The Grand Mosque in Xining is one of the four most important mosques in all of China.  My roommate, Rafannah, is Muslim and gave us a brief history of Islam while explaining the significant parts of the mosque.

Muslims will come to this mosque 5 times a day to pray.  About 1,000 people will come to each prayer session.  On Fridays, that number rises to 7,000.  During Ramadan and Eid, 300,000 people come to this mosque.  The surrounding streets in Xining must be shut down to accommodate all the people praying.  Here is a picture of what the Grand Mosque looks like during Ramadan.

The mosque was absolutely beautiful but we had to stay outside because we were not practicing Muslims.

Directly outside of the mosque was a street market.  All the food was Halal which made my roommate very happy.  She showed me foods I’ve never heard of and we both saw foods that neither of us had seen!

I’m assuming this is some type of spice.  It was everywhere but I don’t know exactly what it was.  This, however, is sugar cane!

For one stalk of sugar cane (which was taller than me) it only cost $0.50! If I didn’t have to fly back to Beijing I would have bought one. Rafannah also introduced me to mangosteens.  Oh my, they are delicious! Absolute perfection!

You crack open the hard exterior to get to the soft white interior.  You pick the pieces which are oh so sweet and yummy!

I have a wonderful time learning about Islam and Muslim culture along with trying many new foods!