Part 9 - Kashgar

Part 9 - Kashgar                                                                                                                                                 

Located in an oasis city in the Taklamakan desert in Xinjiang Province in the very west of China, close to the borders with Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. With a population of over 500,000, Kashgar has a rich history of over 2,000 years and served as a trading post and strategically important city on the Silk Road between China, the Middle East, and Europe. Historically Kashgar (Kashi in Chinese) has been under the rule of the Chinese, Turkic, Mongol, and Tibetan empires, experiencing a number of battles between various peoples of the steppes. The population is 80% Muslim Uyghurs and 20% Han Chinese.

The Restored Old City

In the recent years a great part of the old city has been restored and is called "the best-preserved example of a traditional Islamic city to be found anywhere in Central Asia" 
(NY Times).

Fresh, delicious bread















Islamic schools still exist, but only under very strict governmental observation


Kashgar, where the Silk Road starts




Ida Kah Mosque, 996-1442, the biggest mosque in China






The Dopa, the traditional Uyghur hat, is being worn by men and women






The Rawap instrument, usually with 6 strings. Left in the background Dutars, usually with 2 strings. The bowl of the Rawap is covered by snake skin.








This former palace is currently under restoration, the workers allowed us to explore the construction site.


    






















Gao Tai, the Secretely Dying Old City

There is a second old city which Kashgar doesn't want to be seen by tourists. Even the taxi driver first refused to take us there. This part of the city is visibly decaying quickly. Many houses have collapsed or at least are empty and locked. A few families still live there.

It was not possible to find out what its future will be. Will it be restored like the one shown above? Unlikely, because it is in such a bad condition that it might be too costly, so the picturesque houses will one day be replaced by newly built Chinese high rises ...

The entrance to Gao Tai is still very attractive ...


A small private museum collects items from the old city - in a building which will not exist much longer








    


A family still lives here ...

















Soon this fomer jewel of a traditional Islamic city will be gone ...


We say farewell to Kashgar, Tibet and China on a lovely pot of tea.

All photos by the author, apart from those marked with 'www', which were taken from various internet sources.