Kashgar
From ChinaTravelGuide
Northwest China (西北) » Xinjiang (新疆) » Kashgar (喀什)
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Overview
Situated to the west of the Taklamakan Desert at the feet of the Tianshan Mountain range, Kashgar, or Kashi, is an oasis city in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is the cultural center of Uyghur people.
Kashgar is China's westmost big town. Legend says that the characters from the Chinese classic "Journey to the West" once passed this place on their way to India.
Kashgar covers a total area of 111,794.03 square km. It has a total population of 3,615,400 (at the end of 2004), among which the urban population is 834,200. The major ethnic groups are Uygur, Han, Tajik, Hui, Kirgiz, Uzbek, Kazakh, Russian, Daur, Mongolian, Xibo, Manchu.
History
Kashgar has a history of more than 2000 years. It was first mentioned when Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty sent an envoy, lead by Zhang Qian, to the Northern Silk Road to explore the Western Region.
Kashgar became one of the four important towns in Anxi (安西四镇) during Tang Dyansty. It became the government seat of the Kashgar Prefecture during the Qing Dyansty.
Weather
Kashgar has a temperate continental arid climate with distinct four seasons. The summer is long but cool while winter is short but not cold. The annual average temperature 11.80 °C. The coldest month in January with an average temperature of -6 °C, and the hottest month is in July with an average temperature of 27 °C. The highest temperature during the year is 34.9 °C. The city enjoys 2652 hours of sunshine every year, 224 days of frost-free period. Kashgar has a very dry weather with annual precipitation only 121 millimeters.
The best time to visit Kashgar is August and September each year.
Current Conditions (2010-09-03 20:00:00, local time)
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Kashgar |
Temp: 85°F (29°C) |
Kashgar Weather Forecast
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| Weather averages for Kashgar | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Avg high °C (°F) | 1 (34) | 6 (43) | 14 (57) | 22 (72) | 26 (79) | 30 (86) | 32 (90) | 30 (86) | 26 (79) | 20 (68) | 11 (52) | 2 (36) | |
| Avg low °C (°F) | -10 (14) | -5 (23) | 2 (36) | 9 (48) | 13 (55) | 16 (61) | 19 (66) | 17 (63) | 12 (54) | 5 (41) | -2 (28) | -7 (19) | |
| Rain cm (inches) | 0.15 (0.1) | 0.25 (0.1) | 0.59 (0.2) | 0.42 (0.2) | 0.84 (0.3) | 0.67 (0.3) | 0.82 (0.3) | 0.59 (0.2) | 0.34 (0.1) | 0.41 (0.2) | 0.08 (0) | 0.17 (0.1) | |
| Source: per MSN 2008 | |||||||||||||
Map
Click here to open Kashgar map.
Getting in & Getting out
Kashgar is the transportation hub in South Xinjiang.
By Air
There are daily flights between Kashgar and Urumqi, which depart at 9:30pm and arrive Urumqi at 11pm. An additional four flights per week is added during the tourist peak season.
In addition, the Kashgar Airport has routine flights connecting Islamabad of Pakistan.
By Train
Kashgar railway station is China's westernmost railway station. There are two daily trains running between Kashgar and Urumqi:
| TrainNo | From | From (in Chinese) | DeptTime | To | To (in Chinese) | ArrTime | Distance (km) | Total Time (hh:mm) |
| N888/N885 | Kashgar | 喀什 | 13:46 | Urumqi | 乌鲁木齐 | 13:02 | 1588 | 23:16 |
| N886/N887 | Urumqi | 乌鲁木齐 | 11:21 | Kashgar | 喀什 | 11:21 | 1588 | 24:00 |
| 7558/7555 | Kashgar | 喀什 | 08:37 | Urumqi | 乌鲁木齐 | 17:08 | 1588 | 56:31 |
| 7556/7557 | Urumqi | 乌鲁木齐 | 10:17 | Kashgar | 喀什 | 19:16 | 1588 | 32:59 |
The up-to-date train schedule can be found at Kashgar Train Schedule.
By Bus
Kashgar has relative convenient highway system. All 12 counties (cities) in Kashgar prefecture can be reached through bus.
- Roads to the north-east lead to the Kezhou, Aksu, Korla, Turpan, and then further north to Urumqi.
- Roads to the southeast lead Sule, Yengisar, Shache, Zepu, Yecheng, Hotan, and then further east to Dunhuang of Gansu province and Golmud of Qinghai Province. And from Yecheng further south lead to Ngari in Tibet.
- The China-Pakistan International Highway runs to the south from Kashgar. Northward and westward are two roads to the former states of the Soviet Unions via border crossing at the Turugart Pass (165km from Kashgar).
There are buses leaving Urumqi at 5pm and reaches Kashgar early evening the next day.
