Food
Urumqi's culinary culture is rich and unique, a nice break from your typical
Chinese fare. Of course, you can still find lots of typical Chinese food including
Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine, but the local ethnic food and snacks are very
tasty and very hot! Uigur, Mongolian, and Hui minority cuisine will all make
your mouth water! As both the Uigur and Hui minorities are Muslim, pork is rare
in Xinjiang. Only Han Chinese eat pork here. It is therefore, important to remember
to respect this tradition and remember that most meat served to you will either
be mutton, beef, chicken or possibly duck. Xinjiang cuisine really excels at
the preparation of mutton and Mutton Kebabs are popular throughout China. Other
typical Xinjiang dishes include Lamian noodles, Nan bread,
Urumqi is a great place to pick up some interesting craft items like ethnic
clothing, embroidery, and jewelry. Other handicrafts include jade carvings,
Kashgar carpets, exotic knives, wood crafts, and ethnic musical instruments.
All of the above items are handmade and many can be found at very cheap prices,
both of which make Urumqi a fun place to shop for something a little special.
The Erdaoqiao market, the largest Uigur bazaar in Urumqi is located along Jiefang
Nan Lu. Here, you'll find a bustling market filled with fruit, clothing, crafts,
knives, carpets and more. This is a heavily populated Uigur area and many of
the city's major mosques are in the Jiefang Nan Lu district. As the area is
quite crowded, it is important to be conscious of pickpockets when handling
and putting your money away.
Xinjiang is famous for its fruit including; grapes, hami melon, almonds, pomegranates,
figs, peaches, apples and much more.