Liuxing Street, Yining
伊宁六星街
A multiethnic old quarter laid out in a six-pointed star in the 1930s, with colorful courtyard walls, an accordion museum and cozy cafés. It is Yining’s most lively neighborhood.
Liuxing Street lies in the old town of Yining. Planned in the 1930s by a German engineer in the shape of a six-pointed star, six main roads radiate from a central square. Uyghur, Kazakh, Russian, Tatar and other ethnic groups live here. The courtyards are painted in bright blues, yellows and greens, and gardens grow grapevines and fruit trees, making it Yining’s best place for wandering and photography. Highlights include the Alexander Accordion Museum, which holds several hundred accordions collected by an elderly Russian resident and often hosts live performances; the Liuxing Street Mosque; old houses in Russian style; and a host of trendy cafés and guesthouses. Next door, the Kazanqi Folk Tourism Area offers horse-drawn carriage rides and visits to Uyghur homes for tea and nan bread. Admission is free. Visit in the afternoon or early evening, then eat Ili specialties nearby, such as hand-grabbed pilaf, horse-meat naryn and kawas. In Yining city, you can also watch the sunset at the Ili River Bridge after about 9 p.m. Please respect residents’ daily lives, and ask permission before photographing inside courtyards.
Opening hours
All day
Nearby sights
- Baytulla Mosque
- Kazanqi Folk Tourism Area
- Shaanxi Great Mosque of Yining
- Lin Zexu Memorial Museum, Ili
- Hanren Street Bazaar
- Ili River Bridge & Riverside
- Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture Museum
- Jingyuan Temple & Qapqal Xibe Culture