Muslim Quarter and LDS Connections

The Bell Tower--time to wake up!

South Gate of Xi'an City Wall

Muslim Quarter

The Drum Tower--time to go to bed



One of the sites to see in Xi’an is the Muslim quarter. There is very little religious practice here in China, but those that are religious, are allowed to practice their beliefs.  That extends to those that are Muslim.  There is an area of the old city that the Muslims have made their home for many years.  It is a very interesting and lively area that is fun to visit. Think Chinatown in San Francisco, in reverse!

 



You can find many items

 

There are fun street markets and restaurants to visit, and many tourist items and knockoffs of every variety available for visitors to take home. At night it is awash with many lights and street activity, unless it’s Friday night, when it is calm and many shops are closed for the Muslim call to prayers. 

 This area lies right next to the Drum Tower, an historic building of Xi’an.  We are a bus ride away from this area and we visit it often, since it’s a lively place to shop and to eat!  If you visit one or two days before a Muslim feast day, you can pick out your goat or lamb for your feast. It’s an area that is top on our list!

 






Sweet potatoes deep fried!

cooking on the street

 

 

 

 

 

 If you are lucky you might even visit with a few monks.  We see them often-- I think they are really Jedi Knights!

   

White or spotted for dinner?

 



   

Sheep feet, anyone?

Mutton for dinner

 

 

 

Even the dogs are dressed up in the Muslim Quarter

 

Our Church Life

Xi'an Branch Conference

Relief Society Social

The group that we’re representing here in China is Brigham Young University which is sponsored by the LDS (Mormon) church. On Sundays we also worship with a branch of our church with about 25 members.  Many of us are teaching here, plus there are a few families that are working here in China. We help each other with many things. For example, some are computer experts and some have been here for a few years so they know where we can find what we need (like dentists, for example)! It’s nice to have support from others. They serve as a substitute family for us while we navigate our foreign experiences. As we prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth, and the gift that He has given the world, we feel blessed to practice what we believe and spend this time with new friends here.

Infrastructure



HIgh voltage wires come out of the ground and over the wall

You have to have electricity to survive in the modern world. Residents of the good old USA are familiar with safety codes regulating fire exits, electrical connections and plumbing. Well any electrical inspectors or fire marshals coming to China had better close their eyes! There are wires hanging out of the trees, there are wires tied up with zip ties. There are wires coming up out of the ground and connections not in junction boxes with no tape or wire connectors. Watch out what you touch! Our apartment has 1 or 2 electrical receptacles per room. The receptacle accepts two types of plugs, but only has one of each in the electrical outlet. Needless to say we have extension cords and power strips going everywhere to give us the juice we need.





wiring ingenuity at work

Now, which wire goes to my house?