Kashgar's majestic yellow-tiled Id Kah Mosque (Aitigaer Qingzhensi) has been the heart of the region's traditional Muslim culture since its completion in 1442. Today, it remains one of China's largest mosques, frequently hosting ten to twenty thousand worshippers on holy days. Visitors are tolerated but only to the extent that they show the expected levels of respect for the institution. Women are advised to cover up bare limbs and all visitors should be wary of turning a serious place of daily worship into a touristic spectacle (it's not unheard of for outsiders who disturb the mosque's sanctity to be ushered off the premises). It's best to pick the right time to visit; mid-morning is usually the best bet for admission, while Fridays and major prayer days are no go, though the scene outside the mosque on festival days can provide a real feast for the eyes and ears as traditiona... more >>

A monument to 11th-century Uighur poet and philosopher Yusup Hazi Hajup, the tomb brings something of an Arabian touch to Western China, with its minarets and dome, faced with white and blue tiles. A pleasant place to spend a few minutes, the rose garden and tomb serve to remind of Kashgar's historic connection to the Islamic heartland.    more >>

Also known in English as the Kashgar Regional Museum, this modest collection features Silk Road relics including ancient religious texts, unearthed tools and implements used by traders and nomads and some fascinating prehistoric artifacts going back some 3,000 years, the most impressive of which is an Iron Age mummy who was preserved in the arid Xinjiang air along with his hat, boots and wool pants.    more >>

Kashgar is an ancient city, and in walking the streets of its Old Town, you can still get a sense of what this legendary Central Asian hub was like in the days of the Silk Road. 500-year old remnants of the city wall, narrow lanes and colorful multi-ethnic crowds combine to make Kashgar's historic district a highlight of any visit to the city.  Modernity is, of course, changing the face of the city and much of Old Town has suffered the consequences, whether it be in the form of character-draining makeovers of old adobe houses or the imposition of an RMB 10 entry fee to visit the far eastern section of Old Town, but the wild and ragged spirit of the place persists despite efforts to sanitize and regulate. Give yourself an hour or two to simply wander and explore and you'll be rewarded.   more >>

Though many Han Chinese prefer to think of this as the tomb of Xiangfei, aka "the Fragrant Concubine," a Uighur beauty who was forced into a marriage with the Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong after having participated in resistance to imperial rule, the local Uighur highlight the family tomb's patriarch and namesake, Abakh Hoja, once a popular ruler of Kashgar. Xiangfei, known as ikparhan in Uighur, plays a fascinating cultural and historical double role, representing Uighur resistance to and autonomy from far-away Beijing on one hand, while representing a brave anti-Qing stance familiar to Chinese who have grown up with all of the propagandistic trappings of Chinese Communism. It doesn't hurt that, so the story goes, she died in dramatic fashion, having been driven to suicide by the emperor's hateful mother. The building itself is quite striking, despite a degre... more >>

Kashgar's always been about trade, and there's no place better to witness the essential experience of browsing, haggling, buying and selling than at the city's renowned Sunday Market.  Though it's not as wild as it was before the weekend livestock market was moved to a new space a bit further outside of town, the Sunday Market (Zhongxiya Shichang in Mandarin and Yekshenba Bazaar in Uighur) remains a quintessential Central Asian experience. Xinjiang residents from far and wide converge on Kashgar on market day, as do traders from distant points, all together re-enacting a ritual that hasn't changed much since the first days of the Silk Road. It's a delightful place to take in the region's diversity, as representatives of various ethnic groups and subgroups show up, often in distinctive costume. Everything from fresh melons and cabbages to bolts of local silk and hand-wove... more >>