Niujie | Beijing's 1,000-Year-Old Muslim Quarter

A Day In Beijing is an English-language Beijing podcast inspired by the history, innovations, and people of Beijing, created and hosted by a born-and-raised Beijinger. It exists not only as your virtual travel guide, your dictionary to China, but also to challenge and break the colonial narratives that have been shaping Beijing and China. Twelve episodes of imperial Beijing. And now let's pivot. This one's personal. China has 56 officially recognised ethnic groups. Ten of them are Muslim. And I'm one of them, I'm half Hui — the second-largest Muslim group in China, about 11 million people. This episode is about Niujie, Beijing's oldest Muslim neighbourhood. Who is this podcast for?🌍 Anyone curious about China beyond the headlines: ethnic diversity, religious identity, communities that guidebooks rarely mention🇨🇳 Planning a trip to Beijing: Niujie is one of the most rewarding and hidden neighbourhoods in the city, and international tourists struggle to discover it📚 History lovers: the Silk Road, Tang, Yuan, Ming, Qing Dynasty, and how Islam arrived in China🕌 Anyone who assumed China was ethnically and religiously homogeneous: this episode will change that🎙️ Anyone who wants to hear about China from someone who actually lives there, and in this case, is part of the storyWhat this episode covers:🔹 China's 56 ethnic groups. Every Chinese citizen has their ethnicity printed on their national ID card; this episode explains the system, where it came from, and why it matters.🔹 Who are the Hui? About 11 million people. Descended from Central Asian and Persian Muslim traders who came via the Silk Road during the Tang Dynasty🔹 How Islam reached China through trade. Arab and Persian merchants were active in Chinese ports centuries before the Mongol invasion. 🔹 Niujie — 牛街, Ox Street. Beijing's oldest Muslim neighbourhood. 54% Hui residents in the core area. 🔹 The 220 mosques were destroyed across China during the Japanese occupation and how the Cultural Revolution shut the Niujie mosque down, when Zhou Enlai personally intervened to save it.New here?Listen to the trailer (3 minutes) and the pilot episode (15 minutes) for the full story of who I am, why I'm doing this, and what this podcast is about.EP1-3: The Forbidden CityEP4-5: The Great Wall of ChinaEP6-7: The Summer PalaceEP8-9: The Temple of HeavenEP10: Can't Get Forbidden City Tickets? Go Here InsteadEP11: Jingshan ParkEP12: Beihai Park🙏 I'm no historian I research every episode the best I can. If anything sounds off, let me know. I'm always learning, and this podcast gets better with your help.🌏 Planning a trip to Beijing? I run small, responsible cultural experiences — including a Muslim Street Food Walking Tour through Niujie. DM me on Instagram.🎧 Search "A Day In Beijing", it's also available on: Spotify / Apple Podcasts / YouTube Music / Goodpods / 小宇宙 / Substack🌐 adayinbeijing.carrd.co📸 Instagram: @a_day_in_beijing / @chen_backinbeijing✉️ [email protected]