Paomo-Making Craft (Tong Sheng Xiang)

The Tong Sheng Xiang paomo-making craft springs from the halal paomo tradition of Xi'an's Hui community, carried by the Tong Sheng Xiang house founded around 1920, and is among the most representative techniques for the city's beef-and-mutton paomo.

It spans sourcing, simmering meat, broth-making, seasoning, and the final cooking of the bread; the broth is slow-cooked for hours from beef and mutton bones with spices, and bread torn by the diner is boiled to the requested broth level in a rigorous sequence.

The craft concentrates the standards and culture of Guanzhong halal cuisine; listed on the second national intangible-heritage list in 2008, it made Tong Sheng Xiang the first restaurant in the northwest under national heritage protection.

The technique is sustained in daily practice by the Tong Sheng Xiang house within Xi'an, a leading place to experience the living craft of the city's halal cuisine.