business failed, and they eventually moved to Changsheng to farm, where they have lived ever since.







I bought fresh milk and handmade yogurt at the entrance of the Changsheng residential area. A large bucket of fresh milk only cost 20 yuan. After boiling it and adding two spoonfuls of milk skin (naipizi) I bought earlier on Hetian Street, it tasted amazing. The handmade yogurt comes with its own layer of milk skin (naipizi) and has a very rich milky flavor.











Visiting relatives and friends.

I visited my second aunt's house and had a lunch of Hui Muslim-style lamb dumpling soup (fentang yangrou jiaozi). The soup is the version Hui Muslims in Xinjiang make for Eid, and the dumplings are filled with lamb, onions (piyanzi), and pickled cabbage. They were small and delicate, and everyone loved them.













I attended a family dinner at my older sister's place. My brother-in-law is a great cook and made beef steak stew, spicy numbing chicken (jiaoma ji), pumpkin buns (kawa baozi), and smoked horse sausage. My brother-in-law makes amazing rice pilaf (zhuafan), so I made sure to ask him for his tips during the meal. Don't stir-fry the yellow carrots for the rice pilaf all the way through. Stewing them in water brings out their sweetness, so you don't need to add extra sugar. You must use plenty of oil for the rice pilaf. If you use too much, just tilt the pot and scoop the excess out. The extra oil from the rice pilaf is great for making cabbage and meat mixed noodles (banmian) because it adds so much flavor.













My great-aunt in Wusu invited us out to eat at Lanpin Banquet on Zhujiang Road. It shows how popular this place is among the older generation of Hui Muslims in Urumqi. As soon as we walked in, a young waiter greeted us with a salaam and showed us to our table. We have only been here twice, but the service is always excellent.

This time we had stir-fried black and white lung, yellow noodles with grilled meat (huangmian kaorou), sweet platter (tianpanzi), layered steamed bread (youtazi), spicy numbing chicken, and clear-stewed meat. Everyone loved these traditional dishes. view all

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Summary: This Urumqi food note introduces two small Hui Muslim restaurants the author visited during the trip. It preserves the original restaurant details, dishes, flavors, and local food observations while keeping the English simple and direct.

Even though I was busy with night prayers (dua) during this trip to Urumqi, I still found time to visit two small Hui Muslim eateries. The first one was a childhood favorite of Zainab's: Hepingqiao Dumpling Restaurant. It is a rare, old-school Hui Muslim sour soup dumpling shop in Urumqi. It used to be called Yiqing Dumpling Restaurant, but after they were no longer allowed to use that name, everyone just started calling it Hepingqiao Dumpling Restaurant. The old-school Hui Muslim sour soup contains tomatoes, spinach, starch jelly blocks (fenkuai), vermicelli (fentiao), mushrooms, and sliced meat. Zainab said that while the taste hasn't changed much, they used to put a lot more meat in the sour soup when she was a child, but now they give too little. They have four types of dumpling fillings: onion and meat (piyanzi rou), cabbage and meat, celery and meat, and chive and meat, which are the most common types eaten by Hui Muslims in Urumqi. I ordered a small bowl of onion and meat dumplings, and the Sichuan peppercorn flavor really stood out, which is a signature feature of Xinjiang dumplings.









The second place was Xinshenghua, a Changji Hui Muslim meatball soup (wanzi tang) restaurant. When I first came to Urumqi ten years ago, I ate at Forty-Nine Meatball Soup, but later the taste there went downhill, and I hadn't had a really good meatball soup in Urumqi since. This time, on the recommendation of an older sister, we went to Xinshenghua Meatball Soup near the Normal University. It is a traditional Changji Hui Muslim meatball soup shop with a nice environment, an open kitchen, and good service, though the prices are higher than at typical small eateries.

We ordered a set meal that included meatball soup, a small portion of beef bones, and cold dishes, with all-you-can-eat steamed layered buns (youtazi). The meatball soup tasted quite authentic, though they didn't give many meatballs, which seems to be a common situation these days. The steamed layered buns were delicious. I missed them so much while in Beijing; the flavor from the rendered lamb fat makes them much more fragrant than regular steamed rolls (huajuan). The beef bones were also excellent, stewed until fragrant and tender, and they gave us a good amount of meat; a small portion was enough for the four of us.

Overall, Xinshenghua's meatball soup is pretty good. My family also recommended Ma Guilian Sisters Meatball Soup on Ying'awati Road, so I will try to go there next time I have the chance. view all

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Summary: Halal Food Guide: Urumqi Hui Muslims — Fried Youxiang and Family Cooking is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: A few days ago, my family made fried dough (youxiang). I recorded the process, which is the Urumqi Hui Muslim version. It is likely similar to how it is made in many parts of the Northwest. The account keeps its focus on Urumqi Halal Food, Hui Muslim Food, Xinjiang Travel while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

A few days ago, my family made fried dough (youxiang). I recorded the process, which is the Urumqi Hui Muslim version. It is likely similar to how it is made in many parts of the Northwest.

First, make the leavened dough. After it rises, use hot oil to scald a small portion of the dough. Add a little baking soda and blue fenugreek powder (xiangdoufen) to the scalded dough and mix well. This makes the fried dough crispy on the outside. Place the mixed scalded dough onto the leavened dough, knead them together evenly, cover the basin, and let it rest for fifteen minutes.

Knead the rested dough into a long strip, pinch off small pieces, roll them into balls, and flatten them into discs. Use a knife to cut four small slits in each, then they are ready to be fried in oil. In some places, people say the slits represent the knife marks made by a believer.

Fry for a while, then flip them over. Wait a bit longer, then pick one up and tap the edge with chopsticks. If it makes a crisp, hollow sound, it is ready to be taken out.

Also, you must perform wudu (abdest) before frying the dough, and recite the Tasmiyah before frying each piece. When eating, break the dough apart. You should also recite the Tasmiyah before eating each piece.

Besides this classic fried dough, Urumqi Hui Muslims also make steamed fried dough (zheng youxiang) and scalded dough fried dough (tangmian youxiang). Steamed fried dough is usually made when you do not fry the dough during a religious gathering (soer); you can steam it instead. Scalded dough fried dough is made entirely from scalded dough. I will share more about that when I have the chance.



















For other Urumqi Hui Muslim home-cooked dishes, you can check my previous diaries, '15 Urumqi Hui Muslim Dishes My Mother-in-law Made (Part 1)' and '15 Urumqi Hui Muslim Dishes My Mother-in-law Made (Part 2).' view all

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Summary: Urumqi Dawan — Hui Muslim Streets and Halal Food is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: June 2018 was my fifth trip to Urumqi for sightseeing and eating. Nanguan used to be the traditional neighborhood in Urumqi that attracted me the most; it was lively and full of energy. The account keeps its focus on Urumqi Dawan, Xinjiang Travel, Hui Muslims while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

June 2018 was my fifth trip to Urumqi for sightseeing and eating. Nanguan used to be the traditional neighborhood in Urumqi that attracted me the most; it was lively and full of energy. In 2017, a friend (dosti) told me that demolition and renovation had started in Nanguan, which made me very anxious. Later on, the small alleys deep inside Nanguan were completely torn down.

I came to Urumqi again in 2018, and the area deep inside the old Nanguan had become a construction site. However, I will not dwell on the past in this article. Instead, I want to share my experience of sightseeing and eating in Urumqi this time. Besides the consistently wonderful Lingguan Lane and Shengli Road, I also visited Dawan, another food hub in Urumqi. As a side note, I certainly did not expect when writing this that my wedding would be held in Dawan two years later.

Table of Contents

1. Yining Yixiang Butter Milk Tea House

2. Lingguan Lane

1. Original Meat Naan (rounang)

2. Arman Supermarket

3. Gülba xikar Dessert Shop

4. Other shops in Lingguan Lane

3. Shengli Road

1. Babahan Food World

2. Marhaba Tatar Pastries

4. Dawan

1. Ailuo Family Coffee

2. Pairhan Imported Goods Store

3. Aile Imported Goods Store

4. Maidana

1. Yining Yixiang Butter Milk Tea House

Next to the Urumqi People's Theater is Yining Yixiang Butter Milk Tea House, a famous Kazakh milk tea spot. I ate milk skin (naipizi), fried dough fritters (baorsak), and honey-based drink (kawasi) here, but unfortunately, mare's milk is only available after July.





Milk skin (naipizi)



Fried dough fritters (baorsak) and honey-based drink (kawasi)



The People's Theater was built in 1956 and is a landmark building of old Urumqi.







2. Lingguan Lane

Consulate Lane (Lingguan Xiang) is south of Erdaoqiao. Except for a new residential complex in the middle section, most shops in the lane look the same. It is a small comfort after the deep Nanguan area was leveled.

1. Original Meat Naan (rounang)

As soon as you enter the west end of Consulate Lane, you can smell the aroma of meat-topped flatbread (rounang). This original meat flatbread (rounang) shop opened in 2000. It is a very popular spot on Lingguan Lane with long lines, and the meat flatbread is truly fragrant.









2. Arman Supermarket

Arman Supermarket at the east end of Lingguan Lane is the largest in the chain. It has many great items, and I shop here every time I visit Urumqi. This time, I bought mint tea, butter milk tea (suyou naicha), and almond nut cake (qiegao).







Various pastries at Arman Supermarket.





























3. Gülba xikar Dessert Shop

There is a dessert shop called Gülba xikar inside Arman Supermarket. I had almond and walnut ice cream there, plus a walnut pie. Everything was delicious and very cheap.











4. Other shops in Lingguan Lane

There are many other good places to eat on Lingguan Lane. I passed by the local-style hand-rubbed noodles (cuomian) shop this time, and the Yizihaier ice cream and Yili milk tea shop I visited years ago are still the same.











