KASHGAR, XINJIANG - JULY 17: Uighur man roasts lamb on July 17, 2013 in Markit County, Kashgar, China. The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, referred to as "Xinjiang", is located in Central Eurasia, in the northwest of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km, acounting for 1/6 of the total land area of China. Xinjiang borders with Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Mongolia, India and Afghanistan. According to Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Bureau of statistics, the resident population of about 21,810,000, which the minority population accounts for about 60.5%. The ethnic minorities in Xinjiang include Uygur, Kazak, Hui, Kirgiz, Mongolia, Tajik, Manchu, Xibe, Uzbek, Russian Buick family, Daur, Tatar etc.. Islam has a great influence in social life in Xinjiang. (Photo by Kevin Zen/Getty Images)

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Kashgar

Locked away in the westernmost corner of China, closer to Tehran and Damascus than to Běijīng, Kashgar (喀什; Kāshí) has been the epicentre of regional trade and cultural exchange for more than two millennia.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Shipton's Arch near Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.

    Shipton’s Arch

    Kashgar

    This extraordinary natural rock arch (the rather prosaic Uyghur name means simply ‘mountain with a hole in it’) is one of the tallest on earth. The first…

  • Buyers and sellers at sheep pens during the Sunday Livestock Market and Bazaar in Kashgar.

    Sunday Livestock Market

    Kashgar

    No visit to Kashgar is complete without a trip to the Livestock Market, which takes place once a week on Sunday. The day begins with Uyghur farmers and…

  • Grand Sunday Bazaar

    Grand Sunday Bazaar

    Kashgar

    Kashgar’s main bazaar is open every day but really kicks it up a gear on Sunday. Step through the jam-packed entrance and allow your five senses to guide…

  • Abakh Hoja Mausoleum

    Abakh Hoja Mausoleum

    Kashgar

    This 3-hectare mausoleum complex was built by the Khoja family, who ruled the region in the 17th and 18th centuries. Widely considered the holiest Muslim…

  • Kashgar Old Town

    Kashgar Old Town

    Kashgar

    The Old Town is the soul of Kashgar, and as such the government has spent much of the past two decades knocking it down block by block and building a…

  • Id Kah Mosque

    Id Kah Mosque

    Kashgar

    The yellow-tiled Id Kah Mosque, which dates from 1442, is the spiritual and physical heart of the city. Enormous (it's the largest mosque in Xinjiang),…

  • Mor Pagoda

    Mor Pagoda

    Kashgar

    At the end of a 45km drive northeast of Kashgar are the ruins of Ha Noi, a Tang-dynasty town built in the 7th century and abandoned in the 12th century…

  • Kashgar Museum

    Kashgar Museum

    Kashgar

    This regional museum is not as good as some of the other excellent local museums in Xinjiang, but it's free and includes an incredible 6th-century…

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Articles

Latest stories from Kashgar

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