A Brief History

Kashgar’s recorded history stretches back to the 2nd century BC, when Zhang Qian, China’s great Silk Road explorer, documented the city then known as “Shule” — the gateway from the Tarim Basin into Central Asia, where caravans converged and camel bells mingled. In the 10th century, the Karakhanid dynasty made it their capital, and Islamic culture took root. By the medieval era, Kashgar was one of Central Asia’s most prosperous trading hubs — silk, tea, jade, and spices changed hands, while Persian merchants, Indian monks, and Turkic nomads brushed shoulders in its bazaars. Under the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong Emperor, Kashgar was formally integrated into China. Today it is both a National Historic and Cultural City and a frontline window of the Belt and Road Initiative — and between its old-city mudbrick walls and the distant Pamir snow peaks, two millennia of stories continue to unfold.

Kashgar Old City

This is the soul of Kashgar — the place you should dive straight into and not hurry to leave.

The entire old city is a labyrinth of ochre-colored rammed-earth architecture, its winding alleys home to generations of Uyghur families. Unlike gated, ticketed “old towns” elsewhere, Kashgar’s is alive — children kick footballs through the lanes, housewives sprinkle water to settle the dust, and the clang of coppersmiths’ hammers rings from dawn to dusk. The most captivating details are the brilliantly painted carved wooden doors and window frames, and grapevines spilling over courtyard walls — every random alley begs for a photograph.

A few stops deserve special mention: the Century-Old Tea House, where a pot of rose tea and a piece of naan on the second-floor balcony will reward you with the sight of local elders gathered in song, time itself seeming to slow by a full century. Zhiren Bazaar (the craftsmen’s market), where you can watch coppersmiths, woodcarvers, and potters at work up close — a handmade Yingjisha knife or a Kashgar clay bowl makes a far better souvenir than anything mass-produced. And if you’re here on a Sunday, do not miss the Livestock Bazaar on the city’s outskirts: thousands of sheep traded on a dusty open plain, deals sealed with handshakes and the ancient sleeve-covering bargaining gesture still in use — this is Kashgar at its rawest and most real.

Confirm opening ceremonies, markets and performances for the day, and connect them with teahouses, craft streets and an Old City walk.

Id Kah Mosque

Confirm Id Kah Mosque visiting or prayer arrangements in advance and follow dress, photography and access rules on site.