page_title: Chinese Islamic cuisine
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Chinese Islamic cuisine / History
caption_attribution_description: English: (Original text description) Hankow. Moslem meat shop sign. Dimensions 6.5 x 7 cm. Location Meat shop, Hankou, Hubei Sheng, China. General: Excerpt from unpublished photo essay, plate 59: "A Moslem restaurant sign with the teapot and Arabic in the center. At the top are two Chinese characters 'ch'ing' and 'chen,' clean and true. Just these two characters on many signs make a shop one where Moslems may eat. These correspond to the "kosher" characters on a Jewish eating house." 中文: 漢口，湖北省，中華民國；1934-1935年。在回民族買肉店外的店牌有「清」，「真」兩字，代表伊斯蘭教符合教規食物的意思（“清真菜”）。
context_page_description: Cuisine of Chinese Muslims is the cuisine of the Hui and other Muslims living in China such as Bonan, Dongxiang, Salar and Uyghurs as well as Dungans of Central Asia.
context_section_description: Due to the large Muslim population in Western China, many Chinese restaurants cater to or are run by, Muslims. Northern Chinese Islamic cuisine originated in China proper. It is heavily influenced by Beijing cuisine, with nearly all cooking methods identical and differs only in material due to religious restrictions. As a result, northern Islamic cuisine is often included in home Beijing cuisine though seldom in east coast restaurants.
  During the Yuan dynasty, halal and kosher methods of slaughtering animals and preparing food was banned and forbidden by the Mongol emperors, starting with Genghis Khan who banned Muslims and Jews from slaughtering their animals their own way and made them follow the Mongol method.
  Among all the [subject] alien peoples only the Hui-hui say “we do not eat Mongol food”. [Cinggis Qa’an replied:] “By the aid of heaven we have pacified you; you are our slaves. Yet you do not eat our food or drink. How can this be right?” He thereupon made them eat. “If you slaughter sheep, you will be considered guilty of a crime.” He issued a regulation to that effect ... [In 1279/1280 under Qubilai] all the Muslims say: “if someone else slaughters [the animal] we do not eat”. Because the poor people are upset by this, from now on, Musuluman [Muslim] Huihui and Zhuhu [Jewish] Huihui, no matter who kills [the animal] will eat [it] and must cease slaughtering sheep themselves, and cease the rite of circumcision.
  Traditionally, there is a distinction between Northern and Southern Chinese Islamic cuisine despite both using lamb and mutton. Northern Chinese Islamic cuisine relies heavily on beef, but rarely ducks, geese, shrimp or seafood, while southern Islamic cuisine is the reverse. The reason for this difference is due to availability of the ingredients. Oxen have been long used for farming and Chinese governments have frequently strictly prohibited the slaughter of oxen for food. However, due to the geographic proximity of the northern part of China to minority-dominated regions that were not subjected to such restrictions, beef could be easily purchased and transported to Northern China. At the same time, ducks, geese and shrimp are rare in comparison to Southern China due to the arid climate of Northern China.
  A Chinese Islamic restaurant (Chinese: 淸眞菜館; pinyin: qīngzhēn càiguǎn) can be similar to a Mandarin restaurant with the exception that there is no pork on the menu and is primarily noodle/soup based.
  In most major eastern cities in China, there are very limited Islamic/Halal restaurants, which are typically run by migrants from Western China (e.g., Uyghurs). They primarily offer inexpensive noodle soups only. These restaurants are typically decorated with Islamic motifs such as pictures of Islamic rugs and Arabic writing.
  Another difference is that lamb and mutton dishes are more commonly available than in other Chinese restaurants, due to the greater prevalence of these meats in the cuisine of Western Chinese regions. (Refer to image 1.)
  Other Muslim ethnic minorities like the Bonan, Dongxiang, Salar and Tibetan Muslims have their own cuisines as well. Dongxiang people operate their own restaurants serving their cuisine.
  Many cafeterias (canteens) at Chinese universities have separate sections or dining areas for Muslim students (Hui or Western Chinese minorities), typically labeled "qingzhen." Student ID cards sometimes indicate whether a student is Muslim and will allow access to these dining areas or will allow access on special occasions such as the Eid feast following Ramadan.
  Several Hui restaurants serving Chinese Islamic cuisine exist in Los Angeles. San Francisco, despite its huge number of Chinese restaurants, appears to have only one whose cuisine would qualify as halal.
  Many Chinese Hui Muslims who moved from Yunnan to Burma (Myanmar) are known as Panthays operate restaurants and stalls serving Chinese Islamic cuisine such as noodles. Chinese Hui Muslims from Yunnan who moved to Thailand are known as Chin Haw and they also own restaurants and stalls serving Chinese Islamic food.
  In Central
caption: A halal meat store sign in Hankou, ca. 1934–1935.
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