KASHGAR

 
China : Crossing the border from Kyrgyzstan, over the Torugart Pass, or the newly opened (2002) Irkeshtam Pass, the first major town is the Uighur city of Kashgar.

Kashgar is most famous for it«s Sunday Market, (»Asia«s most mind-boggling bazaar, a technicolour sea of people…. a photographer»s dream«). The Bazaar is actually open everyday — but on Sundays, it overflows into the streets and surrounding quarters and the population of the town (normally 180000) swells by 50000 with traders — the Barbers, the animal market, household goods, fruits and vegetables, carpets and all manner of goods can be bought … and there are many magnificent opportunities for spectacular photos — bring twice as much film as you think you will need, and then some more.

Other sights include : the Id Kah Mosque, the old town, the Abakh Hoja tomb (which includes the «tomb of the Fragrent Concubine»), the tomb of Yusup Has Hajib, the tomb of Ali Arslan Khan, Ak Mazar, the regional museum, the People«s park, East Lake Park, the San Xian Caves, Ha Noi and the Mor Pagoda.

Kashgar was also the sccene of a struggle for influence between the British and Russian empires — both seeking inroads into the lucrative Chinese Markets, at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the 20th centuries. It was a city of Kippling«s «Great Game» with both empires establishing a consulate to promote their own interests and hamper those of their rivals.

In 1905 the British Consul in Kashgar, (George Macartney) discovered that the Russians had built a 27 foot wide road from At Bashi in Kyrgyzstan to Torugart and for about half a mile into China itself. A major player in «The Great Game», he reported to his superiors that the road could easily be «made good» and should Russia choose to annex all or part of Xinjiang province, then this was the route along which their troops would come. In 1906, the Chinese government gave in to Russian pressure and agreed to complete the road usinig a loan from a Russian bank — recouping the money by levying tolls — and Russian merchants were given a monopoly of trade along the route. The Chinese, however, were not happy at this arrangement and set the tolls so high that the road soon fell into disuse and disrepair.

There is an airport — but only serving domestic flights — there are rumours that the Chinese want to upgrade it to take international flights — but nothing seems to some of them. There are daily flights to Urumqi. The rail link to Urumqi, 1400 km distant, has been completed and there are daily trains — the journey lasts over 24 hours. It is also possible to travel by road.

Onward journeys are possible to Tashkurgan, (via Lake Karakul — and the «Father of Ice Flows» — Muztag Ata) and the Karakhorum Highway into Pakistan; around the southern Karakoram Desert through Yengisar, Yarkand and Hotan; even beyond to Tibet.