3. Shengli Road

Shengli Road is south of Erdaoqiao, at the east end of Lingguan Lane, and it also has plenty of good food.

1. Babahan Food World

The breakfast at Babahan Food World on Shengli Road and Lingguan Lane is excellent. This time, I had barley porridge (yarma) and milk-topped flatbread (naizi nang) soaked in milk tea.





Barley porridge (yarma).



Milk tea.



Milk-topped flatbread (naizi nang).





2. Marhaba Tatar Pastries

Marhaba Tatar Pastry Shop opened in 1998. The original shop was on Heba Third Lane, south of Lingguan Lane, and they later opened a new location at 454 Shengli Road. The founder of the shop is Saweige Musabayufu, born in 1949. The shop is named after her mother, Marhaba, who taught Saweige how to make Tatar pastries.





The girl with the red collar in the picture is Saweige's daughter, Fikelati.



Tatar cream cake made with six layers of sweet cake and six layers of cream.

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Walnut dried fruit pie.







Black Forest chocolate cake made with ghee.



Black-eyed apricot jam cake.

4. Dawan

Dawan is in the southeast of Urumqi's old city. I mainly walked around the Oujing Mingyuan residential area. It has a nice environment and good food, which is a sharp contrast to the heavily demolished and renovated Erdaoqiao and Nanguan areas. It is truly a hidden paradise in the city.



Street view of Oujing Mingyuan in Dawan.







1. Ailuo Family Coffee

It was not yet dinner time when I arrived in Dawan, so I first had some Turkish black tea at Ayrosa Coffee. Downstairs, many young people were celebrating a birthday.









2. Pairhan Imported Goods Store

Pairhan is a main imported goods supermarket in Oujing Mingyuan. They have a lot of items, and I bought some chocolate from Kazakhstan there.



















3. Aile Imported Goods Store

Aile is another import shop that has some good finds inside.







4. Maidana

Merdana at Oujing Mingyuan was the biggest surprise of my food tour in Urumqi. The atmosphere is great, and the food is fantastic. The liver wrapped in fat (youbaogan) was so delicious I actually shouted out loud. It was intoxicatingly good, and it only costs 5 yuan a skewer. The grilled pork tenderloin (kao liji) was a long-awaited treat, and the homemade mixed noodles (banmian) tasted perfectly authentic. Even by Urumqi standards, it is incredibly delicious.















The pinyin for barbecue is the local Xinjiang dialect: SAO KAO. view all

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

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

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

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

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







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

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







3. Xinjiang meatball soup (xinjiang wanzitang)

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















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

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

















5. Lamb sour soup wontons (yangrou suantang huntun)

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













6. Jingzhe oil tea eggs (jingzhe youcha dan)

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













7. Thin-skinned steamed buns (baopi baozi)

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











8. Mutton noodle soup (yangrou fentang)

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

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Summary: Ili to Turpan — Chagatai Khanate Tombs and Muslim History is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: In the 61st Regiment of Huocheng County in Yili and Aiding Lake Town in the Gaochang District of Turpan, you can find the tombs of Tughlugh Timur, the founding khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and Khizr Khoja, the. The account keeps its focus on Chagatai Khanate, Muslim History, Xinjiang Travel while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

In the 61st Regiment of Huocheng County in Yili and Aiding Lake Town in the Gaochang District of Turpan, you can find the tombs of Tughlugh Timur, the founding khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and Khizr Khoja, the third khan. These are the only two remaining royal tombs from the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. I have visited both of these tombs, and I want to use them to give you a brief introduction to the early history of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.



The Tughlugh Timur tomb (mazar) in Yili.



The Khizr Khoja tomb (mazar) in Turpan.

The Chagatai Khanate was formed in 1225 after Genghis Khan conquered the Western Liao Dynasty during his western campaign and divided the vast lands north and south of the Tianshan Mountains among his second son, Chagatai. Chagatai's royal court was located near Almaliq in Yili, which served as the center of the entire khanate.

After the 14th century, the Chagatai Mongols who had long lived in the Transoxiana region grew accustomed to settled city life and converted to the faith. This created growing conflict with the Chagatai Mongols in the eastern grasslands who insisted on a nomadic lifestyle. Eventually, the eastern Chagatai Mongol nobles killed the khan who had settled in the west to protect their traditions, causing the Chagatai Khanate to split into eastern and western parts. In 1348, the Dughlat tribe, which ruled the southern Xinjiang region, installed Tughlugh Timur, a descendant of Chagatai Khan, as the khan. He became the founding khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.

After taking the throne, Khan Tughlugh Timur ordered all Chagatai Mongols in the Eastern Chagatai Khanate to convert to the faith. He later unified the entire khanate through two western campaigns, but the khanate fell back into chaos shortly after his death.

In 1368, the Dughlat noble Qamar ud-Din massacred almost all of Khan Tughlugh Timur's descendants. Only the khan's infant son, Khizr Khoja, was hidden away.

In 1370, the Chagatai noble Amir Timur unified the Western Chagatai Khanate. He established the Timurid Dynasty with a Chagatai khan as his puppet and became known to later generations as Timur the Great.

It was not until 1389, after Qamar ud-Din was completely defeated by Timur the Great, that Khizr Khoja, who had been in hiding for years, was able to take the throne as the third khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. After Khizr Khoja took the throne, Timur the Great marched east and captured the city of Almaliq. Khizr Khoja had to move his court east to Turpan, where he eventually passed away.

In the late 15th century, the Eastern Chagatai Khanate split again into eastern and western parts. In 1514, Said Khan, a descendant of Khan Tughlugh Timur, made Yarkand his capital and ruled the entire southern Xinjiang region. This is known in history as the Yarkand Khanate.



The map of the Chagatai Khanate's territory is based on the Historical Atlas of China, which primarily relies on the Jingshi Dadian from 1330-31 and the Appendix on Northwest Geography in the History of Yuan.

1. Traveling to the Tughlugh Timur tomb (mazar).

In the midsummer of 2016, I set off from the Yili Prefecture Passenger Transport Center on Jiefang West Road in Yining and first took a bus to Qingshuihe Town in Huocheng County. After leaving the Qingshuihe bus station, I crossed the street and caught a small car to the 61st Regiment at the northwest corner of the intersection. The "Big Mazar" was actually 3 kilometers away from the 61st Regiment base. When the driver heard I wanted to see it, he drove me straight to the gate and waited for me to finish my visit before taking me back to Qingshuihe Town.

Looking from a distance, the gate of the mazar was tightly shut. When I walked up, I found an old man sleeping in the ticket office. After I woke him up, he gave me a large ring of keys. He told me which one was for the main gate, which was for the Big Mazar, and which was for the Small Mazar. Then he collected the ticket fee and let me go in with the keys.

The Tughlugh Timur mazar is the only remaining Yuan Dynasty royal tomb building in Xinjiang. It is also the only surviving ground-level ruin of the Chagatai Khanate's capital, Almaliq, making it extremely valuable.

Standing in front of the tomb is truly moving. I take out the key to open the gate of the shrine (mazar), and it feels like I have stepped back into the Chagatai Khanate from over 600 years ago.











Taken by a Russian in 1904.













Next to the shrine (mazar) of Tughluq Timur is the shrine said to belong to his sister.







I lock the door and return to the real world.



2. The diverse city of Almaliq.

To the west of Tughluq Timur's shrine lies Almaliq, the capital of the Chagatai Khanate. Almaliq gets its name from the word for apple, and it first rose to prominence due to the Northern Silk Road during the Tang Dynasty. A Sogdian document unearthed at Mount Mug in the early 8th century already mentions the name Almaliq.

During the Western Liao period, Almaliq was ruled by the Muslim Karluks (a Western Turkic tribe known as Geluolu in the Tang Dynasty), and history refers to it as the Kingdom of Almaliq. In 1211, Kuchlug, a prince of the Turkic Naiman tribe, seized power in the Western Liao with the help of the Khwarazmian Empire and then repeatedly besieged Almaliq. To defend against Kuchlug's attacks, the Karluk leader Ozar Khan chose to submit to Genghis Khan.

In 1214, Ozar Khan was captured by Kuchlug's soldiers while out hunting. Kuchlug's soldiers chained Ozar Khan and brought him to the gates of Almaliq, but the city's defenders kept the gates shut. Just then, Kuchlug learned that the Chagatai Khan's army was on its way to Almaliq, so he retreated and killed Ozar Khan along the way.

In 1218, the Mongol army killed Kuchlug, and the Western Liao dynasty fell. Soon after, Genghis Khan divided his lands among his sons, and Almaliq became the location of the Chagatai Ulus's main camp (khan court).



At that time, the city of Almaliq was home to Han Chinese, Mongols, and Uyghurs, as well as Muslims, Christians, and even Taoists. The Taoist master Qiu Chuji passed through Almaliq on his way west to Afghanistan to meet Genghis Khan in 1220, and again on his return east in 1222. The Travels of Master Changchun records:

After another stage, we arrived at Almaliq on the 27th day of the ninth month... and stayed in the western fruit orchard. The locals call fruit 'alima,' and because there are many fruit trees, the city is named after them.

When Qiu Chuji returned east, he met a master craftsman named Zhang who was building bridges and roads for Chagatai. Zhang invited Qiu Chuji to his home and told him that he was also a Taoist, with three altars and over 400 followers in Almaliq who practiced morning and evening prayers.

Yelü Chucai also lived in Almaliq for a period of time. He wrote in his Record of a Journey to the West:

Westerners call apples 'almaliq,' and the city is surrounded by apple orchards, which is why it is named so.

