Since 1958, Yinchuan, a city 600 miles west of Beijing, has been the capital of the Ningxia region governed by China’s Hui Muslims. Now China’s leaders are spending $3.5 billion to turn it into a “World Muslim City,” replete with a mosque-like “Golden Palace,” Arabic street signs, and an elaborate light and dance show inspired by The Thousand and One Nights, that is, the version in which Aladdin was born in China.
It’s part of the government’s larger bid to improve relations with the Arab world by emphasizing shared Sino-Arab history and culture.
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