South Gate Night Market Skewer Row

South Gate Night Market Skewer Row is a cluster of open-air grill carts operating near Yongningmen, the South Gate of Xi'an's ancient City Wall, in the Beilin District. From early evening until well past midnight, the carts fire up charcoal grills to cook cumin-dusted lamb skewers, the city's most iconic street snack, alongside grilled enoki mushroom skewers and roasted sweet potatoes for non-meat options. The lamb skewers are seasoned heavily with cumin and chili flakes before and during grilling, producing the smoky, spiced aroma that defines the area each night as the illuminated City Wall rises above the stalls. As an open-air street-food cluster rather than a single restaurant, there is no formal seating, dress code, or reservation system; visitors order skewer by skewer from whichever cart looks busiest, often eating standing or perched on plastic stools set out by individual vendors. The scene is loudest and most crowded from around 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM, when the market draws both locals out for a late snack and visitors walking the City Wall after dark.