Xian Muslim Citytour 1D

Starting & Ending Point of the Silk Road

Xian is the provincial capital of Shaanxi Province in central Northwest China. “Xi” means in Chinese western and “an”, peace, the “Western Peace”. Xi´an served as a capital city for more than 1 000 years and 13 different Chinese dynasties, among which, the Western Zhou, the Eastern Han, Sui and, particularly, Tang. Xian was called in ancient times Chang´an, the Perpetual or Eternal Peace City.Xian is the starting and the Eastern ending point of the famous Silk Road. It is one of the four major historical capitals of China in ancient times. Many believe that China started from here. Xian is probably the first city in China that discovered Islam as early as 651 AD, through the Arab traders that settled in the city. As a result, Xian Great Mosque is one of the earliest mosques built in China in 742 AD. One other non-fading fact of the Islamic influences over Xian is Xian Muslim Quarter.

Xian Muslim Quarter

Xi'an Muslim Quarter (Chinese: 西安回民街) is a very famous snack and commercial street in Xian and also in China. It is situated in the center part of Xian, close to the Bell Tower and the Drum Toer. There are ten mosques in the area. The biggest one is the Great Mosque, which was listed as the state-level protected heritage for its traditional buildings and religious significance. According to demographic statistics in 2010, about 60,000 people live in this area, more than half of which are the Huis and the others are the majority Hans. In the past few decades, Xi'an Muslim Quarter has become a well-known tourism site which is famous for its culture and food. It attracts visitors from all over the world each year. The history of the Xi'an Muslim Quarter can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, when Muslim merchants came to and aggregated in Chang'an, today's Xi'an, via the Silk Road. After that, from the Five Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, the Muslim population started to reside around Da Xuexi Street and Huajue Great Mosque. Most Muslim residents in this area conduct family-based businesses. Approximately 70% of the local residents in the area work in private businesses. As one of the busiest marketplaces within Xi'an historic urban core, this place is favorable to local businessmen, but also generates many traffic and environmental problems such as traffic jams and exhaust fumes in the narrow district roads.

Terracotta, a Unique Attraction Worldwide

Because of its extremely rich historical heritage, Xian is regaining more and more popularity as a favorite destination for tourists from allover the world. Xian is home to countless number of touristic attractions and historical sites as the Big and Small Wild Goose Pagodas, the Ancient City Wall, the Drum and Bell Towers, the Great Mosque and the Muslim Quarter, the Famen Temple, the Shaanxi History Museum, Xian Museum and Xian Qianling Mausoleum (video). However, Xi´an´s major historical site is without doubt the Imperial Terracotta Army Museum.