Niu Jie sits just outside the old Xuanwu Gate in the south of central Beijing. A Muslim community has lived here for over a thousand years, and the street is still lined with halal butchers, bakeries, restaurants and snack counters that open early and close late.
The mosque
The Niu Jie Mosque was first founded in 996 and rebuilt several times, most substantially in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The prayer hall is reached through a series of courtyards, and the architecture mixes Chinese timber halls and tiled roofs with Islamic decorative detail and Arabic inscriptions. Visitors are usually welcome outside prayer times; dress modestly, keep voices low and do not photograph people at prayer.
What to eat
The street is best worked through from north to south. Look for beef noodles with hand-pulled wheat noodles and clear broth, sesame flatbread fresh out of the oven, lamb dumplings, grilled skewers, and the sweet rice cakes and sticky pastries sold from trays at the counter. The old snack shops also do fried cakes and bean-paste pastries that cost a few yuan each. Portions are generous and the cooking is direct - this is everyday food, not restaurant food.
Timing and etiquette
Come before noon, when the bakeries are working and the queues are short. The last days of Ramadan and the two Eid festivals are the busiest and most atmospheric times of year, with the street packed and extra food stalls out. Because this is a working religious quarter rather than a tourist street, it helps to be quiet and to ask before photographing shopfronts or people.
Getting there
Niu Jie is a short taxi ride south of Qianmen, or about ten minutes on foot from Caishikou station on Lines 4 and 7. There is no entrance fee and no fixed opening hours for the street; the mosque keeps its own schedule and closes to visitors during prayers.
