Kashgar
Kashgar sits where the northern and southern routes around the Taklamakan rejoin before the mountain passes to Central Asia and India, and its Sunday livestock market has traded for centuries. Much of the traditional earthen old town was demolished from 2009 in a state programme officially justified by earthquake risk; the change is documented and disputed, and Xinjiang travel involves extensive security infrastructure.
Why go
The westernmost city in China — closer to Baghdad than to Beijing. A Sunday livestock market — sheep, cattle and horses traded as they have been for centuries. Id Kah Mosque — the largest in China, founded in 1442. Three mountain ranges meeting — the Pamirs, the Tian Shan and the Kunlun, with passes to Pakistan.
The character
Kashgar sits at the western edge of the Taklamakan where the northern and southern Silk Road routes rejoin before crossing the mountains — to Ferghana, to Bactria, to India. For two thousand years it was the last stop before the passes and the first after them, and its bazaar handled everything moving between China and the west. The population is Uyghur, Turkic-speaking and Muslim, and the city is a thousand kilometres closer to Kabul than to Beijing.
The old town is the contested part. Much of the traditional earthen-brick city was demolished from 2009 in a state programme officially justified by earthquake risk; parts have been rebuilt in a reconstructed style, and the change is heavily documented and heavily disputed. Xinjiang travel involves extensive security infrastructure, checkpoints and restrictions that visitors will encounter constantly. Anyone coming should understand this before arriving: the region's politics are not a background detail here, and the honest account of Kashgar includes them.
Places of character
Id Kah Mosque — 1442, the largest mosque in China, on the main square. Sunday livestock market — outside the city; farmers testing sheep and horses, and the oldest thing here. Grand Bazaar — the covered market for textiles, knives, hats and dried fruit. Old town lanes — the reconstructed and surviving quarters; walk them and form your own view. Abakh Khoja Mausoleum — a tiled tomb complex on the edge of town, and the family shrine of a Sufi dynasty. Karakul Lake — on the Karakoram Highway toward Pakistan, under Muztagh Ata at 7,500 metres.
The way to do it
Come knowing the political context and travel with a licensed guide, which is effectively required. Go to the Sunday market at dawn. Take the Karakoram Highway toward Tashkurgan for a day if permits allow. And be careful and respectful with photography of people and of security infrastructure.
One perfect day
Sunday livestock market at seven, on the edge of town: sheep loaded from trucks, horses ridden hard down a test lane, and buyers arguing under a sleeve-covered handshake. Breakfast of lamb and naan. Late morning at Id Kah and the bazaar. Lunch of laghman. Afternoon in the old town lanes, and an hour at the Abakh Khoja mausoleum with its tiles. Late tea in a courtyard house. Dinner of pilaf and pomegranate juice, with the mountains invisible in the west but three hours away.
Grand hotels
n/a — Kashgar's hotels are functional Chinese business hotels; the interest is entirely outside them.
When to go
Best expression: September and October — the harvest, mild weather and the Karakoram open. Consider: May and June, before the summer heat of the Tarim basin. Avoid if possible: winter, when the passes close and the cold is severe; and any period of heightened restrictions.
The frame
Ideal stay 3 nights · Minimum 2 nights · Best arrival by air from Ürümqi, or the long train · Airport KHG, 10 km · Walkability the old town and bazaar · Best without a car no — a guide and driver are required in practice