Xining

Qinghai Province

China

September 10, 2016

Xining is a city with a history of more than 2000 years.  It was a vital link to Tibet to the south and to the city of Lanzhou to the east. 

Xining lies in the Hexi Corridor and served as a transportation and trading hub for the ancient Northern Silk Road route.  The city now serves as a hub for the Modern Silk Road providing connections to multiple-lane highways and bullet trains in all directions.

Xining is the capital city of Qinghai Province.  Population 2,384,500.  Elevation 2285m - 7464 ft.

One of the main attractions in the city is the Dongguan Mosque with its enormous courtyard, spacious prayer hall and small museum with replicas of the important mosques in Saudi Arabia.

A side street near the mosque leads to a Muslim street market.

Muslims make up about twenty percent of the Xining population. They are members of the Hui minority group. They speak Mandarin Chinese.  

Aside from the men’s skullcaps and women’s scarves, the Hui are indistinguishable from the majority Han Chinese and appear to be wholly integrated into Chinese society.