Kashgar

Kashgar is the market town of Islamic China. The last Chinese stop on the Silk Road is the another high point of the trip. The presence of Han Chinese is drowned amongst the Uyghurs, Tajiks, Kirghiz, Uzbeks and merchants from Pakistan and Kazakhstan. The Id Kah mosque (Aitika) joins thousands of Muslims together on its square at prayer time and the architecture of the mausoleum of the Hoja family evokes the Taj Mahal. However, the real centre of interest in Kashgar, which is constantly being modernised, is in its famous Sunday bazaar, the largest in Asia. There are merchants of cereals, horses, camels, clothes, tea, craftsmen, owners of cheap restaurants, hairdressers and tinsmiths. Some fifty thousand people from all ethnic groups and bordering countries get together on the outskirts of the city to participate in this immense and extremely colourful weekly fair.