Day Six (cont.) - The Moslem market and the Shaanxi Theatre

In the early evening we visited the Hui Chinese street market. The Hui are one of the Chinese minority groups and are practising Muslims. At the entrance to the main street was a banner welcoming local Hui back from the Hajj pilgrimage. The Hui people have religious freedom including the permission to travel on the pilgramage.

Entrance to the Hui street market

Shop selling nuts and spices

The street market was just like being in the Middle East. It was incredibly crowded and lively with on-street butchery, taffy (or maybe noodle) pulling, halva making and massive crowds through which motor bikes and tuk-tuks slowly wove. 

All human life seemed to be there, eating, drinking, buying, selling, bargaining and generally having a good time. It was also very cheap, we bought fridge magnets for a tenth of the museum prices and a shopping bag to put all our souvenirs in bargained down from 30 to 20 Yuan (a local would probably have got it for 6 or 7 though)! 

A delivery driver passes a parked scooter with a Union Jack motif

After the street market we went to the Shaanxi Theatre to have a traditional dumpling dinner followed by the 'Tang Dynasty Song and Dance Show'. This was an....interesting experience. The dumplings were pretty good but we were seated right at the front of the theatre next to the stage. This is too close. There is no magic when you can see the tawdriness of the costumes, the dirt, the zips and the rips. You could also see the evidence of hasty costume changes, the previous outfit under the current one, the unbuckled shoes and undone fastenings. 

Very brightly costumed dancers

The show itself wasn't really to our taste as the costumes were garish and it largely consisted of dance and Chinese singing enlivened occasionally by a few acrobatics. The highlight was definitely a young man who both whistled and simultaneously played two trumpets - he was highly skilled and greatly entertaining!

The weird dish of this day was a drink again. At the theatre we were given a warm fermented rice drink. It was milky looking and mildly alcoholic and not unpleasant when served hot.