At the same time, the Yuan Dynasty city of Almalik was a center for Nestorian Christianity in Central Asia. Archaeologists found over ten Nestorian gravestones with Syriac inscriptions in the city, and their style matches other Nestorian stones found in the Seven Rivers region. Additionally, seven 13th to 14th-century Nestorian epitaphs in Syriac were found in the Seven Rivers region, all noting that the deceased came from Almalik.

On December 31, 2016, at the Ili Grassland Culture Exhibition held at the Zhenjiang Museum, I was lucky enough to see one of the Almalik Nestorian gravestones from the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture Museum collection. The owner of this gravestone was named Georges, who died in 1362 or 1365, during the period of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.



3. Settled or Nomadic?

Two cultural systems existed within the Chagatai Khanate: the western Transoxiana region followed the Islamic faith and lived in cities, while the eastern Moghulistan region kept its nomadic traditions. After the 14th century, the conflict between settled and nomadic life grew, making the split of the khanate inevitable.



The base map comes from the Historical Atlas of China, which is mainly based on the 1330-31 Compendium of Governance (Jingshi Dadian) and the Geography Section of the History of Yuan (Yuan Shi).

In 1331, the Muslim Chagatai Khan Tarmashirin took the throne. He kept promoting the Islamic faith among the Chagatai Mongols in Transoxiana, but the Chagatai Mongols in the eastern Ili River valley stuck to their traditions.

Tarmashirin loved the city life of Transoxiana so much that he even stopped the tradition of traveling to Almalik every year. Because of this, the Chagatai Mongol nobles living in Almalik grew to oppose Tarmashirin, believing he had abandoned Mongol traditions and the roots of the Chagatai Khanate—Almalik.

In 1334, Tarmashirin’s nephew Buzan, who lived in the east, killed Tarmashirin near Samarkand to protect Mongol traditions. Historians believe the death of Tarmashirin was a major turning point in the decline of the Chagatai Khanate.

In 1343, the last Chagatai Khan, Qazan Sultan, took the throne. Qazan Sultan was cruel and killed many innocent people, leading to rebellions across the khanate. In 1346, Qazan Sultan was killed by Qazghan, the leader of the Barlas tribe—the most powerful Chagatai Mongol tribe at the time and the tribe of Tamerlane—and the Chagatai Khanate fell into division.

4. Establishing the Eastern Chagatai Khanate

1. Tughluq Timur becomes Khan

After Qazan Sultan died, every powerful Chagatai Mongol tribe in Transoxiana chose a descendant of the Chagatai Khan to be their own khan. This period is known as the era of the tribal kings (muluk-i tavaif) of the Chagatai Khanate.

In 1346, amid the trend of tribes searching for Chagatai descendants, Bulaji, the leader of the Dughlat tribe that ruled Aksu, Kashgar, Yarkand, and Hotan, did not want to be left behind. He claimed to have found Tughluq Timur, the 16-year-old grandson of the Great Khan D'ua. In 1348, Tughluq Timur was made khan in Aksu, establishing the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.

2. The Eastern Chagatai Mongols convert to the Islamic faith

The most detailed account of Tughluq Timur leading the Chagatai Mongols to convert to the Islamic faith is in the Tarikh-i-Rashidi. However, as a descendant of Tughluq Timur, the author included many legends and stories when telling his ancestor's history.

The first chapter of the Tarikh-i-Rashidi begins with the scene of Tughluq Timur meeting his Islamic teacher, Shaikh Jamal al-Din.

One day, while Tughluq Timur Khan was feeding pork to his dogs, an attendant brought Shaikh Jamal al-Din to meet him. The Khan asked the Shaikh, "Are you better than this dog? Or is this dog better than you?" The Shaikh replied, "If I believe in Allah, then I am certainly better; if I do not believe in Allah, then this dog is better than me." The Khan was deeply moved by these words, and a love for Islam grew in his heart.

According to the Tarikh-i-Rashidi, the ancestors of Shaikh Jamal al-Din were Sufi sages from Bukhara in Central Asia. After Genghis Khan conquered Bukhara, they moved around and eventually settled in the city of Katak near Lop Nur. Regarding Jamal al-Din's journey to Aksu to meet Tughluq Timur, the Tarikh-i-Rashidi records:

After a Friday Jumu'ah prayer, Jamal al-Din told everyone he had received a revelation from Allah that the city of Katak would face a disaster, so he had to leave immediately. The muezzin responsible for the call to prayer (adhan) at the mosque begged Jamal al-Din to take him along, and Jamal al-Din agreed. After traveling for a while, the muezzin said he had something to do and wanted to return to the city. Once back, he climbed the minaret of the mosque and gave the call to prayer one last time. Just as he finished the call, sand fell from the sky and buried the entire town, leaving only the top of the minaret visible above the sand dunes. Terrified, the muezzin chased after Jamal al-Din through the night to tell him what had happened to Katak. Upon hearing this, Jamal al-Din hurried on until he reached the area near the city of Aksu.

At that time, eighteen-year-old Tughluq Timur was hunting outside Aksu. His men reported that someone was hiding nearby, so Tughluq Timur sent them to bring the person before him, which led to the meeting mentioned earlier. Jamal al-Din explained the teachings of Islam to Tughluq Timur, and Tughluq Timur promised that once he became the Great Khan, he would convert to the faith. This story is recorded in the Tarikh-i-Rashidi as follows:

When he came to the Khan, he saw the Khan standing alone in a quiet place with a sad expression on his face. The Khan asked the Shaikh, "What must a person have to be better than a dog? The Shaikh replied, "Faith." Then, the Shaikh explained to the Khan what faith is and the various duties of a Muslim. The Khan wept bitterly right there and said, "If I become Khan and hold supreme power, you must come to me. I promise you that I will convert to Islam."

However, Jamal al-Din passed away shortly after. Before he died, Jamal al-Din instructed his son, Arshad al-Din, to fulfill his final wish: to help Tughluq Timur convert to the faith once he became the Great Khan. He told his son that before meeting Tughluq Timur, he had a dream where Arshad al-Din carried a lamp to the top of a mountain, and the light made the entire East shine brightly.

In 1348, Tughluq Timur officially took the throne. In 1456, Arshad al-Din traveled from Aksu to the Khan's royal court (ordu) near the city of Almalik to try and meet the Great Khan. The royal court was heavily guarded, and Arshad al-Din could not get in. He began calling the call to prayer (adhan) loudly every morning at dawn. The Great Khan finally heard the call, and the two were able to meet.

That very morning, Arshad al-Din led the conversion ceremony for Great Khan Tughluq Timur. He then met with the royal ministers one by one. 160,000 Chagatai Mongols converted to the faith, which became a major turning point for the eastern Chagatai Mongols.

5. The Final Unification of the Khanate

By 1360, the Chagatai Mongol tribes in the Transoxiana region had been fighting each other for over a decade. To end the chaos, Great Khan Tughluq Timur decided to lead a large army west to unify the Chagatai Khanate. In March 1360, the army marched all the way to the city of Kesh (located in southern Uzbekistan). A young noble commander (amir) named Timur (Amir Timur, the future Timur the Great) from the Barlas tribe, which had lived in Kesh for generations, surrendered to the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. He was granted Kesh and the surrounding territory, and Great Khan Tughluq Timur returned home victorious.

Not long after the Great Khan left, the eastern generals left in charge of Transoxiana argued with the local generals. Timur fled north of the Amu Darya river and gathered an army.

In 1361, Great Khan Tughluq Timur led a second western campaign, and the Chagatai generals in Transoxiana surrendered one after another. To ease the tension between the eastern and western generals, Great Khan Tughluq Timur negotiated with Timur again and appointed him as the governor of Kesh and the surrounding area.

After fully controlling Transoxiana and reunifying the entire Chagatai Khanate, Great Khan Tughluq Timur left his son Ilyas Khoja to rule Transoxiana while he returned to the east.

After the Great Khan left, Timur had a falling out with the commander left in charge. He fled to the upper reaches of the Amu Darya to join his brother-in-law, Amir Husayn, and gathered another army. In the famous Battle of the Stone Bridge, Timur used a smaller force to defeat the Eastern Chagatai army and retook Kesh.





After the Timurid Empire was established, Timur renamed his hometown of Kesh to Shahrisabz.

6. The Death of the Great Khan

1. Ilyas Khoja Takes the Throne

In 1363, Timur and Prince Ilyas Khoja prepared for a decisive battle just outside Kesh. Just then, news arrived that Great Khan Tughluq Timur had passed away. The Eastern Chagatai generals urged the prince to return to Almalik quickly to take the throne, but Timur's army was already close, so the battle had to go on.

The battle began with deafening war cries. Prince Ilyas Khoja led his cavalry in an attack, but they were driven back by Timur's archers. The Eastern Chagatai army was completely defeated. The prince fled back to Almalik to take the throne, and Timur occupied a large part of Transoxiana.

In 1364, all the Chagatai generals in Transoxiana held a meeting and decided to name Khabul Shah, a descendant of the Chagatai Khan, as the Western Chagatai Khan. With this, the Chagatai Khanate, once unified by Tughluq Timur Khan, split apart again. Soon after, the vast Timurid Empire would rise from the ruins of the Western Chagatai Khanate.

2. Battle of the Muddy Swamp

In 1364, Prince Ilyas Khoja returned to Almalik to take the throne as the second Khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.

In May 1365, Ilyas Khoja fought another major battle against the allied forces of Timur and Amir Husayn near the Syr Darya River. Just as the decisive battle began, a sudden downpour turned the ground into a quagmire, trapping the horses in deep mud. This is why later generations call it the Battle of the Muddy Swamp (ni zhao zhi zhan).

Timur's army could not move in the mud. Ilyas Khoja was prepared; his Eastern Chagatai troops covered themselves with felt blankets and waited for Timur's men to charge before throwing them off to fight. Countless soldiers died in the mud.

