On the streets of Chengdu City, China’s Sichuan Province, a Xinjiang guy's naan stall has become very popular.

Recently, "Nang Baba", a Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) account, has become popular. In the video, a man skillfully kneads dough and then puts it into a mobile naan pit on the streets of Chengdu. This scene seems to bring people back to the streets of southern Xinjiang.

This small stall with Xinjiang characteristics not only attracted local people to watch and buy naan, but also caught attention online. Many netizens said, “Thank you for letting more people taste Xinjiang specialty,” “Come on, hardworking guy from Xinjiang!” “Hope your business thrive!”

There are also many netizens from Sichuan Province, China, asking about the location of his stall and some of the people who have bought naan from him said that the naan he made is really delicious and they often buy it. The young man's stall has attracted more and more locals and has also received a lot of recognition.

The young man's name is Kiyum Hekimjan, and he is from Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. In his video, he introduced his story of making naan. He gets up at 5 or 6 am every morning to knead dough and make preparations, and sets up the stall at 8 o'clock in the morning on time and doesn’t close until 9:30 pm in the evening. At first, he was worried that the locals do not like naan, but what surprised him was that they like it. He introduced that he sells seven different flavors of naan and Samsa, including naan made with rose sauce, naan made with chili, and naan made with raisins, but the favorite flavor of people in Chengdu is still the original naan made with sesame. "Maybe the most classic is the best," he said.

Photo shows delicious naan made with sesame made by Kiyum Hekimjan. (Photo provided by Kiyum Hekimjan)

Kiyum Hekimjan started making naan in 2014. He was not familiar with the production process at first, so he could only practice over and over again. He spent all day making naan around the naan pit, even if his clothes were stained with flour and ash. Many people didn't understand him, but he never stopped making naan. In 2023, he came to Chengdu with a well-developed business plan.

It may not be difficult to make naan in another place, but making naan outdoors in Chengdu’s summer is a big challenge for him. In a video he uploaded in the summer of 2023, he said, "It's too hot." The hot airflow of the mobile naan pit and the humid and stuffy air of Chengdu presented him with a greater challenge. "It's just hot, everything else is fine," said Kiyum Hekimjan.

"I came to Chengdu to set up a stall and start my own business in February 2023. I feel that people in Chengdu are very kind, they all support me, which warms me," said Kiyum Hekimjan.

In order to further promote Xinjiang’s culture, he would occasionally interview customers with some questions about Xinjiang. Many customers can answer the questions, and when Kiyum Hekimjan asked them how they knew the answers, they said, "Xinjiang is quite popular." "I have been there!"... Kiyum Hekimjan’s small stall has become a platform to let more people understand Xinjiang.

Photo shows a screenshot of the video uploaded on "Nang Baba," Kiyum Hekimjan’s Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) account.

Now, Kiyum Hekimjan has 40,000 fans on his Douyin account, and he also sends his naan to all parts of China through an e-commerce platform. "Next, I want to open a naan store in Sichuan, and then continue to open branches. I want to sell naan to the whole country, so that everyone can taste it and know more about Xinjiang," Kiyum Hekimjan said.

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