Far out in China’s wild western borderlands, a stones throw from the seven “Stans” of central Asia lies the landlocked city of Kashgar. The fertile oasis with a history of over two thousand years sits at the foot of the Pamirs, where the Tian Shan and Kunlun mountains converge. Its position at the western tip of the Tarim Basin made it a strategic outpost and it emerged as an important stopover on the ancient silk route, with numerous cultures and empires all vying for its control. To say that the town has experienced a tempestuous past would be somewhat of an understatement. Over the past two millennia Kashgar has been the site of numerous battles and has repeatedly switched hands between the Turkic, Chinese, Tibetan and Mongol empires.
When the Chinese first seized Kashgar from the Yuezhi people back in the 2nd century B.C. they couldn’t have imagined that it would take them until the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) to finally keep it. Even then a series of Muslim revolts continued to stifle development until 1943 when the region was finally reined in.
Its strategic location has meant that the old town has failed to escape the rampant development which has swept across much of China. Yet despite the changes, the spirt of Kashgar lives on. Uighur craftsmen still hammer away in dusty side alleys, whilst donkey carts and traders congregate in the local bazar. Every weekend thousands of cattle herders and Uighur farmers converge on the town from the surrounding desert to partake in an activity that has changed little for generations. Row upon row of sheep and goats are bought and sold amongst a dusty back drop of men test riding horses, barbers trimming beards and woolly Bactrian camels gazing across the crowd. The air is filled with the smell of freshly baked Nan, fried noodles and sizzling lamb kebabs. The Kashgar Sunday market remains one of the most vibrant markets in Asia.
Whether you are planning a trip up the Karakorum highway, heading on the southern Silk Road to Khotan or taking the Torugart or Irkeshtam Passes to Kyrgyzstan, Kashgar is a stop that should not be missed.