# Muslim Quarter, Xi’an > Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter (回民街) is a web of Hui street-food lanes right behind the Drum Tower. It’s free and open around the clock; stalls trade roughly 9–10am to 10–11pm. Come in the evening. Allow about 90 minutes and ¥50–80 a head for snacks. Take Metro Line 2 or 6 to Zhonglou (Bell Tower). Web page: https://yesgo.io/china/xian/xian-muslim-quarter - City: [Xi’an](https://yesgo.io/china/xian), China - YesGo score: 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 1 h 30 min - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Free — public streets, no ticket or booking - Opening hours: Streets 24 hours; stalls roughly 9:00–10:00 to 22:00–23:00 - Best time: After 20:00, when the lights are on and the dinner rush has passed; quietest around weekday lunchtime - Metro: Zhonglou (Bell Tower), Lines 2 and 6, then 5–7 minutes’ walk through the Drum Tower arch; Guangjijie (Line 6) for the quieter side - Time needed: 60–90 minutes to graze; 2–3 hours for a proper food crawl - Food budget: About ¥50–80 a head for several snacks — unofficial - Food: Halal: beef and lamb, no pork - Paying: Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign Visa or Mastercard; small yuan notes as backup - For the taxi driver: 回民街 北院门 (Beiyuanmen, by the Drum Tower) - Coordinates: 34.26351, 108.93894 - Facts checked: 04.11.2026 ## Key facts - **Halal** — everything sold is Hui Muslim cooking — beef and lamb, no pork (source: English Wikipedia; chinafortravelers) - **0.55 km** — length of Beiyuanmen, the main lane, from West Street north to Xihuamen Street (source: Chinese Wikipedia; guides give 1.1 km for the whole loop of lanes) - **Tang** — dynasty when Muslim merchants reached Chang’an along the Silk Road and settled here (source: English and Chinese Wikipedia) - **58 strokes** — in the character biáng of biangbiang noodles — 42 in simplified form (source: English Wikipedia) - **1 stop** — between Zhonglou and Guangjijie on Line 6 — the second is closer to the quieter lanes (source: English Wikipedia; China Highlights) - **Beef** — is the usual roujiamo filling in Xi’an’s Muslim areas, seasoned with cumin and pepper (source: English Wikipedia; chinafortravelers) - **Ming and Qing** — era houses line Beiyuanmen, which is paved with grey stone slabs (source: Chinese Wikipedia) - **Early 1900s** — Shaanxi’s governor’s offices stood on Beiyuanmen (source: Chinese Wikipedia) - **1919 and 1920** — the quarter’s Middle and West mosques were built (source: English and Chinese Wikipedia) - **≈ 0.3 km** — from the Bell Tower to the Drum Tower, where the quarter begins (source: YesGo calculation from Wikipedia coordinates) > **The main strip costs more — eat in the side lanes** Beiyuanmen, the lane straight behind the Drum Tower, is the busiest and priciest part of the quarter: one guide puts its prices 30–50% above the side streets. Walk it for the atmosphere, then eat on Xiyangshi, Dapiyuan or Beiguangji. For anything sold by weight, agree the price before they cut or bag it. ## Is the Muslim Quarter worth visiting? Yes — if you came to Xi’an to eat. It’s the city’s best-known food district, five minutes from the Bell and Drum Towers, and an evening here is one of the easiest good nights in town. Smoke rises from the lamb grills, cooks slap biangbiang noodles against the counter and the lanes glow under red signboards. It’s less rewarding if you’re after shopping: the souvenirs, “antiques” and jade repeat from stall to stall, and some are pure tourist traps. If lamb and beef aren’t your thing, half an hour with a roujiamo in hand is plenty. And the main strip alone gives a skewed picture — the better, cheaper food is a turn or two away. ## What is the Muslim Quarter? It isn’t a single street but a cluster of blocks north-west of the Drum Tower, home for centuries to the **Hui**, China’s Chinese-speaking Muslims. Locals call it 回民街, “Hui people’s street”, or 回坊, the Hui