The Tarikh-i-Rashidi (Rashide Shi) describes this scene vividly:

Although the sun was still in the position of the Orion constellation, the sky suddenly filled with dark clouds, thunder rumbled, and lightning flashed. Wind and rain rushed into the sky from their hiding places. The heavens echoed with continuous thunder, and within the clouds brewing with lightning, thousands of golden rays shot out like arrows of light. The rain poured down, and the raindrops whistled as they cut through the air. It was as if the god of fate had once again fallen ill and decided to stir up trouble. The stars shed so many tears that it seemed the great floods of the primordial age were about to return. People heard Nuh (Noah) once again offering a dua for the rain to stop.

The livestock on the battlefield seemed to float in the air like fish. The horses' feet sank so deep into the mud that their bellies touched the ground, and the dampness made them look thin and bony. They became weak and emaciated, paralyzed, and their bones felt loose. The feathers on the arrow shafts fell off, and the nocks dropped away. Clothes and equipment became heavy from the rain, making it difficult for both infantry and cavalry to move. Because of this, our army (Timur's) lost confidence and courage, but the enemy remained in place, covering themselves with felt to keep their clothes and weapons dry. When our army reached them, they threw off the felt covers and entered the battle with energetic horses and dry weapons, and so the fighting officially began.

Timur defeated the Eastern Chagatai army with a brave attack, but the victory caused a conflict between Timur and his brother-in-law, Husayn. The next morning, the Eastern Chagatai army turned defeat into victory, killing tens of thousands of Timur's soldiers.

After the Battle of the Muddy Swamp, the Western Chagatai lords retreated south of the Amu Darya River, and Ilyas Khoja began to besiege Samarkand. Just as the city-defending army was struggling, a plague broke out in the East Chagatai army. Most of the horses died from the sickness, and Ilyas Khoja was forced to return to Almaliq.

In 1370, Timur unified the entire Western Chagatai Khanate. He established the Timurid Empire as the protector of the Chagatai Khan and became known to later generations as Timur the Great.



Timur the Great holds a grand feast in Samarkand, painted by Sharuf ad-din Ali Yesdy in 1628.

7. The succession of Khizr Khoja

1. The Khan's entire family is killed

Tughluq Timur Khan was originally placed on the throne by Bulaji, the leader of the Dughlat tribe. After Bulaji passed away, the Khan wanted to weaken the power of the Dughlat tribe. Instead of following tradition and letting Bulaji's brother succeed him, he let Bulaji's 6-year-old son, Khudaidad, take the position. This caused dissatisfaction among Bulaji's brothers, especially the third brother, Qamar ud-Din, who held a grudge.

After returning to Almaliq, Ilyas Khoja lost his authority because of the defeat. In 1368, Qamar ud-Din started a rebellion. He killed Ilyas Khoja while he was sleeping and slaughtered almost all members of the royal family. Only Tughluq Timur Khan's youngest son, Khizr Khoja, was hidden by Khudaidad and his mother. They moved around to hide in places like the Pamir Mountains, the Kunlun Mountains, and Lop Nur.

After Qamar ud-Din ruled the East Chagatai Khanate, Timur launched six wars against it, historically known as the Eastern Expeditions against Chagatai. In 1389, Qamar ud-Din was finally completely defeated. His subordinates hid him deep in the dense forests by the Irtysh River, and his whereabouts became unknown.

2. The succession of Khizr Khoja

In 1389, the 16-year-old prince Khizr Khoja took the throne with the help of Khudaidad, becoming the third Great Khan of the Chagatai Khanate.

Hearing that Khizr Khoja had succeeded to the throne, Timur immediately led his army to fight a decisive battle. He defeated the East Chagatai army in one strike, looted a large number of subjects and livestock from the East Chagatai Khanate, and completely destroyed the city of Almaliq. Because the Timurids in the west were too powerful, Khizr Khoja chose to conquer Turpan around 1392 and moved the Khan's court to Anle City in Turpan. Khizr Khoja promoted Islam in Turpan, which gradually made Turpan a cultural center for Islam.

During the reign of Khizr Khoja, the East Chagatai Khanate finally regained stability. The Tarikh-i-Rashidi states:

At the time of his accession, because Qamar ud-Din had usurped the throne and the Emir Timur was aggressive, the state was on the verge of collapse, but it became strong and consolidated again. Old systems that had been abandoned were restored, and the administration of the Khan's court and the affairs of the nobles were back on track.

3. Anle City in Turpan

Anle City is located south of the Emin Minaret (Sugong Ta). It is 300 meters wide from north to south and 700 meters long from east to west, with a karez well (kan'erjing) running underground through the city. The south of the city rises 8 to 10 meters above the ground, and every courtyard or house inside the city has storage pits and water wells.

In 1422, the East Chagatai Great Khan Uwais Khan defeated the Oirats and reoccupied Anle City. He used Anle City as his main residence, and since then, Anle City has been an important city of the East Chagatai Khanate.

In the second half of the 15th century, the East Chagatai Khanate split again. Ahmad Alaq (reigned 1487–1503) ruled the eastern part of the Khanate with Anle City as the center. It is called the Turpan Khanate in the History of Ming, and Anle City was later replaced by the name Turpan.

In 1514, Sultan Said Khan founded the Yarkent Khanate, while his older brother, Mansur Khan (reigned 1503–1543), continued to rule the eastern part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate with Turpan as his capital. In 1570, the army of the Yarkent Khanate invaded Turpan, captured Muhammad Khan, the last ruler of the Turpan Khanate, and brought the khanate to an end.

In 1679, Galdan, the leader of the Dzungar Khanate, occupied Turpan. After years of fighting between the Dzungars and the Qing Dynasty, the region was finally incorporated into the Qing Empire in 1755. In 1780, the Qing government built Guang'an City northwest of Anle City. The administrative center of Turpan moved to Guang'an City (the current urban area of Turpan), and Anle City was gradually abandoned.















I picked some incredibly sweet mulberries at the ancient city of Anle! They tasted just like honey. May is truly the season for mulberries.









The Emin Minaret (Sugong Ta) is located just north of the ancient city of Anle.



8. Visiting the Mazar of Khizr Khoja

Khizr Khoja passed away in Turpan between 1402 and 1404. In 1415, Chen Cheng, an envoy sent by the Ming Dynasty to the Western Regions, wrote in his Record of Mountains, Rivers, and Customs of the Western Regions:

There are two high mounds in the city, surrounded by trees and enclosed by walls. These are the tombs of the former king, Khizr Khoja, and his wife. Near the tombs is a small mound, said to be where his favorite minister was buried with him.

Even locals might not know this place well. When using navigation, you can search for 'Xie'erniji,' and the mazar is in the southeast of the village.















A prayer rug used when visiting the graves.









When visiting the graves, people tie triangular flags to the tree branches. Some scholars believe this is a remnant of shamanic customs.



9. Further Reading

The historical information in this article mainly comes from several books: History of the Mughals in Central Asia: Tarikh-i-Rashidi, A Brief History of the Islamic Khanates in Xinjiang, Research on the History of the Chagatai Khanate, Research on the Silk Road and the History of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and History of Islam in China's Xinjiang Region.



History of the Mughals in Central Asia: Tarikh-i-Rashidi (Volume 1)

Mirza Muhammad Haidar / 1985 / Xinjiang People's Publishing House



Research on the History of the Chagatai Khanate

Liu Yingsheng / 2006 / Shanghai Classics Publishing House



Research on the Silk Road and the History of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate

Tian Weijiang / 1999 / Xinjiang People's Publishing House view all

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Summary: Urumqi Hui Muslim Home Cooking: 15 Halal Dishes is presented here as a firsthand travel account in clear English, beginning with this scene: My mother-in-law came to Beijing in March and made us 15 Urumqi Hui Muslim dishes. The account keeps its focus on Urumqi Halal Food, Hui Muslim Food, Xinjiang Travel while preserving the names, places, food, and historical details from the Chinese source.

My mother-in-law came to Beijing in March and made us 15 Urumqi Hui Muslim dishes. They are big plate chicken with belt noodles (dapanji pidaimian), lamb hand-torn noodles (yangrou jiupianzi), Xinjiang meatball soup (Xinjiang wanzi tang), dry-mixed noodles with lamb bean sauce (yangrou zhajiang ganbanmian), lamb sour soup wontons (yangrou suantang huntun), Jingzhe oil tea eggs (Jingzhe youcha dan), thin-skinned buns (baopi baozi), lamb vermicelli soup (yangrou fentang), cold shredded chicken (liangban ji), diced stir-fried noodles (dingding chaomian), sour soup minced meat noodles (suantang saozi mian), fragrant bean flour rolls (xiangdou huajuan), plate noodles (panzi mian), flavored fried starch jelly (fengwei zha menzi), and lamb and celery dumplings (yangrou qincai jiaozi). Yesterday I shared the first 8 dishes in '15 Urumqi Hui Muslim Dishes Made by My Mother-in-law (Part 1)', and today I will continue with the remaining 7.

9. Cold shredded chicken (liangban ji)

The cold shredded chicken made in Xinjiang Hui Muslim homes is actually the same as the pepper-numbing chicken (jiaoma ji) in restaurants, but it is not as salty or heavy. First, you must choose free-range chicken, not yellow-feathered broiler chicken (sanhuang ji). You should buy a whole chicken, stew it, and tear it by hand, but I went to the market and had the butcher chop it for me, haha. When stewing the chicken, you must add chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, and when making the dressing, you must also fry Sichuan peppercorn oil first.







I bought the chicken at the Dazhang Halal Free-range Chicken specialty store in Changying Market.



