I have been planning on deciding to visit Xinjiang, especially Kashgar for long time. As I know, in this region there were a lot of incidents between Han-Chinese and Uyghur, yet it did not prevent me to visit this region. It just took two hours journey by plane from Urumqi, capital of Xinjiang to Kashgar.
Kashgar is located in Xinjiang province, northwest of China, where it is a home to many ethnic groups, with a majority of Islamic Uyghur people. They speak mainly Uyghur, a dialect from Turkic language family, similar to Uzbek language and they mostly are different from Chinese at all. Being in Xinjiang, feels like in a different country inside of China. The cultures, the streets, the food, the customs, pretty much everything are different to any city inside of China. Instead of using Chinese character, Uyghur people used Arabic letter for their writing system.
 |
| Uyghur men after doing Namaz |
I arrived in Kashgar at early morning. I stayed in Pamir Youth Hostel, nice hostel in a great location near the old town, Id Kah Mosque and the old town market. The beds are really hard at the double rooms and also at the dorms. They provide free wi-fi for the guests. Staff are very helpful, but they have two big dogs, which I really hate dog
 |
| Pamir Hostel Youth |
 |
| Altyn Yolu or Gold street, where Uyghur people sell Gold |
 |
| A street view in Kashgar |
 |
| Id Kah Mosque and Its Plaza, one of tourist attraction in Kashgar |
 |
| Uyghur Men |
 |
| An old uyghur man sells the traditional handmade carpet after Namaz |
 |
| Uyghur boys at the Id Kah Mosque Plaza |
 |
| Camel caravan statue, resemble how great Kashgar during Silk Road |
I went walking around the city accompanied by my Uyghur friend, Abdulrahim, he told me to not talk about religion and government, those are very sensitive issues in Xinjiang. I know from the new before I came to Xinjiang, the Chinese government is really strict to apply rules in Xinjiang to protect from separatist movement and terrorist also.
Most of Uyghur are Muslim follower, but due to the force from the government they cannot perform their religion freely. The men are not allowed to have beard, the women are also not allowed to wear veils as well as the teenagers/adults below 18 years old are not allowed to enter Mosques. What an Ironic situation!
Well, walking around the old town in Kashgar, feels like I am back to time during silk road era. Most of the buildings are still preserved from the modernization. I can see the real beauty of Uyghur architectures showing in each corner.
 |
| Police station |
 |
| Signage for direction in Kashgar |
 |
| Uyghur Architectures |
 |
| An Uyghur man is ready to sell his fruits |
 |
| The sellers are ready to go to Bazaar |
As the nightfall, the life in Kashgar feels like to start over, along the road nearby my hostel is very crowded by the crowd, because there is a nigh market. At the night market we can find many things we want, especially street food.
 |
| Sunset in Kashgar |
 |
| A restaurant in Kashgar |
 |
| A nan or bread seller |
 |
| An Uyghur nan, ready to eat, fresh from the Oven |
 |
| This is how they bake their Nan |
 |
| Night view in Kashgar |
 |
| A pomegranade juice, one of Uyghur favourite drinks |
 |
| An Uyghur man and his dried fruits await for the buyers |
 |
| Uyghur sweets |
 |
| OMG! Here we are, the adventurers |
 |
| Fresh fruit |
Well, travelling to Kashgar offers me another different adventure inside of China and it is totally safe. There are some recommended places to go in Kashgar:
- Id Kah Mosque and Its Plaza
- Kashgar Old Town
- Afaq Khoja Mausoleum
- Kashgar Livestock Market
All of the places are easy to reach by the taxi. The taxi fee for riding inside the city is not more than CNY 5. Tips: You do not have to ask the fee, because most of them use meter.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment