kashgar

main cities of xinjiang: hetian(hotan) , kashgar , korla , ili , urumqi , turpan , yining , hami , karamay , aksu , shihezi

kashgarkashgar, or kashi, is situated in the southwest of xinjiang uigur autonomous region, northwest of china. from the west, this is the first point of arrival on land routes from pakistan and kyrgyzstan. long a vital stop on the silk road, this remote city is about 4,000 km from beijing and used to take up to six months to reach from the capital! this all changed in the 1930s when kashgar became a crucial meeting point for three empires-the chinese, the british and the soviet union. once a haven for spies and housing some fabulous consulate buildings, this city was used as a bastion by the brits looking west towards india and the soviets thought to be plotting to absorb xinjiang. in 1935, the city was effectively run by the soviets until world war ii when it came back under chinese sovereignty.

kashgar a history of more than 2000 years; belonged to the zhuangpu prefectural general's office of the hunin in han dynasty; there after, submitted to the authorities of the western han dynasty after the trading links with han formed by zhang qian - the special envoy to the western region sent by emperor wudi; one of the four important towns in anxi during tang dyansty; later becoming the seat of government of the kashgar councillor in qing dynasty.

today, despite modernization and architectural decline, the city manages to meet visitors' expectations. the most striking thing about kashgar is the turkistan influence visible on the streets and in homes here. this place feels, looks and even smells dramatically different from the rest of china, more so than any other city in xinjiang. and this is no great surprise really, considering that 90% of the population is muslims. uigur bazaars, tea houses and faces dominate the streets. what's more, this is the only city in central asia where the women choose to veil their faces. the city is particularly busy between may and october; jam packed with merchants and traders hot-off the karakoram highway from pakistan and kyrgyzstan.

kashgar local farm products: wheat, maize cotton, barley, highland barley, rape, sesame, peanuts and flax. local highlights: kashgar's local songs and dance, crafts, roast lamb, shishi-kebab, and baled fish.

location: located between 7320' - 7057' east longitude and 3520' - 4018' north latitude, bordering the taklamakan desert in the east, the kunlun range and ali prefecture of in the south

neighboring areas: gansu province and qinghai province, tibet autonomous region

physical features: two river systems of the yarkant river and the kashgar river with a total annual runoff of 10.9 to 11.9 billion cubic meters

population: 200,000

area: 162.000 sq km

nationalities: han, hui and uygur

history: a history of more than 2000 years; belonged to the zhuangpu prefectural general's office of the hunin in han dynasty; there after, submitted to the authorities of the western han dynasty after the trading links with han formed by zhang qian - the special envoy to the western region sent by emperor wudi; one of the four important towns in anxi during tang dyansty; later becoming the seat of government of the kashgar councillor in qing dynasty

climatic features: mainly a continental climate; varied greatly with topography as plain climate, desert climate and mountain climate; frost-free period of 215 days

average temperature: 11.7c annually with the lowest of -24.4c and the highest of 40.1c

rainfall: 27 mm annually

mountains: mt. kongur

rivers: yarhant river, kashgar river

products: wheat, maize cotton, barley, highland barley, rape, sesame, peanuts and flax

local highlights: kashgar's local songs and dance ,crafts, roast lamb, shishi-kebab, and baled fish

 

 

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last updated: march 21, 2006

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  • zipcode:844000
  • area code:998

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