10. Diced stir-fried noodles (dingding chaomian)

For these classic diced stir-fried noodles, we usually don't use tomato paste at home, just fresh tomatoes.









11. Sour soup minced meat noodles (suantang saozi mian)

The Urumqi Hui Muslim version of sour soup minced meat noodles also uses hand-rolled cut noodles.









12. Fragrant bean flour rolls (xiangdou huajuan)

These are steamed rolls made with fragrant bean flour (xiangdou fen) and rapeseed oil. It is hard to buy fragrant bean flour in Beijing, so I bought it online specifically.









Steamed rolls served with shredded potatoes and corn grits are a classic Urumqi Hui Muslim breakfast.



13. Plate noodles (panzi mian)

Xinjiang pulled noodles (latiaozi) come in two types: plate noodles and stretched noodles (zhangzi mian); plate noodles are chewier than stretched noodles.







They are served with bamboo shoots and meat, or bok choy and meat; it seems rare to find these two types of Xinjiang mixed noodles in local Xinjiang restaurants.





14. Flavored fried starch jelly (fengwei zha menzi)

Flavored fried starch jelly is a banquet dish for Xinjiang Hui Muslims; the last time I ate it was at my engagement banquet with Zainab.

The starch jelly (menzi) is made with minced beef. When mixing the filling, you must beat it repeatedly, then shape it into a cylinder, pinch the top to look like a fence, pour egg into the center, and steam it. Once steamed, slice the jelly, coat it in egg wash, and fry it. Take it out, sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, and salt, and a delicious plate of flavored fried starch jelly is ready.



















15. Lamb and celery dumplings (jiaozi).

There is a saying that you eat dumplings before a trip and noodles when you return home. My mother-in-law is leaving, so she made us lamb and celery dumplings for her final meal. She added eggs to the dough, which gave it a slightly yellow color.













You have to eat them with chili oil (youpo lazi). view all

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Summary: This travel note introduces Urumqi Night Market Halal Food Guide: Xinjiang Snacks and Local Life (Part 1). It was hard to get a five-day holiday for May Day in 2021, so I went to Urumqi to have a good look around. It is useful for readers interested in Urumqi Night Market, Halal Food, Xinjiang Travel.

It was hard to get a five-day holiday for May Day in 2021, so I went to Urumqi to have a good look around.

April 30

Arrived in Urumqi on the evening of April 30. Iftar (the meal to break the fast) was lamb and green onion huntun (wontons) made by my mother-in-law, braised steak, and steamed eggplant.



















Then I went out to the night market; the nightlife in Urumqi is back!

At Maihualang on Xinhua South Road, I ate baklava, milk rice pudding, and pure suannai-zi (yogurt). Their place is really cheap and has a great atmosphere; it felt like I was back in a Turkish dessert shop for a second!



















Melon stall at the west entrance of Lingguan Lane





Ice cream with fruit jam and iced water from Yizihaier Ice Cream in Lingguan Lane









Night market at the west entrance of Lingguan Lane







Lingguan Lane Night Market





Roasted goose eggs and pomegranate juice on Shengli Road







Hotan suannai zongzi (yogurt sticky rice dumplings) and shaved ice with yogurt syrup on Heba Lane. The taste is a bit different from the shaved ice in Yili, and it feels like Hotan suannai zongzi have become more common in Urumqi again this year.









Chickpeas on Heba Lane, served with the broth from michangzi (rice-stuffed intestines) and mianfeizi (lung-stuffed intestines).







Heba Lane at night



Eating dubao-rou (stomach-wrapped meat) at the night market at the east entrance of Heba Lane. The outside is lamb stomach, and the inside is lamb meat, liver, heart, and kidney; it was delicious. Dubao-rou is more common in Southern Xinjiang, but now you see it often in Urumqi night markets too. Their michangzi, mianfeizi, and chickpeas also looked so good!

















A popular fruit shop on Shengli Road where I ate melon, drank pomegranate juice, and had fruit shaved ice; I've been there several times before.



A supermarket on Xinhua South Road, it's really great.







May 1

Because I'm traveling today, I paused my Suiyeye (a personal practice), and in the morning at a Kazakh restaurant by the Xinjiang University subway station, I had milk tea, horse meat sausage, and baursak (fried dough), along with side dishes with yellow carrots. I ate at their main branch in Dawan last year; it was excellent. There are more Uyghur customers at this branch, so it doesn't feel as intense as the main branch, but the baursak with raspberry jam, cherry jam, yogurt, and butter was just too good.

















For lunch, I ate at the Xibe restaurant Ani Mother's Dishes in the New District; this is a quite famous place in Urumqi. I ate Xibe-style flatbread with chive chili sauce, Xibe fighting chicken, stir-fried lamb offal, and milk tea with milk skin. I originally thought the Xibe flatbread was just regular leavened bread, but after actually eating it, I found it so delicious! The texture was just right! With the chili sauce, I could eat a whole piece in one go. The Xibe fighting chicken meat was particularly chewy, much better than regular Dapanji (big plate chicken), and the stir-fried lamb offal was quite spicy but very satisfying. The milk tea had that authentic Yili taste, no doubt about it.



















In the afternoon, I visited the Urumqi Gaotai Art Center, saw the Swiss contemporary photography exhibition, and bought magnets of jiuwan sanxingzi (nine bowls in three rows) and laghman (hand-pulled noodles), as well as portrait photography of Xinjiang people by photographer Ma Hailun. She will also be conducting a Urumqi portrait photography project at Gaotai on May 7. Gaotai Art Center is the only modern art center in Urumqi, and they organized the Dos Xinjiang Art Festival held in Beijing during the 2021 May Day holiday.

















May 2

Ate zhuafan (pilaf), michangzi, mianfeizi, and pilahong (salad of skin, chili, and red onion) at home in the morning, then set off for Turpan.





May 4

On the morning of May 4, I ate Wuwuzi lamb meat with sanpaotai (a traditional tea with eight ingredients) in Shanxi Lane. The lamb was very tender and fragrant, and the piyazi (onions) were sweet.

In 1907, a Hui Muslim named Li Shenghua (Li Liushizi) started carrying a shoulder pole to sell lamb meat at the South Gate of Dihua. Later, his fifth son, Li Zhanshou (Wuwuzi), took over, and the name Wuwuzi Lamb Meat gradually became well-known. After the 1980s, Wuwuzi rented a storefront in Shanxi Lane. It has now been passed down for four generations and is an autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritage.

Wuwuzi Lamb Meat, along with the Shaanxi Great Mosque, the Laofang Mosque, and others, forms an important cultural symbol of the Hui Muslim historical district outside the South Gate of Urumqi. It is well worth a try for friends visiting Urumqi.













Erkin's musical instrument shop at the International Grand Bazaar; he is an inheritor of the autonomous region-level intangible cultural heritage of Uyghur musical instrument making. This is the only place worth visiting in the International Grand Bazaar besides the Kazakh photography yurt.







Ate almond ice cream at Alman Supermarket in Lingguan Lane; the ice cream had a very rich milky flavor.







Bought Yili suannai gedada (dried yogurt balls), traditional Yili ice cream, and creamy yogurt at the entrance of Alman Supermarket.













Ate homemade banmian (mixed noodles) at Benbang Bense Hand-Pulled Noodles in Lingguan Lane. I often pass by the hand-pulled noodles but this was my first time eating them; before, I always went straight for the meat naan. The hand-pulled noodles feel a bit firmer than regular noodles, and the texture is indeed different.









Ate naan-pit roasted meat at Yikelamu Food next door. Their environment is very nice and they have mint tea, which is quite suitable for resting.











Bought bahali (a traditional Tatar cake) at the Tatar pastry shop in Lingguan Lane; I bought a Tatar cake from them when I got married last year.









Lingguan Lane



Bought fresh camel milk at a Kazakh food shop at Heping Bridge. I drank mare's milk there last year, but it's not available until the end of May; it's not the season yet, so there was only camel milk.





After buying it, I sat in a pavilion, basking in the sun while eating suannai gedada, fresh camel milk, and bahali; a very pleasant afternoon.







In the evening, I ate at Pang Laohan, a famous Hui Muslim restaurant in Urumqi. Pang Laohan's real name is Jin Fengchang, a Hui Muslim from Hutubi. In 1995, he gave up his restaurant in Hutubi to try his luck in Urumqi, riding a tricycle to sell jiaoma-ji (spicy numbing chicken) at the Railway Bureau night market, and it became more and more popular. In 2001, he opened a specialty store, and later more and more branches were opened; now there are even stores in Chengdu.

I ordered their signature jiaoma-ji, lamb neck, sauced jiesha (a traditional dish made of tofu skin and meat), sweet and sour pork tenderloin, mixed wild sand leeks, fried wudaohai (a type of fish), scallion pancakes, and so on, and finally packed up some sesame steamed bread. Their food is really quite delicious. The jiaoma-ji was quite numbing, so I couldn't eat too much, but the flavor was great. The lamb neck dipped in sauce was especially fragrant, and the jiesha was served with sauce and had a crispy outer skin, different from the softer skin of braised jiesha. The sweet and sour pork tenderloin was unexpectedly delicious! It was much more fragrant than the ones in Beijing restaurants. The bones of the wudaohai were fried until crispy; I ate almost half a plate, one bite at a time. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This travel note introduces Urumqi Night Market Halal Food Guide: Xinjiang Snacks and Local Life (Part 2). Passing by Heping Bridge in the evening, I discovered a newly opened Kazakh food shop. I bought sour camel milk, handmade yogurt, and non-sour suannai geda (dried yogurt balls). They really have a lot of good things. It is useful for readers interested in Urumqi Night Market, Halal Food, Xinjiang Travel.











