Kashgar

Photo © LuisDafos

Travel Guide Asia China Xinjiang Kashgar

Introduction

Mutton on sale in Kashgar, China

Kashgar (喀什, قەشقەر, Kāshí) has been a major commerce center on the Silk Road for over 2,000 years. This city has gone between many different powers over the millenniums. The Chinese started to take an off and on presence in Kashgar starting in the Tang Dynasty around 600 AD. Marco Polo visited Kashgar in 1237 and recorded several Nestorian Christian Churches. In 1759 the Manchus took back Kashgar and made it part of China. Kashgar was the capital for several different brief republics from the late 19th century till the Chinese Communists take over.

Today Kashgar has become a major gateway between China and Central Asia. Kashgar is a mixing pot of local Uigur, Tajiks, Kirghiz, Uzbekh and Han Chinese. Although the city is starting to become more and more modern there is still a great old town that feels like a throw back to a previous era.

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Sights and Activities

Sunday Market - Sunday Market is world famous although it is held everyday of the week now. Although on Sunday it does reach its apex of insanity. Although for more authentic markets it is better to hit up the more remote towns along the southern silk road.
Tomb the Fragrant Concubine - Tomb the Fragrant Concubine (香妃, Xiāngfēi, ئىپارخان) is part of the Afaq Khoja Tomb (阿帕克霍加), which houses a few other bodies. There are several stories about the origins of this 17th century beauty. Some say she was Uyghur others a mix of Han/Uyghur. Other stories say she was kidnapped others say she was given to the emperor and fell in love with him. The tomb built in 1640 is amazing and the museum at the entrance houses a couple of ancient mummies that are worth the extra ticket. The tomb is located in the village of Haohan Village (浩罕村)

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Events and Festivals

Due to being a mainly muslim area, all Islamic holidays are celebrated to an amazing degree. The Han Chinese population is growing, therefore all Chinese holidays are also celebrated.

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Getting There

By Plane

Kashgar Airport (KHG) has a number of flights. Domestic flights include Urumqi with China Southern Airlines, Deer Jet, Chine Eastern Airlines, Shandong Airlines and Hainan Airlines. The only international flight is to Islamabad with China Southern Airlines but only seasonal. China Eastern Airlines also flies to Shanghai and Shandong Airlines to Jinan.

By Train

The train station is located pretty close to downtown. There are daily overnight trains to Urumqi (20 to 22 hours).

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Eat

Xinjiang cuisine is full of mutton. It's delicious but there's not a lot of variety. Try the rice pilaf, laghman (noodles with stir fry on top), and mutton kebabs in small restaurants all over the city.
A little oasis for those looking for home style western food or a cup of "real" coffee, foreign-owned Gallery Cafe opened in October 2009. The place also acts as a showcase for local artists' oil paintings and a tourist information center. They are tucked away in an alley at the edge of Kashgar's old town. From the main intersection at Da Shi Zi, go north on JieFang N. Road towards Id Kah Mosque and take the first right.

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Sleep

Budget

Property	Address	Type	Popularity
Kashgar Old Town Youth Hostel	NO.233 in Wusitangboyi road Next to the Fourth Police Station	Hostel	88
Kashgar Pamir Youth Hostel	3F, Section A, District 7, Id Kah Bazaar Rd Nuo'er Beixi	HOSTEL	-
Maitian International Hostel (Kashgar)	Donghu Old Community on East Renming Road 300m from 11th Middle School,by the TianTianle Con	HOSTEL	87
KKH Breeze Hostel	Building 6-3-6313, Kangmei Xiaoqu No. 268 Seman	HOSTEL	-

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Keep Connected

Phone

Post

China Post (中国邮政) is the official postal service of the People's Republic of China, operated by the State Postal Bureau of the People's Republic of China (website in Chinese only), and has more details about price to send letters, postcards and parcels, both domestically as well as internationally. The Chinese postal service is very good. Remember that in more remote places usually only one post office in a city can handle sending international boxes or letters. Also many times it might be worth having the name of the country you are trying to send to in Chinese characters. Post offices have a striking green logo and can easily be found everywhere in the cities. They are mostly open every day (including weekends!) from 8:00am to 6:00pm, though small offices might have shorter opening times, while the bigger ones in central and touristic areas are sometimes open during evenings as well.