wards. Its story goes back to the Tang dynasty, when Muslim merchants arrived in Chang’an along the Silk Road; families later settled around the mosques, and today there are about a dozen of them, led by the [Great Mosque](https://yesgo.io/china/xian/xian-great-mosque) in Huajue Lane. The main lane is **Beiyuanmen** (北院门), about 550 m long, paved with grey stone and lined with Ming- and Qing-era houses; in the early 20th century Shaanxi’s governor ran the province from offices here. **Beiguangji Street** (北广济街) runs parallel to the west, while **Xiyangshi** (西羊市) and **Dapiyuan** (大皮院) cross between them. Guides measure the usual tourist loop at about 1.1 km. ## What to eat in the Muslim Quarter and what it costs **Roujiamo** (肉夹馍) is the “Chinese hamburger”: a crisp flatbread stuffed with chopped stewed meat. In the Muslim Quarter it’s **beef**, seasoned with cumin and pepper, at around ¥8–15. It’s the perfect first bite — cheap, filling and eaten on the move. **Biangbiang noodles** are hand-pulled, belt-wide noodles, stretched and slapped on the counter — the name mimics the sound. The character biáng is famous for its 58 strokes. Expect ¥20–35 a bowl, with vegetable versions at the lower end. **Yangrou paomo** (羊肉泡馍) is lamb soup with flatbread. In traditional places you get the bread whole and tear it into thumb-sized bits yourself before the cook simmers them in broth; pickled garlic and chilli sauce come on the side. A bowl runs about ¥25–50, and it’s a sit-down meal, not street food. Add **lamb skewers** (¥3–5 each), **persimmon cakes** (柿子饼, ¥5–10) — cold **liangpi** noodles, steamed **mirror cakes** topped with nuts and rose jam, and wash it all down with pomegranate juice or sour plum drink. All prices are unofficial guide figures; they’re higher on Beiyuanmen and, according to the same guide, rise 20–30% in the May and October Golden Weeks. Paying: almost every stall takes **Alipay or WeChat Pay**, both of which accept most foreign Visa and Mastercard cards once linked and verified with your passport. Set this up before you fly, and carry some small yuan notes, since a stall may have no change. Bigger restaurants may take foreign cards; street stalls don’t. ## Best time to visit: is it better at night? **Evening** is the time: the signboards and lanterns light up, every stall is open and the grills are going. The tightest crush is the dinner rush, roughly 18:00–19:30; after 20:00 it eases while most stalls keep going until 22:00–23:00, according to guides. If you’d rather skip the crowds, come **around weekday lunchtime**, when the food is ready and tour groups are thinnest. Many stalls are still shut before 9–10am. Weekend afternoons and Chinese holidays — Spring Festival, the May Day break and Golden Week, 1–7 October — are the busiest. Over Spring Festival, roughly a third of the stalls close for 5–7 days, one guide reports, though sit-down restaurants mostly stay open. Otherwise the quarter has no regular closing day. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons; summer evenings are hot and packed. ## How to get to the Muslim Quarter by metro 1. Ride to **Zhonglou** (钟楼, Bell Tower), where **Lines 2 and 6** meet. Bags are X-rayed at the entrance; pay with an Alipay or WeChat QR code or a card bought with cash. 2. Follow signs for the Drum Tower (鼓楼); one guide recommends **Exit C**. The Bell Tower stands in a roundabout, so crossings here are by underpass. 3. Walk about 330 m west across the square — five minutes — to the **Drum Tower**. 4. Go through the **arch under the Drum Tower**: Beiyuanmen starts right behind it. Head north and turn left onto Xiyangshi from about halfway along. 5. For the quieter side, stay on **Line 6** one more stop west to **Guangjijie** (广济街) and walk north up Beiguangji Street. 6. From Xianyang Airport (XIY), take **Line 14** to Xi’an North Railway Station and change to **Line 2** south to Zhonglou — about 75–90 minutes in all, according to guides. 