Passing by Heping Bridge in the evening, I discovered a newly opened Kazakh food shop. I bought sour camel milk, handmade yogurt, and non-sour suannai geda (dried yogurt balls). They really have a lot of good things.













The milk-based carbonated drink 'Tan' from Yili; I hope it gets introduced to Beijing soon.







May 5th

Returned to Beijing today and resumed Siyam (fasting). For Suhoor (pre-dawn meal), I had the red-billed goose my mother-in-law made. This is a specialty of Miquan, which I had a relative from Miquan buy for me a few days ago. Dapan Hongzuiyan (large plate of red-billed goose) is also best served with belt noodles, and the meat of the goose is more tender than chicken; it is even more delicious than Dapanji (large plate chicken).















Urumqi is a city where you can see snow-capped mountains right outside your window. It is a pity that the five-day holiday has ended just like that. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This travel note introduces Turpan Halal Travel Guide in May: Ancient Sites and Uyghur Food (Part 1). During the 2021 May Day holiday, I returned to Urumqi with Zaynab, and we used two of those days for a family road trip to Turpan to look around. It is useful for readers interested in Turpan Travel, Uyghur Food, Xinjiang Travel.

During the 2021 May Day holiday, I returned to Urumqi with Zaynab, and we used two of those days for a family road trip to Turpan to look around. This was my third time visiting Turpan, and I visited several historical sites I had not been to before.

We set off from Urumqi to Turpan in the morning, but we ran into a level-12 gale in the Thirty-Mile Wind Zone, causing all expressways and national highways to close. We took a provincial road as a detour instead, which actually allowed us to see scenery we couldn't see on the expressway: snow-capped mountains, meadows, and wilderness on the Tianshan Mountains.











We took a detour through Toksun County, which was the perfect opportunity to try authentic Toksun banmian (hand-pulled noodles). The most popular spot in Toksun County is this place called Lao Sihao; it was packed at mealtime, with locals as well as people who had come specifically from Turpan. Their specialty is black goat guoyourou banmian (hand-pulled noodles with oil-fried meat). Black goats are a local specialty that live on the cliffs of the Tianshan Mountains; they are much more expensive than regular lamb, but the taste and texture are truly different from regular lamb, and I think they are much more delicious.











Continuing from Toksun toward Turpan, we first arrived at Aydingkol Town, where there are two ancient mazar (shrines). The first is the Andijan Khoja Mazar, from the Qing Dynasty. Andijan is located in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan. The entire building is constructed of raw mud bricks, with the outer walls plastered with mud and straw. In the past, every Thursday was the day to visit the mazar, and everyone would come here to make dua and pray for various wishes.



















Then we went to the Khizr Khoja Mazar in Aydingkol Town, which is the highest-ranking mausoleum in the Turpan area.

Khizr Khoja was the youngest son of Tughlugh Timur, the founding Khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, and the third Khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. After Khan Tughlugh Timur passed away, the Dughlat noble Qamar ud-Din massacred almost all of the Khan's descendants in 1368, with only the infant youngest son, Khizr Khoja, being hidden away. It was not until 1389, after Qamar ud-Din was completely defeated by Tamerlane the Great, that Khizr Khoja, who had been in hiding for many years, was able to ascend the throne as the third Khan of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.

Because Tamerlane in the west was too powerful, Khizr Khoja chose to conquer eastward, taking the two towns of Qara-Khoja (the ancient city of Gaochang) and Turpan (the ancient city of Anle), and moved the Khan's court to Turpan.

Between 1402 and 1404, Khizr Khoja passed away in Turpan. Chen Cheng, an envoy sent to the Western Regions during the Ming Dynasty, wrote in his 1415 'Record of the Mountains, Rivers, and Customs of the Western Regions': 'In the city, there are two high mounds, surrounded by trees and enclosed by walls; these are the graves of the former King Khizr Khoja and his wife. Near the graves, there is a small mound, said to be where his favorite minister was buried with him.' ”



















After leaving Aydingkol, we went to visit the Karez Well scenic area, but it was developed in a way that felt a bit too commercial, so I didn't take many photos, and then we went to the Turpan Hui Muslim city. The Turpan Hui Muslim city is also called the New City; it was built in 1871 by the forces of Yaqub Beg. The main residents were Hui Muslims and Uyghurs, with most of the Hui Muslims having ancestral roots in Shaanxi and Gansu.

The Turpan East Mosque is located inside the Turpan Hui Muslim city. It is a Hui mosque, originally built in 1871 and renovated in 1911. Because the weather in Turpan is hot, the mosque expanded the traditional front porch into an 'outer hall' used for outdoor prayer in the summer. The outer hall has a ridge-roofed xieshan (hip-and-gable) roof, a beam-lifting wooden structure, and is supported by 32 pillars.

The mosque gate features authentic Shaanxi-style calligraphy brick carvings, and there is a minaret similar to the Emin Minaret inside the mosque, though unfortunately, the upper part has collapsed. This type of minaret is extremely rare in Hui Muslim mosques.



















The Turpan West Mosque was originally built in 1859 and is the oldest among the Hui Muslim mosques in Turpan.





During the Republic of China era, the Turpan Hui Muslim city (New City) was filled with shops and was bustling and prosperous; today, many historical buildings are still preserved.





























This used to be an old hardware company.





A post office from over sixty years ago.







In the evening, we ate qorqur (dumplings) with onions and beans, and barbecue across from the Turpan Museum, and then we had lamb-braised youtazi (steamed twisted rolls). This is quite rare; here in the eastern part of Xinjiang, it is usually lamb-braised flatbread.



















Turpan Night Market.





The next morning, we ate the incredibly popular Koshimaklar baked buns at the Turpan Museum. When I visited Turpan in the past, their shop was the 'Twin Baked Buns' stall at the entrance of the Big Cross Bazaar, but this time I found they had moved to their current location. We arrived at 8:30 in the morning to catch the first batch, and we even had to get a queue card when buying; there were many people lined up behind us.

However, their baked buns are indeed very delicious. First of all, they are baked over charcoal, which is hard to find in Urumqi. Also, the filling inside isn't too fatty and has plenty of meat. Freshly baked buns paired with fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice are truly refreshing.



















I highly recommend breakfast at the Bayawan Food Hall on Old City East Road in Turpan! The variety is very rich, and it is semi-self-service where you pick your own food and pay at the end. We ate pilaf, steamed buns with thin skins, milk tea with thick milk skin, bone soup, a platter of side dishes, and a fruit platter. Eating well gives you a good mood for the whole day.



















After breakfast, we went to visit the Emin Minaret. The Emin Minaret, also known as the 'Emin Tower,' was built in 1778 by the Turpan Prince Emin Khoja and his son Suleiman. It is the tallest historical minaret building in Xinjiang. Emin Khoja came from a religious family in Turpan. After the Qing Dynasty entered Turpan in 1720, Emin Khoja led his people to submit to them. He subsequently performed many military feats, and in 1756, the Qing Dynasty handed over the rule of Turpan to Emin Khoja. In 1759, Emin Khoja made a great contribution to the Qing Dynasty's pacification of the rebellion of the two Khojas and was granted the title of Prince.

In 1772, Emin Khoja returned to his hometown of Turpan. In his later years, he used 7,000 taels of silver and ordered his son Suleiman to build a mosque. In 1777, before the mosque was completed, Emin Khoja returned to Allah. Afterward, Suleiman inherited the title of Prince and completed the construction of the mosque in 1778. Because the mosque has a tall minaret, it is called the Emin Minaret Mosque.



The mosque gate is built with heavy raw mud walls, and the facade is composed of recessed niches, creating a strong sense of shadow.





The main hall is rectangular and divided into three parts: the front hall, the prayer hall, and the rear hall. The prayer hall consists of a colonnade of 32 wooden pillars. It has no ridge and no tiles, using wooden rafters, branches, and mud to make the roof, which is the traditional flat-roof architectural style of Turpan. The roof has high windows and light wells for lighting and ventilation. The front hall and the rear hall are built with large raw mud domes using the corbeling method.









On both sides of the main hall, there are madrasas (Islamic schools), with each of the twenty small rooms having a small dome and holes for ventilation and lighting.



The minaret is 44 meters high and is built of bricks using the corbeling method. The tower body has 15 different geometric patterns, such as waves, diamonds, and floral designs. Inside the tower, there are 72 spiral stairs, and at the top of the tower, there is a pavilion with windows where you can look out into the distance. The top of the tower originally had eaves, but after the Turpan earthquake in 1916, the top was destroyed, and local craftsmen subsequently changed it to a dome.



The ancient city of Anle is located south of the Emin Minaret, 300 meters wide from north to south and 700 meters long from east to west, with a Karez well running underground through the city. The south side of the city rises 8 to 10 meters above the ground, and every courtyard or house in the city has storage pits and wells.

In 1389, after the 16-year-old prince of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, Khizr Khoja, proclaimed himself Khan, Tamerlane the Great immediately led his army to fight a decisive battle, defeating the army of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate in one fell swoop and plundering a large number of subjects and livestock. Because the Timurid Empire in the west was too powerful, Khizr Khoja chose to conquer the city of Anle in Turpan around 1392. Khizr Khoja promoted Islam in Turpan, making the city of Anle gradually become a center of Islamic culture.

In 1422, the Eastern Chagatai Khan, Uwais Khan, defeated the Oirats and reoccupied the city of Anle, using it as his main residence. Since then, the city of Anle has been an important city of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate.

In the second half of the 15th century, the Eastern Chagatai Khanate split again. Ahmad Alaq (reigned 1487–1503) ruled the eastern part of the Khanate with the city of Anle as the center. In the 'History of Ming,' it is called the 'Turpan Khanate,' and the city of Anle was subsequently replaced by the name Turpan.

