On Friday, Hu Laoshi and I went with Dr. Anthony and one of Madame Jiao’s assistants for a tour of the central part of Xi’an. Our stops included the drum and bell towers, and my favorite places, the bazaar and Great Mosque.
In the morning, we had an opportunity to walk on the city wall for a bit as well. The Wall is 14km in circumference, all in, or somewhere around 7 miles or so. During the Tang Dynasty, the drum and bell towers were timekeeping devices to notify the gatekeepers when to open and shut the gates. They were open in the morning to let merchants and people in, then shut. At the end of the day, the signal was given to open them to let people out for the night before they were shut again until morning. The four of us enjoyed a jiaozi wufan, or dumpling lunch. There were 14 different kinds served to us, and many of the wrappings were closed in a special, artful way. I really enjoyed this low-key meal.
After eating, we walked through the bazaar. Here we all did some shopping for friends and family back home, and I tried my hand at bargaining. At one point, a woman led Hu Laoshi and me into an alley in the back behind the store and showed us another room full of antiques – all for sale of course. Unfortunately, neither my wallet nor backpack was big enough for these treasures!
We continued on our way through the narrow, winding alley lined with items for sale until we reached the Great Mosque. Because Xi’an was a stop along the Silk Road, the Mosque was in use back in the day for traders from the Middle East, and is still used as a place of worship today. We arrived just as 3PM prayers were letting out. I used a telephoto lens here to take many of my pictures – I didn’t want to shove the camera in these guys’ faces just because I wanted a shot.
You could also really see the blending of Islamic style and Chinese style here. One example was the presence of Chinese architecture along with Arabic script and the ubiquitous Chinese dragons. All of this was a reminder that Islam is a religion, not a country or something. It was also great visual evidence of how Muslim people adapted to the worlds they inhabited.
I had the opportunity to speak Mandarin today as well. I found it useful with shopkeepers, the woman who did some calligraphy, and the ticket taker at the Mosque. He had a cat who we talked about in Chinese and offered to sell him to me as a joke. “How much? How much?" he kept saying. Then he laughed and said, “Joking, joking. He is my buddy.” (He said "buddy" in English!) I bet he is!
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Our guide told us that the reason the Mosque survived the Cultural Revolution was because the Islamic population in Xi'an was highly organized. "They were determined, " was one way he put it. It was no small thrill to see the beauty of this place in early spring of 2008 and experience the survival of its reverant energy.
After eating, we walked through the bazaar. Here we all did some shopping for friends and family back home, and I tried my hand at bargaining. At one point, a woman led Hu Laoshi and me into an alley in the back behind the store and showed us another room full of antiques – all for sale of course. Unfortunately, neither my wallet nor backpack was big enough for these treasures!
We continued on our way through the narrow, winding alley lined with items for sale until we reached the Great Mosque. Because Xi’an was a stop along the Silk Road, the Mosque was in use back in the day for traders from the Middle East, and is still used as a place of worship today. We arrived just as 3PM prayers were letting out. I used a telephoto lens here to take many of my pictures – I didn’t want to shove the camera in these guys’ faces just because I wanted a shot.
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| Muslim Man and his Bicycle |
You could also really see the blending of Islamic style and Chinese style here. One example was the presence of Chinese architecture along with Arabic script and the ubiquitous Chinese dragons. All of this was a reminder that Islam is a religion, not a country or something. It was also great visual evidence of how Muslim people adapted to the worlds they inhabited.
I had the opportunity to speak Mandarin today as well. I found it useful with shopkeepers, the woman who did some calligraphy, and the ticket taker at the Mosque. He had a cat who we talked about in Chinese and offered to sell him to me as a joke. “How much? How much?" he kept saying. Then he laughed and said, “Joking, joking. He is my buddy.” (He said "buddy" in English!) I bet he is!
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| Door from Mosque to ? |
Our guide told us that the reason the Mosque survived the Cultural Revolution was because the Islamic population in Xi'an was highly organized. "They were determined, " was one way he put it. It was no small thrill to see the beauty of this place in early spring of 2008 and experience the survival of its reverant energy.
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| Close of 3PM Prayers |
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