Food brings outsiders to my moveable feast

In the shadow of the skyscrapers, a sense of belonging

The tourist sights on offer in and around Beijing almost jump out at you even before you have time to consult a tourist guide book, the most obvious being the Forbidden City, the Great Wall or Houhai Lake. One that is a little less obvious, but will always be my top choice, is Niujie, an area in which I was born, grew up and still live.

In this area lives city's largest population of the Hui ethnic group, who are traditionally Muslim, and the Niujie Mosque, built in 996 during the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), is there. It is also an area that offers authentic Beijing culture such as hutong and dialects.