Traditions of Xi'an
The ancient capital at the end of the Silk Road, with a Muslim Quarter, a drum tower and the terracotta army.
Xi'an was the capital of several dynasties, including the Han and Tang, and the eastern end of the Silk Road. Its city wall is among the largest to survive in China. The city is the home of the terracotta warriors, and also of a lively Hui Muslim community in its old quarter, with food and customs of the northwest.
A crossroads city
Drums and bells in the Drum and Bell towers once marked the hours of the day and still ring in ceremony. Many Xi'an families keep a custom of shadow puppet theatre, and farmers' folk arts of the Shaanxi region, such as waist drums, are played at the new year. The Hui Muslim quarter has its own mosque.
At the table
Wheat is the staple: biangbiang noodles, wide and hand-pulled, roujiamo, a pork bun, and yangrou paomo, a mutton soup in which flatbread is broken by hand. Persimmon cakes and sweet jelly cakes are sold in the Muslim Quarter. Cold skin noodles, liangpi, are a summer staple.
Signature traditions of Xi'an
Also part of it, and being written: Shaanxi cuisine (The cooking of northwest China.), Biangbiang noodles (Wide hand-pulled noodles.), Terracotta Army (The buried army of the first emperor.).
A trail idea for Xi'an
- Muslim Quarter Taste roujiamo and persimmon cakes.
- City wall Cycle the top of the wall at dusk.
- Great Mosque of Xi'an A Chinese-style mosque of the eighth century.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Chinese tea culture: Gary Stevens, CC BY 2.0, source
- Shadow play: Museu Valencià d'Etnologia, CC BY-SA 2.0, source