The teahouses tucked into the lanes around the Erdaoqiao bazaar are among the most pleasurable places to stop in Ürümqi. They serve green tea — often a fragrant kok chai — alongside small plates of dried fruit: raisins, apricots, almonds, and sometimes walnuts. You sit, pour, and let the afternoon pass at whatever pace it chooses. The setting is simple: low tables, stools, maybe a television on in the corner. No one is in a hurry.
These are not places designed for tourists, which is part of what makes them worth seeking out. Local men come here to talk, play cards, or simply sit. You are welcome, and the transaction is easy — point at what the table next to you is drinking if you cannot manage the ordering. The teahouses generally do not serve alcohol, which puts them outside the usual Western definition of a bar, but they serve the same social function: a place to pause, drink something warm, and watch the world. In a city where the political atmosphere is heavy, there is something quietly valuable about a room where people are just sitting together.