Niujie, or Ox Street, used to be called Liujie, or Pomegranate Street, because a vast orchard of pomegranates used to dominate the place. Nobody knows when the name Liujie was first mispronounced as Niujie, but since this unknown time, Niujie has been used.
Located in the central part of the Xuanwu District of Beijing, Niujie is a Muslim quarter that covers an area of 1.41 square kilometers. In many people's mind, though, Niujie is no more than a single block between Guang'anmennei and Youanmennei Streets, where the Niujie Mosque, the largest and oldest mosque in Beijing, is situated.
The mere mention of the block often conjures up image of mosques, Islamic snacks, and Muslims wearing white prayer caps.
The area has a history of more than 1,000 years, and is mainly populated by the people of the Hui ethnic group, who are also Muslim. It is not the only place in the city inhabited by the Hui people. Beijing has a Hui population of some 200,000, and most of them live in harmony with the Han in different parts of the city.
Niujie experienced its first reconstruction in the 1960s, and was renovated again not long ago, taking on a beautiful, new look.
(China Pictorial May 21. 2003)