7. By taxi or DiDi, show **回民街** or **北院门**; you’ll be dropped near the Drum Tower, as cars don’t enter the lanes. ## What to see besides the food - **The Great Mosque** in Huajue Lane (化觉巷) — the quarter’s main mosque. It has its own ticket and closes to visitors at prayer times; details on its page. - **Gao Family Compound** (高家大院) on Beiyuanmen — an old courtyard house where, according to China Highlights, short shadow-puppet shows are staged. - **Beiyuanmen** itself — the stone paving, Ming and Qing house fronts and the view back to the Drum Tower arch. - **Xiyangshi** (西羊市) — a narrow lane of old shops heading west off Beiyuanmen, and the place to find food without the main-strip markup. - **Dapiyuan** (大皮院) — the lane with the widest choice of food, parallel to Xiyangshi a block north. - **Beiguangji Street** (北广济街) — quieter and more residential, a good way in from Guangjijie station. ## Beiyuanmen or the side lanes? | | Beiyuanmen | Xiyangshi | Dapiyuan | Beiguangji | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What’s there | Main strip: food, souvenirs, Gao Family Compound | Old shops and small eateries | Widest choice of food | Residential lane, local eateries | | Where | North from the Drum Tower arch | West off Beiyuanmen | A block north of Xiyangshi | Further west, by Guangjijie station | | Prices | Highest | Lower | Lower | Lower | | Evening crowds | Very heavy | Heavy | Heavy | Lighter | An easy loop: north up Beiyuanmen from the Drum Tower, left onto Xiyangshi, past the Great Mosque in Huajue Lane and back along Dapiyuan. Prices and crowds are guide estimates, not official. > **People live here — mind the local customs** This is a working Hui neighbourhood. Don’t bring pork in or drink alcohol in the street, and ask before photographing people up close. To visit the mosque, cover shoulders and knees; women may want a scarf — the Great Mosque page has the visiting rules. ## Before you go - [ ] Alipay or WeChat Pay working with my foreign card - [ ] Some small yuan notes - [ ] 回民街 and 北广济街 saved in Chinese for a taxi - [ ] Offline map — Google Maps is blocked in China without roaming or a VPN - [ ] Going after 20:00 or around weekday lunchtime - [ ] Asking the price before anything sold by weight is cut - [ ] Arriving hungry — roujiamo, biangbiang and paomo in one go ## Xi’an’s markets and food streets compared Every food street and market in Xi’an rated by YesGo. - [Muslim Quarter](https://yesgo.io/china/xian/xian-muslim-quarter) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free, open 24 hours ## Towers, Muslim Quarter, mosque and city wall in half a day The Bell and Drum Towers, dinner in the Muslim Quarter, the Great Mosque in Huajue Lane and an evening on the city wall. Add them to your route — YesGo fits in the timing and walks. 1. [Bell and Drum Towers](https://yesgo.io/china/xian/xian-bell-and-drum-towers) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ¥30 per tower, ¥50 for both 2. [Muslim Quarter](https://yesgo.io/china/xian/xian-muslim-quarter) — YesGo score 42/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free, open 24 hours 3. [Great Mosque of Xi’an](https://yesgo.io/china/xian/xian-great-mosque) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · ¥25, ¥15 in winter; Muslims free 4. [Xi’an City Wall](https://yesgo.io/china/xian/xian-city-wall) — YesGo score 35/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h · ¥54, bike ¥45 / 3 hours ## Don’t confuse Muslim Quarter, Muslim Street, Huimin Street (回民街) and Huifang (回坊) all mean the same place. The Great Mosque is inside the quarter but is a separate, ticketed sight. You enter through the Drum Tower arch, but the [Bell and Drum Towers](https://yesgo.io/china/xian/xian-bell-and-drum-towers) themselves charge admission and have their own page. ## Tips - Start with a roujiamo on Beiyuanmen, then do your real eating on Xiyangshi and Dapiyuan — cheaper and calmer. - Paomo isn’t street food: sit down, and