CultureofXi'an

　　2008-01-25

　　ThecultureofXi'anisinheritedfromthetraditionsofoneoftheworld'searliestcivilizations.TheGuanzhongRen(关中人/关中人)weretheculturalantecedentofXi'anese,theirculturalfeaturesaredrawnfromtheTenSpecialtiesofGuanzhongRen(关中十大怪/关中十大怪).AnothermajorpartofthiscultureisEightGreatSightsofChang'an(长安八景/长安八景),storiedscenicareasintheregion.

　　ThedramaoftheoriginalXi'aneseculture,Qinqiang(秦腔,VoiceofQin)istheoldestandmostextensiveChineseOperaofthefourmajortypesofChineseopera.ThedialectofXi'anisShaanxiHua,whichisstronglyinfluencedbyStandardMandarin,butstillretainsmuchgrammarandpronunciationfromtheClassicalChinese.Becauseofitslongdevelopmentasaculture,thecuisineofXi'anisextensiveaswell.ItistherepresentativeoffoodofNorthwesternChina.ThemostwellknownlocalfoodistheXi'anesesnack,atraditionalfoodoftheHuipeople.Hui-stylesnacksfeaturebeefandmuttonbecausetheHuipeople,beingMuslims,donoteatpork.Bakedbeefandmutton,bunswithbeef,andothersuchregionaldishesthatareusuallyspicyinnatureandincorporatealotofbeefandmuttoningredients.TwoparticularlyfamousXi'andishesincludeapancakeandmuttonsoup,whichcanbeoptionallyspicy,andXi'an'sfamoushand-rollednoodles,whichcomeinvariousflavors,shapes,andsizes.Thereisalsoafamousculturalnoodledancewhenachef,insteadofrollingoutnoodles,wavesalongstripofdougharoundinadancebeforecookingthenoodles.