Xinjiang's dry climate makes it ideal for drying fruit and nuts, and the region has an enormous trade in both. In any bazaar, the dried goods stalls are among the most colourful and most fragrant: open sacks arranged in tiers, mounded with raisins, apricots, figs, dates, melon slices, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, and seeds of every kind.
Raisins and dried fruit
Turpan is the centre of the raisin trade, and the seedless green and black raisins dried in the region's slatted drying houses are considered the best in China. Beyond raisins, look for dried apricots, both the soft orange type and the pale, very sweet ones from the south; dried figs, which are sold flattened and pressed; dried jujubes, used in Chinese cooking and medicine; preserved melon strips; and dried mulberries and cherries. The colour and plumpness of good dried fruit comes from slow drying in shade and wind, not from the sun alone, and it is worth tasting before buying.
Nuts and seeds
Walnuts are a major crop in Xinjiang, and the thin-shelled type sold here is easy to crack by hand. Beyond them there are almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, peanuts, sunflower and melon seeds, roasted or raw, salted, sugared or plain. Nut stalls will usually let you taste a sample before you commit.
Buying in the bazaar
Dried goods are sold by weight, and the price is stated per kilogram, so it is worth knowing roughly what a kilogram looks like before agreeing to anything. Bargaining is normal in the main bazaars and much less so in small neighbourhood shops. Vendors will bag and weigh in front of you, and it is perfectly reasonable to ask to taste first and to buy less than you first asked for. Because everything is sold dry and by weight, these are among the easiest things to carry home.
Practical notes
The Grand Bazaar in Urumqi and the markets of Kashgar and Turpan have the widest selection, but prices are lowest in neighbourhood markets away from the tourist routes. Note that many countries restrict the import of nuts, seeds and dried plant material for agricultural reasons - the United States, the European Union, Australia and New Zealand all have rules - so check before you buy in quantity. Small sealed packages for personal consumption are usually permitted, but loose bulk goods often are not.
