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"Snow Leopard Street" booms for night markets 2024/8/12 source: International Daily Print

A street in Xining City, northwestern China, featuring the locally famous snow leopard species, has become a popular night market for locals and tourists alike.

"Leopard Street" is one of the busiest and liveliest places in Xining, Qinghai Province, this summer, as it turns into a large night market after dusk. Dancing parades in beautiful ethnic costumes move along the street every weekend evening, attracting residents and visitors to watch and dance to the rhythm.
The name of the street refers to the snow leopard, a big cat native to the high mountain ranges of Asia, including Qinghai Province. Listed as a first-class national protected animal in China, the whitish leopard with dark spots has recently been adopted as the provincial cultural symbol.
Elements of snow leopard are very common in Leopard Street. The animal can be seen from the signs, banners, light boxes, to merchandise including dolls, postcards, hair ribbons, and even handicrafts with intangible cultural heritage skills, such as filigree, paper cutting, embroidery, dough sculptures.
Due to the high altitude, the weather in Xining is rather cool compared to most cities in China. People go to open-air markets to enjoy supper and snacks in the evening. Leopard Street has gathered more than 60 classic local dishes to attract visitors from all over the country.
Leopard Street has seen more than 2.04 million visitors so far since May.


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