Urumqi is a melting pot! The population is made up of Uyghur, Kazakhs, Chinese, Afghans, Uzbeks, Turkmen and others. The end result is a rich blend of many foods and cultures. A good place to see all that of course was at the markets so we visited the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, the Erdaoqiao Markets. This sits side-by-side with a large mosque and minaret.
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| Banks of ddried fruits and nuts |
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| No idea what these fungi were or what they were used for |
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| Dried 'something' with fur still attached to one end |
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| These were the biggest dates I have ever seen |
We wandered through the old bazaar which was a bit disappointing as it is being renovated. But then we walked through the new bazaar. I saw banks and banks of dried fruits and nuts. I tried a local almond and bought a small bag of dried grapes. The other absolutely fascinating things to see were the Chinese herbal ‘medicines’. From dried unidentifiable animal ‘bits’, dried tendon of antelope with hoof still attached! through sea-creatures of various species to flowers, roots and fungi - all dried. Some were local but others came from places like Tibet and further afield - I was reluctant to ask!
Jade and trinkets, clothing, silk and musical instruments. It was an interesting few hours. Sadly we’re buying nothing as our bags are too heavy already and we’re only 10 days into our 3.5-month journey!
That night we shared a delicious noodle dish with some minced lamb pastry parcels at a tiny cafe. It was yummy!
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| We were treated to haunting sounds from these traditional stringed instruments - dobro, I think |
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| Jade trinkets of all shapes and colours looked like boiled lollies albeit big ones, |
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