This is the heart of Uyghur culture,
a beautiful cross section of
ancient Silk Road history.
Welcome to Kashgar, the gateway
to Central Asia here in China's
remote western region of Xinjiang.
I'm Josh, this is Far West China.
Join me as we explore six of my
favorite places to visit here in Kashgar.
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We'll start with the
easiest, the Id Kah Mosque.
This yellow-tiled mosque is
the largest in all of China,
and the most iconic
building here in Kashgar.
It's great to visit here during
the Muslim holidays, such as the
end of Ramadan, the Qurban Festival,
when tens upon thousands of Uyghur
from all across Xinjiang converge
on this mosque to worship.
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Kashgar's Old City.
Now some may argue that this rebuilt city
really isn't something worth seeing,
but I disagree, and the reason is this.
Yes, Kashgar's Old City has been rebuilt,
and it doesn't quite look the same
as it used to, but the
Uyghur still live here,
they still work, and the children
still play in the streets, and really
that's what gives Kashgar's Old City life.
Besides, if you really wanted to see
the Old City, what it was like before
it was demolished and rebuilt,
there's a small portion left on the
east side of the city
that you can walk through.
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Shipton's Arch, the largest natural
arch in the world, located northwest
of Kashgar in the Artush Region.
It was first discovered in 1947
by Eric Shipton, the British consul
here in Kashgar, and was rediscovered
in the year 2000 by a National
Geographic Expedition.
The Kashgar Sunday bazaar
and livestock market,
these are both great places to
experience new sights, sounds, and a
unique aspect of the Uyghur culture.
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It used to be that both of these places
were located in the same place
right outside the city, but thanks to
the smell of the animals, they decided
to separate it, so you can still find
the Sunday bazaar right across the river
on the east side of town, whereas the
animal market has been moved way
to the northwest, a good
long taxi ride away,
but still worth going out to see.
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The Apak Khoja mausoleum,
this green glazed
tile building was built in 1640 to honor,
well, Apak Khoja, a ruler
of Kashgar during the time.
Five generations of his
family is buried here,
including the Fragrant Concubine,
and interesting story of a young woman
who's natural body scent was so fragrant
that it caught the attention
of Emperor Qianlong
in Beijing, who took her
into his royal harem.
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Last but not least, the Karakoram Highway.
If you're in Kashgar,
you're doing yourself
a disservice if you
don't actually make it up
the Karakoram Highway, at least
to the Karakul Lake, if not to Tashkurgan.
There's so much to see along the way,
including the Pamir mountains, a number
of different bodies of water, like I said,
the Karakul Lake, which
is a glacier-fed lake,
absolutely gorgeous, and of course,
once you make it up to Tashkurgan,
you can see the Tajik culture, get to
experience the grassland lifestyle,
that include yurts and a lot of farming.
This is a trip that can be done
in maybe two days, but if I were you,
I'd budget at least
three, if not four days
to really take your time and enjoy
going up and back the Karakoram Highway.
If you're looking for even more things
to do in Kashgar, I recommend you
head west to the village of Upal,
or perhaps east to the
ancient city of Hanoi.
If you're really adventurous, you can
head out to the Taklamakan
desert to ride a camel.
Whatever you decide, you can find all the
information on these
places and so much more
in the Far West China
Xinjiang Travel Guide.
You can download a free planning chapter
at www.XJTravelGuide.com.
Oh, one more thing, and I know because
you've watched this far that you've
really enjoyed this
video, so do me a favor,
give it a thumbs up or comment
to let me know what you think.
