Xi'an
Muslim Quarter (Hui Min Jie)
The Muslim Quarter, known locally as Hui Min Jie, is the lantern-lit warren of food lanes that opens just behind the Drum Tower. This is the home of Xi'an's Hui Muslim community, whose roots reach back more than a thousand years to the traders and travellers who arrived along the Silk Road. Today it is the city's most atmospheric place to eat, smell and graze your way through an evening.
A bustling night-market lane in the Muslim Quarter, hung with food-stall signs
What to eat
Beiyuanmen and its side lanes are wall-to-wall with grills, woks and steamers. The classics are roujiamo (the 'Chinese hamburger' of stewed meat in a flatbread), yangrou paomo (mutton soup poured over torn bread), hand-pulled biang-biang noodles, skewers of cumin lamb, and sweet persimmon cakes fried on the spot. Most stalls let you watch the cooking before you buy.
More than food
Threaded through the food streets are mosques, tea shops and craft stalls. A few steps off the main lane stands the Great Mosque of Xi'an, one of the oldest in China, built not as a domed mosque but as a serene series of Chinese courtyards and timber halls — a quiet counterpoint to the bustle outside.
A Muslim Quarter street glowing with red lanterns in the evening
When to go and getting in
The quarter is a public street, free to wander, and busiest and most magical after dark when the stalls and lanterns light up. It runs directly off the Bell and Drum Tower square, so it pairs naturally with a late-afternoon tower visit and an evening of eating.
Practical notes
Come hungry and graze across several stalls rather than committing to one big meal. Keep small cash or a working mobile-pay app handy and confirm the price before you order, as the lanes move fast. If you visit the Great Mosque, dress modestly and mind the prayer times.
Highlights
- A warren of food lanes centred on Beiyuanmen, behind the Drum Tower
- Home to Xi'an's Hui Muslim community, rooted in Silk Road trade
- Signature bites: roujiamo, lamb paomo, persimmon cakes and hand-pulled noodles
- The serene Great Mosque, built in Chinese courtyard style
- Best after dark, when stalls, lanterns and grills light up the alleys
- Walkable straight from the Bell and Drum Tower square
Travel Tips
Go hungry in the evening
The quarter is liveliest after sunset; come with an empty stomach and graze across several stalls rather than one big meal.
Carry small cash or mobile pay
Stalls move fast — have small notes or a working mobile-pay app ready, and confirm the price before ordering.
Duck into the Great Mosque
A few steps off the food street, the Great Mosque is a calm courtyard escape; dress modestly and respect prayer times.
