Muslim area offers Spring Festival delights
Ox Street's food stores attract long lines
At 7:30 am, Ox Street, known in Chinese as Niujie Street, in downtown Beijing was bustling with people rushing to work and shop.
On the east side of the street, two long lines formed outside a food store 30 minutes before it opened, while on the west side, more people waited patiently for other food shops to begin business.
These scenes took place on Feb 1, just 10 days before Lunar New Year's Eve, which this year falls on Thursday.
People living in the Chinese capital have a wide range of options when it comes to buying food for the Spring Festival holiday.
However, countless shoppers always head to Ox Street, which is located in Xicheng district about 5 kilometers southwest of Tian'anmen Square.
The street is home to the city's largest population of the traditionally Muslim Hui ethnic group.