If you go to Taxkorgan and Khunjerab border towns, please make sure you have a letter from your company about yourself (if you don't have one, you can pay the local travel agency 10 RMB for the doc). Then take the letter to the local Public Security Police office on Ceman Road (literally, Full Color Road) in Kashgar for the border-crossing permit. You will need another border pass to get into Khunjerab from Taxkorgan.
Getting Around
By Public Bus
Most of Kashi including the bus station, bazaar, main square, downtown (with the notable exception of the 'animal' market) can be reached on foot within 15-20 minutes of each other if you aren't carrying huge amounts of baggage. The train station is too far to walk but is reachable with public bus 28 which, among other places, stops at 人民广场 (Rénmín Guángchǎng), the main square. The international bus station is near the city and walkable.
--from wikitravel.org
By Tour Bus
By Taxi & Rental Car
The taxi fare starts from 5 RMB. The cost should not be more than that if traveling inside the city.
By Bicycle
Cycling is an option but the traffic is somewhat dangerous, so only do this if you are experienced with this kind of traffic environment. Bicycles can be rented at major hotels such as Qinibagh for typically less than 30 RMB/day.
--from wikitravel.org
Attractions
- Id Kah Mosque
- Apak Hoja Tomb
- Yusuf Has Hajip Tomb
- Mahmud Kashgari Tomb
- Ancient Hanoi City and the Mor Buddhist pagoda
- Sunday Market
- Bashkeram Orchard
- Chini Bagh
- Russion Consulate
- Three Immortal Budda Caves
- Karakul Lake
- Xishan Folk Custom Park of Kashi City (喀什市西山民族风情园)
- Jinhuyang National Forest Park of Zepu County (泽普县金湖杨国家森林公园)
Hotels
Budget
Mid Range
Luxury
- Seman Hotel : (0998) 255 2129
- Chini Bagh Hotel : (0998) 282 5929
Restaurants
John's Café, sited opposite Kashgars only roundabout, is a good place to hang out. It's right on the backpacking trail, so such info as where to go, gear to buy and places to see can all be found here.
During the months of July, August, and September, many orchards also provide some nice food, such as Shish Kebab. Best choices are the ones near People's Hospital.
Other good restaurants include tea houses on Renmin Xilu, Orda Kent in Seman Hotel, One Thousand nights opposite to Seman Hotel, Pamier. These restaurants all serve Uygur dishes.
Shopping
Sunday market - one of the largestest outdoor market in the world. Thousands of people come across the ancient mountain paths and from the surrounding fertile lands to buy and sell a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, and other products such as wheat, maize cotton, barley, sesame, peanuts and flax. Silk and carpets made in Hotan are sold at bazaars, as well as local crafts, such as copper teapots and wooden jewelry boxes.
Kashgar also has a very lively livestock market. Sheeps from Kazak herdsmen, the fancy silver filigree worked daggers from Uzbeks, apricots from Afghanis, Yaks from Tibetans, and the occasional camel trader can all be found here.
Video
| Kashgar |
Get the Flash Player to see this player. |
| Beautiful Kashgar |
Night Life & Entertainment
NB: There are not as many places serving alcohol in Kashgar as in other areas of China.
- John's cafe located in the Qiniwak Hotel (ancient british consulate) can offer backpacker hospitality at 1.7 times the price of other locations, and is very popular among single travellers. Managed by Jack who speak fluently english.
--from wikitravel.org
Sports & Recreation
Nationalities of Kashgar
In Xinjiang Province, there are four main nationalities: Uyghur, Tajik, Uzbeks, and Kirghiz. The Uyghur nationality is mainly distributed in the Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang Province). With a population of more than 7.20 million, Uyghur people speak Uyghur and have their own writing characters. The Uyghur nationality believe in Islam. Their households are characterized by flat roof with trap door on it. Within their house visitors could find parlor, bed room , handiwork and storage rooms. The exquisitely decorated niche ,carved from plaster, has rich flavor of the Uyghur nationality . The Uyghur nationality have "Kaizai" Festival, (vegetarian diet-breaking festival). Uyghur people are known as "the singing and dancing nationality", famous for its "Twelve Muqams" dancing performance, which is a musical epic. The Uyghur nationality attach great importance to clothing, they are always tidily dressed. All the Uyghur people wear small four-corner flower hats. The Uyghur people has the famous bridal-veil raising ceremony. Among the entertaining programs of the Uyghur Nationality Village are " Uyghur Nationality Custom Introduction", "Sing and Dancing"," Instruments Playing", and other conventional performances.
Uyghur language
Uyghur language is a Turkic language spoken in Xinjiang ,China.
The language traditionally used the Arabic script since 10th century. The government introduced a Roman script in 1969, but the Arabic script was reintroduced in 1983.
Excursions & Day Trips
- Karakul Lake - Scenic alpine lake, located on the road to Tashkorgan and Pakistan.
- Kashgar is also near the border with Kyrgyzstan, which can be accessed via the Torugart Pass.
--from wikitravel.org
