Today we will be driving 840km to Kashgar, now better known as Kaxi, an ancient city along the Silk Road.
Kashgar is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of China which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately 3.5 million.
Sunrise in Luntai
Sambal udang anyone? Look carefully and you can see the sambal behind the thermos flask
Kashgar’s strategic position has determined its history. There was already a Chinese military government here when Xuanzang (the Buddhist monk) passed through on his way back from India in 644.
More recently, the late nineteenth century saw Kashgar at the meeting point of the three empires- Chinese, Soviet and British. Both Britain and the Soviet Union maintained consulates in Kashgar unil 1949.
More recently, the late nineteenth century saw Kashgar at the meeting point of the three empires- Chinese, Soviet and British. Both Britain and the Soviet Union maintained consulates in Kashgar unil 1949.
It is almost as far west as we can possibly go in China before we head into Kyrgyzstan.
Rain in the Taklamakan desert
Flooding in Taklamakan desert... something you do not see everyday
Along the way we stopped for diesel and lunch at Aksu, a modern, cookie and cutter city about halfway between Kashgar and Luntai. Turned out to be the last Han dominated city we will come across.
They had everything a globalised city would have from merchants to restaurant.
Arrived in Kashgar in the evening and in time for some BBQ mutton!
Dinner restaurant
BBQ mutton
Kashgar street
Individually cooked mutton soup
Kilims merchant
The largest mosque in China, the Id Kah Mosque
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