Kashgar’s old city kashgar
Kashgar came under Genghis Khan’s control in 1219 but the Mongols did not leave a major mark on the city. Khan looked favourably upon its inhabitants and this continued when the city came to be ruled by the heads of the Changatai Khangate. As such, the spirit of those times continues to shine.
Marco Polo was certainly taken by Kashgar, which he called Cascar after visiting in 1273. He said its people followed Islam and he noted “many Nestorian Christians who have churches of their own”. The inhabitants, he said, lived by trade and handicrafts, had “beautiful gardens and vineyards” and grew a lot of cotton.
You can get a good sense of the buzz that the silk road brought by visiting Kashgar’s bustling Sunday livestock market, which still sells Uyghur silks. The friendly streets of the old city district are also filled with Gaotai Ancient Homes built with earthed bricks and tied to the cliff. Times, however, are changing.
A lot of the old ‘Old City’ is being rebuilt to become more ‘tourist friendly’ and the local Uyghur people are being displaced. It is, therefore, best to visit sooner rather than later before the historical nature of the area is completely razed to the ground, ironically doing for the city what the Mongols didn’t do all those years ago (although hopefully the results won’t be as bad!).
Kashgar is a bustling city that comes alive day and night throughout the week. Ideally visit between June and September to sample the fresh fruit and enjoy the warm weather.