China Xinjiang Kashgar Prefecture

Kashgar

An ancient Silk Road city in Xinjiang, China, known for its vibrant bazaars, Uyghur culture, and historically significant Islamic architecture.

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Culturally, Kashgar is closer to the Middle East than China due to its Islamic influence. One of its most important monuments is the mausoleum of Abakh Hoja (a holy man who ruled the region in the seventeenth century), crowned by an incredible green-tiled dome. Kashgar is most famous for its Sunday market, which has been held here for more than a thousand years. The place becomes a hotbed of vehicles, ranchers, and merchants who sell their sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, and camels between noisy negotiations and endless bargaining. There are also stalls for carpets, nuts, handicrafts, and local food. If you want to see the road that followed the caravans heading west, you will have to drive 100 miles and add Karakul Lake to your China itinerary. Located at an altitude of 3,800 meters, it is the last enclave before the Khunjerab Pass that leads to Pakistan, where today vibrant trucks have replaced the camels that crossed the mythical Silk Road.

amanmehta 5 years ago

Kashgar Articles

  • The Ultimate 11-Day China Itinerary: Beijing to Kashgar

    The Silk Road was the traditional route through which caravans carried products from the East and the West for centuries. More than that, it was a corridor through which philosophical ideas, scientific knowledge and the foundations of Buddhism and Islam were transmitted. Want to go, but not sure where to start? We’ve created the ultimate […]

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