Since I last posted, we've journeyed to the west - and by west, I mean the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China's western most province. From where I'm writing right now in the city of Kashgar, we are actually closer to Iran than Beijing! Bordering Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, the region is home to most of China's Uyghur ethnic minority population. Although we traveled to Xinjiang in 2010 to attend a wedding in Urumqi (the provincial capital) and visit Turpan, a grape producing oasis, this time, we're hitting up some of the major stops along the Silk Road, including Kashgar and Hotan.
While access to internet is limited, hotels are, well, what you'd expect from western China, and the weather is hot and hotter, it's been absolutely amazing. Not only is the physical landscape vastly different from China's eastern coast, but the local Uyghur culture, strongly rooted in Islam, is quite a change from the packed subways of Beijing. As major stops along the Silk Road, to say the cities we're visiting are rich in history is quite an understatement.
Today we spent some time walking around Kashgar's Old Town, a maze of alleyways and mud buildings, some of which are hundreds of years old. At present Old Town is being bulldozed and new housing is being built to replace the ancient buildings, The reconstruction of Old Town is, for some, a contraversial issue, but luckily for all of you, I don't have time to examine all sides of the complex argument right now (remember, limited internet!). For today I'll just say I'm glad we had the opportunity to visit such a historical place, and I'll leave you with a few pictures.
Stay cool and hug your ac.
Id Kah Mosque, Kashgar (the largest mosque in China)
Fabric at the Sunday market in Kashgar (guess who bought some fabric?)
Wall in Old Town, Kashgar
No comments:
Post a Comment