Linxia City in Gansu Province

Back in March we took a trip to Gansu Province where we visited Lanzhou, it's capital, and Linxia.  Gansu is just one province to the west of Shaanxi (the one where we live) and is filled with interesting people and places, as many minorities are living there. Gansu is also synonymous with the Silk Road, as it reaches from east to west and has been filled with commerce and trading for centuries.

After taking an 8 hour night train to Lanzhou, in the morning we took another 2 hour bus to Linxia, also called "the little Mecca of China." On the way we found ourselves entering highlands and crossing arid mountains that were peppered with mosques. This is the home of the Hui people.

As soon as we arrived to this small city (population of just over 200,000) we were greeted by a group of elderly Hui men who were eager to talk with us. Here you can see JS sitting and talking with them.

 

People there were so friendly and interested in talking to us probably because there are very few tourists that make it there. The typical man was wearing a little white hat, white beard, and big round eye glasses that were also worn during the Qing dynasty (the last imperial dynasty of China) and still made there today.

Women also wear head coverings. Some of them are very elaborate and sit quite high on their heads. There will be more pictures to come of those in the Lanzhou post.

Here's just a few of the 80 mosques that are in this small city.