Muslim Market & Local Living

A trip to the Muslim Market, the Drum Tower, and the City Wall comprised most of the day and night. We hopped the 29 bus from Gaoxin to the City Wall and stepped off the bus into the most crowded street I have ever seen in my life. Scratch that. The most crowded place I’ve ever seen. Including packed concerts. Including Michigan’s football stadium during a home game. The streets were absolutely full of walkers, bikers, stray dogs, homeless people sitting in the middle of the sidewalk, and cars driven by eager drivers. Sometimes the people were in the road. Sometimes the cars were on the sidewalks. There really isn’t much of a method. Basically, the aim is to get where you’re going as quickly as possible. It’s unreal. We powered through the crowds over to the Muslim Market, which is an incredible array of small stands next to each other with salespeople pushing chopsticks, polo shirts, Louis Vuitton suitcases, Chinese board games, you name it, onto curious Westerners for a “good price, a very good price.” Essentially, what happens is a Westerner shows an interest in something, a local salesperson magically appears with a calculator, the salesperson types in a ridiculously high number, the Westerner counters with a ridiculously low number, and the process continues until somebody wins – usually the Westerner. Brad just looked at a red Ralph Lauren polo shirt and was accosted by a salesperson who quoted him a “good price” of 250 yuan (about $40). Brad wasn’t interested in the shirt at all, so he was having some fun with the bargaining… by the end of the bargain, he was being offered the shirt at 50 yuan (about $8 dollars).  He politely walked away, despite the salesperson trying to drag him back by the arm. They’re relentless. We had tons of fun bargaining and bartering. Brad spent the most money on a present for baby girl – a Taekwondo Panda shirt. Above, you see a video of us walking through the Muslim Market down one of the less crowded lanes that’s lined with food carts. We finished up the day at a traditional Muslim restaurant with Brad’s travel agent, Richard (don’t know his Chinese name). We ate qiezi and green beans, shaved beef, roasted corn and pine nuts, and beef and lamb dumplings. It was delicious. 

Decisions, decisions!

Laura perusing the goods

Sad - birds in cages everywhere

The Drum Tower

The next day, we spent the day with She Ying, our friend and colleague here, and her family and friend’s family. Of course, neither of us brought the camera with us, so let’s just say that we saw local life at its best. We went to a huge park next to the Tang Paradise equipped with a children’s playground, pond, and lots of street art. The children’s playground was surrounded by a bunch of trampolines. Apparently, these trampolines are standard at children’s playgrounds around Xi’an. They have a harness for the children and the parents bounce the children in the harness by pulling on a long cord. Children love it. Brad and I went for a lovely walk around the grounds, counted 16 kites in the sky, and enjoyed a few quiet moments before dinner.

Dinner was an event. Here, for formal dining, we were told that there are 3 courses served: (1) a cold course (with 6 dishes), (2) soup, and (3) a warm course. The cold course included dishes like sausage, lotus root, herbal medicine (no joke), and shredded potatoes. The soup was a potato and meat soup (pork and chicken, still with bones). You spit your bones on the table. The warm courses included a whole bunch of unrecognizable stuff. We tried it all. The one recognizable thing was the individually served fish that appears with its own fire cooking it. The fish comes complete with its little eyes and every other part of it. Our job is to peel the meat off the bones while its eyes follow us. I did it, but I didn’t love the experience. Brad loved it. To drink, for the second time in one week, we drank warm soybean juice. It really does taste like warmed, pureed soybeans. 

 Check out the Photos link for more pictures of our recent adventures!