In 1514, Sultan Said Khan founded the Yarkand Khanate, and his elder brother, Mansur Khan (reigned 1503–1543), continued to rule the eastern part of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate with Turpan as his capital. In 1570, the army of the Yarkand Khanate invaded Turpan, and the last Khan of the 'Turpan Khanate,' Muhammad Khan, was captured, leading to the fall of the Turpan Khanate.

In 1679, Turpan was occupied by Galdan, the Khan of the Dzungar Khanate. After that, it was repeatedly contested with the Qing Dynasty until it was finally incorporated into the Qing Dynasty in 1755. In 1780, the Qing Dynasty built the city of Guang'an northwest of the city of Anle. The administrative center of Turpan was subsequently moved to the city of Guang'an (the current urban area of Turpan), and the city of Anle was gradually abandoned.



















I picked some incredibly sweet mulberries in the ancient city! It was like eating honey. May is truly the season for mulberries.











The entrance to the Emin Minaret is also full of people selling mulberries.









From the Emin Minaret, we headed east to Huoyanshan Town, where the Turpan Prince's Tomb is located in Sanbao Township, right on the west side of the ancient city of Gaochang. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This travel note introduces Turpan Halal Travel Guide in May: Ancient Sites and Uyghur Food (Part 2). At noon, we ate huangmian kaorou (yellow noodles with grilled meat) in Huoyanshan Town. It is useful for readers interested in Turpan Travel, Uyghur Food, Xinjiang Travel.





At noon, we ate huangmian kaorou (yellow noodles with grilled meat) in Huoyanshan Town. Huoyanshan Town is famous for its huangmian kaorou, and the whole street is filled with shops selling it. The most famous one is called 'Huoyanshan Famous Huangmian Kaorou Restaurant,' but it was fully booked when we arrived, so we ate at the place across the street. We ordered a mix of yellow noodles and liangpi (cold starch noodles). After the grilled meat was cooked, it was taken off the skewers and placed on top of the yellow noodles. It was so refreshing to eat in the summer, and it felt really suitable for the climate of the Flaming Mountains. We also had grilled fish, and everyone agreed that the meat was very fresh, tender, and delicious.

















The beef head meat had a great texture from the gelatin, and the portion was very large. We also drank a fermented beverage made from raisins and dried apricots, which is a specialty of Huoyanshan Town; it is richer than kvass.













We also drank date water from the street, which was cool and thirst-quenching.







Stewed meat and corn nang (flatbread) on the streets of Huoyanshan Town.









After lunch, we headed to Tuyugou. We bought dried mulberries and sorghum nang in Tuyugou. The prices here are very cheap and definitely not tourist prices.





Dried cantaloupe is not often seen.







The sorghum nang was made by this young woman herself.





Tuyugou Mazar Aldi Village means 'in front of the cemetery'. Above Mazar Village is the famous Al-Sahab Kahfi Mazar, commonly known as the 'Holy Tomb'. I visited the Mazar in 2013, but unfortunately, it is no longer open for visits.

The traditional houses in Mazar Village are made of raw earth architecture. The walls are built with mud bricks or rammed earth. When laying the bricks, no mortar is used; instead, the moisture of the mud bricks themselves is used for adhesion, and the walls are covered with fine mud after being built. The roofs are divided into two types: wooden ribbed flat roofs and earthen arched roofs. The wooden ribbed flat roof is made by placing multiple thin wooden beams on the walls, covering the beams with reed mats, and then covering them with fine mud. Most of the wood used is local fast-growing poplar. The earthen arched roofs are made entirely of raw earth, and some roofs are plastered with straw-mud to serve as drying platforms for raisins. Because they have received charity from Muslims visiting the Mazar for generations, most villagers in Mazar Village only grow grapes and not crops, and raisins are also the main income for Mazar Village.



















Tuyugou Grand Canyon and the Mazar. view all

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Summary: This travel note introduces Urumqi Hui Muslim Home Cooking Guide: Everyday Halal Food in Xinjiang (Part 1). On January 22, 2020, Zainab and I returned to Urumqi, where she had lived until she was 18, in a residential compound with over sixty years of history. It is useful for readers interested in Urumqi Food, Hui Muslims, Xinjiang Travel.

On January 22, 2020, Zainab and I returned to Urumqi, where she had lived until she was 18, in a residential compound with over sixty years of history. We originally planned to have a good time in Urumqi, but then Xinjiang launched a Level 1 emergency response on January 25. All restaurants closed, and the residential compound was semi-locked down, so we had to stay at home. During these days of staying at home, my mother-in-law made us delicious food with great variety every day, and we were able to taste all kinds of authentic Hui Muslim home-cooked dishes from Urumqi (Part 1).





The menu of what we ate these past few days is as follows:

January 22

Lunch: Four types of banmian (hand-pulled noodles with toppings): celery and meat, pickled cabbage and meat, eggplant and meat, and onion and cherry radish with meat.

Afternoon: Tangfan (noodle soup).

January 23

Morning: Milk tea with shredded potatoes, dried chili peppers, and meat.

January 27

Morning: Tangningningzi (a type of fried dough twist) soaked in milk.

Lunch: Shredded potato and guoyourou (oil-seared meat) banmian.

Afternoon: Fentang (starch noodle soup).

January 28

Lunch: Baobaozi (steamed buns with thin skin).

Afternoon: Bantang (a thick noodle soup).

January 29

Lunch: Lamb leg zhuafan (pilaf).

Afternoon: Tangfan with nang (flatbread).

January 30

Lunch: Mayezi (fried sesame dough crisps) and egg sanzi (deep-fried dough twists).

Afternoon: Chive pockets and homemade yogurt.

January 31

Afternoon: Fried menzi (steamed meat paste) and pickled cabbage with vermicelli.

February 1

Afternoon: Dapanji (big plate chicken).

February 2nd

Morning: Milk tea with soaked nang and steamed youxiang (fried dough).

Afternoon: Onion and lamb fat meat dumplings.

January 22

The first meal back in Urumqi, four types of banmian: celery and meat, onion and cherry radish, eggplant and meat, and pickled cabbage and meat—delicious. This time, the latiaozi (hand-pulled noodles) were made using the 'panzi mian' method, where the dough is rolled out and then coiled to rest.













The tangfan we had in the afternoon was made with mianqizi (small square dough pieces), not hand-torn dough pieces, so it was quite simple.



January 23

Woke up in the morning to boil milk tea using special brick tea, served with shredded potatoes, dried chili peppers, meat, and steamed buns.









January 27

Breakfast included milk, jiaomaji (peppery chicken), steamed youxiang, and tianpanzi (sweet dish). A particularly tasty way to eat is soaking tangningningzi in milk.



At noon, my mother-in-law taught me how to make latiaozi. Urumqi Hui Muslims make latiaozi in two ways: 'panzi mian' and 'zhangzi mian'. Panzi mian is the coiled method like the Uyghurs use, while this time we made the simpler zhangzi mian.

First, knead the dough.



Knead the dough to this consistency; you have to judge how much water to add by feel, don't add too much at once.



Cover the dough with a basin to let it rest. After resting for a while, the outside will become smooth, and then you start kneading it again. Kneading needs to be done three times, with about ten minutes of resting in between, until the surface is completely smooth. You can prepare the banmian toppings while the dough rests. Next is rolling the dough, roll it to the thickness of a finger, then brush with oil, and cover with the basin again.









Wait until the banmian toppings are ready before cutting the dough; cut only as much as you will eat. After cutting, roll it thin, stretch it out, slap it on the cutting board, and finally toss it into the pot. A dish of Xinjiang zhangzi mian is finished.





We ate two types of banmian: guoyourou and shredded potatoes. The guoyourou is a home version, not the restaurant version. First sear the meat in oil, then add chili peppers, then onions, and you can also add cabbage. For the shredded potatoes, you must add meat, dried chili peppers, and tomatoes; the tomatoes eventually melt into a sauce and disappear.



















We had fentang for dinner. The first step is to stir-fry the meat slices, then add garlic, then green onions, dried chili peppers, and tomatoes, then add various vegetables; you can mix and match vegetables as you like. Next, add the lamb broth that was previously stewed and frozen. After the broth melts, add pea starch jelly cubes, then add the large chunks of previously stewed lamb, and finally add pepper and cilantro for flavor. The most classic pairing for fentang is youxiang. After eating the lamb, break open the youxiang and soak it in the fentang; that is the authentic Urumqi Hui Muslim lifestyle.



















January 28

Woke up in the morning and had a bowl of fentang with youxiang, very delicious.



At noon, we made baobaozi with onion and meat filling, and finally sprinkled with pepper powder.













In the evening, we had bantang. The method is similar to tangfan, but instead of tearing dough pieces, you just rub the dough with your hands and drop it into the pot. Also, anything liquid can be soaked with nang!







January 29

We were having zhuafan for lunch, so I went out in the morning to buy front leg meat at the entrance of the compound. Nowadays, front legs come with ribs attached; you can't buy just the front leg. Some shops have very fatty ribs, so you have to choose carefully.







Then I also bought dried chili peppers; Xinjiang home cooking basically requires them.



This is the most expensive kind.



This is the cheapest kind.



Went home and cut the front leg and ribs.





First fry the onions, and after the onions are charred, sprinkle with large-grain salt, then add the meat. After the meat darkens in color, use another pot to stir-fry the carrots and yellow carrots. After the carrots and meat are charred, spread the meat over the carrots, add sugar, then spread the rice over the meat (we had too much meat this time, so it wasn't spread perfectly), cover and simmer for forty minutes, and it's done.



















January 30

A new day starts with a pot of milk tea.



On the left is the dough made with eggs for egg sanzi, and on the right is the dough made with sesame for mayezi.



