Kashgar

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Northwest China (西北) » Xinjiang (新疆) » Kashgar (喀什)

Contents

Xinjiang
Xinjiang

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 (2009-01-10 02:00:00, local time)

Kashgar
Clear

Clear

Temp: 23°F (-5°C)
Wind: NW at 2 mph
Humidity: 54%

 Kashgar Weather Forecast

Saturday
Cloudy
Cloudy

33/13°F

Sunday
Mostly Sunny
Mostly Sunny

28/13°F

Monday
Partly Sunny
Partly Sunny

30/13°F

Tuesday
Partly Sunny
Partly Sunny

30/17°F

Weather Forecast

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

[edit] Map

Click here to open Kashgar map.

[edit] Getting in & Getting out

Kashgar is the transportation hub in South Xinjiang.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.
  • 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.

[edit] Getting Around

[edit] By Public Bus

[edit] By Tour Bus

[edit] By Taxi & Rental Car

The taxi fare starts from 5 RMB. The cost should not be more than that if traveling inside the city.

[edit] Attractions

[edit] Hotels

[edit] Budget

[edit] High-end

  • Seman Hotel : (0998) 255 2129
  • Chini Bagh Hotel : (0998) 282 5929

[edit] Restaurants

Johns 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Video

Kashgar

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Beautiful Kashgar

[edit] Night Life & Entertainment

[edit] Sports & Recreation

[edit] Excursions & Day Trips

[edit] Tips & Practical Info

[edit] See also

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