A young vendor from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has recently gone viral for baking fresh naan on the streets of Xi'an, Shaanxi province. Eager residents arrive hours before he starts selling each day.
Locals and netizens affectionately call him Adax, which means "friend" in the Uygur language. His real name is Nasirden Rexat. The thirty-year-old from Kashgar spent two years learning to cook naan in Urumqi before coming to Xi'an, where he has made a living for the last three years. He remained relatively anonymous until recently, when his down-to-earth demeanor and good looks won him wide attention.
Adax's naan are as big as washbasins. They're crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and carry a milky aroma. He has kept his pricing consistent: 10 yuan ($1.5) for three. The freshly hand-baked naan draws long queues, with some waiting as long as four hours. All the while, Adax says little and focuses intently on baking.
Naan-making is a national intangible cultural heritage of China. A staple food dating back 2,000 years to the ancient Silk Road, naan remains an important cultural symbol of Xinjiang.