For egg sanzi, first knead the dough with eggs, let it rest, roll it thin with a large rolling pin, then use a 'gong-gong-zi' (a special grooved rolling tool) to cut it into strips, coiling them as you cut. After cutting, deep-fry in oil, and sprinkle with granulated sugar when finished.



















Urumqi Hui Muslim version of mayezi: knead the dough with sesame, roll it thin with a rolling pin, use a 'gong-gong-zi' to cut into quadrilaterals, and deep-fry in oil.















Fresh milk bought at the compound entrance; drink the milk skin first, and scoop out a portion of the milk below to make yogurt.



The milk is from cows raised by Hui Muslims in Cangfanggou, Urumqi. The Uyghur uncle at the compound entrance sells both milk and nang.





The starter is Xiyuchun brand old yogurt; when eating, I sprinkled it with dried mulberries and raisins.









Urumqi Hui Muslim version of chive pockets, with chives, dried shrimp, ginger, and scrambled eggs as the filling. Using an electric griddle makes it a bit dry.















Ate using a family heirloom porcelain plate made in Ukraine in 1926, instantly transported back to a Hui Muslim home in the southern gate of Dihua city a hundred years ago.



Served with corn grits added with crushed walnuts.



January 31

Urumqi Hui Muslim banquet dish 'Fish Drilling Through the Net', which is fried menzi.

Bought meat at the market near home before the New Year and had it ground into filling. The filling for menzi needs to go through the meat grinder twice, finer than that for meatballs. After returning home, steam the filling into menzi, then slice it. When cooking, coat the menzi with egg and starch, deep-fry it, and finally sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, and salt.

















Pickled cabbage and vermicelli made with homemade pickled cabbage.





February 1

Preparation for dapanji: thaw and cut the chicken, add green onion segments, ginger slices, and garlic; knead the dough, roll it out, and brush with oil; peel potatoes and soak dried chili peppers in water.













Stir-fry the cleaned chicken in a pot, adding salt, Sichuan peppercorn powder, seasonings, soy sauce, tomato paste, dried chili peppers, garlic, and potatoes in order. Because we bought a layer hen, we had to use a pressure cooker after stir-frying; if it were a young chicken, it wouldn't be necessary. Put eight spoonfuls of water in the pressure cooker, taking eighteen minutes. After eating the chicken for a while, add the 'belt noodles' (wide hand-pulled noodles), which should soak up the dapanji sauce.

The secret to our family's dapanji is the seasoning made from over ten types of spices, a recipe left by Zainab's great-uncle. After making it, the dapanji absolutely has no raw taste, only fragrance. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This travel note introduces Urumqi Hui Muslim Home Cooking Guide: Everyday Halal Food in Xinjiang (Part 2). A new day begins with milk tea soaked with nang (flatbread). It is useful for readers interested in Urumqi Food, Hui Muslims, Xinjiang Travel.







February 2nd

A new day begins with milk tea soaked with nang (flatbread).



The picture below shows steamed youxiang (fried dough), though we usually make the steamed version when there is no feast; like the fried version, it must be broken by hand to be eaten.



There is a saying: 'dumplings for departure, noodles for return,' and today we are making dumplings with piyazi (onion) and meat.



Rendering lamb tail fat, and once it is ready, adding it into the filling.







Then I used the lamb tail fat to make chili oil, a delicious companion for the dumplings.



I made three kinds: celery, lentils, and cabbage; the meat is a mix of lamb and beef, and every filling has piyazi and lamb fat in it.











Appendix: A century-old Soviet porcelain plate.

With the help of my neighbors, I found out the origin of the few porcelain plates left behind by Grandma Zainab! It turns out they were produced by the Budyansky Faience Factory in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine, between 1926 and 1928, so they are nearly 100 years old now. Grandma was born in 1928, so these plates were likely bought by her father in Urumqi back then; they can be considered a witness to the history of Urumqi. I have been using these plates to eat for the past few days, and now I feel a bit differently about them.









The stone-lens glasses left behind by Grandpa Zainab.



I am heading back to Beijing, and I will always miss my home in Urumqi. view all

Reposted from the web

Summary: This travel note introduces Urumqi Hui Muslim Banquet: Xinjiang Halal Food and Local Muslim Culture. On January 24, 2020, I attended a welcome banquet at Zainab's home in Urumqi and met her extended family. Next, I will share with everyone what we ate at this banquet. It is useful for readers interested in Urumqi Halal Food, Hui Muslims, Xinjiang Travel.

On January 24, 2020, I attended a welcome banquet at Zainab's home in Urumqi and met her extended family. Next, I will share with everyone what we ate at this banquet.

The food at the banquet was divided into two categories. Before eating the main meal, thirteen small plates were placed on the table containing various dried fruits and snacks, which are called 'thirteen little plates'. After everyone finished chatting, the plates were cleared and replaced with the main courses. Thirteen dishes were served in order, making a total of twenty-six types of food.

Thirteen little plates

The pronunciation here is die-die-zi, which is also a common tone combination in the Xinjiang dialect.

First, the list: dried figs, Medina dates mixed with dried apricots (hen), Tatar pastries, Hui Muslim Ma-style snacks, Kazakh kurt (dried yogurt balls), candied walnuts, pistachios, almonds, cashews, melon seeds, dried apricot (hen) skins mixed with tangningningzi (fried dough twists), raisins, and loose sugar.



On the morning of the banquet, the plates were arranged in a room, which is called 'setting the little plates'.



This is what it looked like after being set.









Candied walnuts made by my mother-in-law; they are sweet.





The dried apricot (hen) skins and tangningningzi were also made by my mother-in-law. Tangningningzi is what Xinjiang Hui Muslims call them; the general term is youguozi (fried dough snacks).





The figs in Xinjiang are truly incredibly delicious, but fresh ones are only available in the summer. Most of the time, we eat dried figs, which really feel like candy inside.





Zainab and I bought Tatar-style cream cakes and walnut pie at the Marhaba Tatar Pastry Shop on Linguan Lane, Heba Third Alley.

The Tatar ethnic group is the smallest ethnic group in China, with only about 3,000 people. Most of the Tatar people in China come from the Kazan Tatars. From the 19th century to the early 20th century, they moved successively from Kazan on the banks of the Volga River to settle in Urumqi, Yining, and Tacheng in Xinjiang. At that time, most of the Tatar people were intellectuals or merchants, and they played an important role in promoting the establishment of modern education in Xinjiang.

Today, many Tatar people in Xinjiang have moved abroad. The places where you can most intuitively experience their culture are the Tatar embroidery shops in Yining and the Tatar pastry shops in Urumqi.

The Tatar pastry shop in Urumqi is located on the site of a former Russian trading port. 100 years ago, this was a place where Russians, Tatars, and various Central Asian merchants traded, somewhat similar to Sanlitun in Beijing. The Tatar pastry shop is also a witness to this history.

Their most classic cake consists of six layers of dough with six layers of cream. The dough is made of milk, eggs, ghee, and honey, without adding water, and it tastes especially fragrant.



















Ma-style snacks is one of the most famous traditional Hui Muslim snack shops in Urumqi, and it has been open for over a decade. Zainab's mother also used molds to make them herself when she was a child, but now fewer and fewer Hui Muslims in Urumqi make them themselves.



2. Thirteen dishes

Meat dishes: braised beef ribs, clear-stewed mutton, fish-drilling-net (fried meat jelly), braised meatballs, cold-dressed chicken, steamed fish

Hot dishes: pickled cabbage with meat, daylily with wood ear mushrooms, celery with lily bulbs, garlic sprouts with meat

Cold dishes: sweet platter, lotus root with wood ear mushrooms (lotus pond moonlight), bean curd skin with red chili

The staple foods were fried youxiang (leavened flatbread), momo (steamed buns), and rice.

The presentation looked like this:





1. Braised beef ribs

First, blanch the beef ribs. After they turn white, take them out. Heat oil, add the meat, ginger, a little cinnamon, star anise, and bean paste. Stir-fry for a while, then add fresh chili peppers. After the meat dries out, put it in a pressure cooker and stew for 25 minutes.











2. Clear-stewed mutton

First, skim off the blood foam, then stew. When serving, sprinkle a little raw onion on top.











Braised meatballs

The beef for the meatballs and the meat jelly was bought at a Uyghur shop in the market across from our residential compound.





The night before the banquet, we fried the meatballs, and on the morning of the banquet, we braised them.





This is what it looked like after being braised the next day.



Fish-drilling-net (fried meat jelly)

'Fish-drilling-net' is just fried meat jelly. When buying the meat, have the Uyghur uncle grind it into mince (xuanzi). The mince for the meat jelly needs to be finer than that for the meatballs; it must go through the meat grinder twice. The night before the banquet, steam the mince into meat jelly, then slice it. On the morning of the banquet, coat the slices in egg and starch and fry them in a pan. Finally, sprinkle with cumin, chili, and salt.













Cold-dressed chicken

The cold-dressed chicken was stewed the day before and placed on the windowsill, then dressed on the morning of the banquet. Cold-dressed chicken is actually chicken without the numbing pepper flavor of jiaoma chicken.



The chicken feet and gizzards were picked out and eaten beforehand.



The next morning, cut the chicken, add green onions, onions, and chili, then pour chicken broth over it to finish.





Pickled cabbage with meat

The pickled cabbage was made at home.





Sweet platter

The sweet platter was made the night before and wrapped up, then sprinkled with sugar syrup the next morning.







The next morning, boil the sugar syrup and pour it over.



Fried youxiang

To fry youxiang, first knead the dough.





Zainab and I went out shopping while they were being fried, and they were already done when we returned. Youxiang must be eaten by breaking it apart; you cannot eat it whole. After the banquet, if there is any left over, it can be soaked in various soups, rice noodles, or noodle soups. view all