tear the bread small so it soaks up the broth. - Share dishes: portions are big and there’s a lot to try. - Not a lamb fan? Beef roujiamo, vegetable biangbiang noodles and the sweets cover you. - Skip the “antiques”, jade and scratch cards that “win” you a jewellery voucher — they’re hooks for tourists. - After dinner, walk back to the towers: the Bell and Drum Towers are lit at night and the square between them is the best photo spot. - Carry wet wipes — much of the food is eaten by hand and stalls have no sinks. ## Questions ### Is the Muslim Quarter in Xi’an worth visiting? Yes, if you like street food: it’s Xi’an’s best-known place to eat and five minutes from the Bell and Drum Towers. It isn’t worth it for souvenirs. ### Is the Muslim Quarter free? Yes. They’re public streets with no ticket or booking. You only pay for food; the Great Mosque and the towers charge separately. ### What are the Muslim Quarter’s opening hours? The streets are open 24 hours. Stalls trade roughly from 9–10am to 10–11pm, according to guides; some close for several days over Spring Festival. ### What is the best time to visit? After 20:00, when the lights are on and the dinner rush is over, or around weekday lunchtime for the thinnest crowds. Weekend afternoons and Golden Week are the busiest. ### What should I eat in the Muslim Quarter? Beef roujiamo, biangbiang noodles, yangrou paomo (lamb soup with torn flatbread), lamb skewers and persimmon cakes. ### How much money do I need? About ¥50–80 a head covers several snacks, by unofficial guide figures: roujiamo ¥8–15, biangbiang noodles ¥20–35, paomo ¥25–50. ### Which metro station is closest to the Muslim Quarter? Zhonglou (Bell Tower) on Lines 2 and 6, then 5–7 minutes west through the Drum Tower arch. Guangjijie, one stop further west on Line 6, is closer to the quieter lanes. ### Is there pork in the Muslim Quarter? No. The food is halal Hui cooking based on beef and lamb, so even roujiamo, usually pork elsewhere in China, is made with beef here. ### How long do you need in the Muslim Quarter? An hour or 90 minutes to graze; two to three hours for a full food crawl. Add the towers and the Great Mosque for half a day. ## How we checked The English core comes from search results and related questions: food street, what to eat, prices, is it worth it, best time and night, opening hours, nearest metro, side streets and scams. Free 24-hour access follows from these being public streets; we found no official page for the quarter. Stall hours differ: China Highlights gives 10:00–22:00, chinafortravelers about 9:00–23:00 and later in summer, so we show a range marked checking. Length: Chinese Wikipedia gives Beiyuanmen 0.55 km; guides give 1.1 km, but for the whole loop of lanes, so we state both. English Wikipedia says ten mosques in its introduction, while its history section and Chinese Wikipedia count twelve, so we say about a dozen. Dish prices are unofficial only: chinafortravelers lists roujiamo ¥10–15, biangbiang ¥25–35 and paomo ¥35–50; a tour site lists roujiamo at ¥8–12 and another guide ¥25–40 a bowl, so we show the combined range. Exit C at Zhonglou is from chinafortravelers; we didn’t open an official exit map. No source we opened confirms stalls closing on Fridays or during Ramadan, so we don’t claim it. Ctrip pages are behind bot protection and were not bypassed. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: Xi'an Muslim Quarter, Roujiamo, Paomo, Biangbiang noodles, Line 6 (Xi'an Metro) - Chinese Wikipedia: 西安回坊, 北院门; Wikidata Q48792869 - China Highlights: Muslim Street guide — lanes, stall hours, Guangjijie approach - chinafortravelers.com: dish prices, stall hours, best time, main-strip markup, scams — unofficial - travelchinawith.me and offpeaktrip: length of the loop, prices by the Drum Tower — unofficial - YesGo China and Xi’an notes: paying, metro, airport transfer, distance between the towers --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.