Kashgar Bound: Thurs., Sept 12

Thurs., Sept. 12:

Kashgar Bound:
After flying to Kashgar and settling into the hotel, we set off to explore in the late afternoon. Like many other western Chinese cities, Kashgar is experiencing rapid growth, and the original Uyghur population is now sharing the city with thousands of newly transplanted Han Chinese, who have moved here for more economic opportunities. Mineral wealth and

Large  ferris wheel

trade with Central Asian countries, that themselves, have seen huge economic growth in the last 20 a 30 years, has made Kashgar a very important city again.Centuries ago, its location, near several mountain passes that led to India and Central Asia, and at the beginning of the Taklamakan Desert, ensured its importance to travelers along the Silk Road. An oasis town, it provided a resting, trading and supply station for the travelers. Now, its natural resources and its location as the gateway to Central Asian countries and Russia make Kashgar strategically important again.

Rebuilding:
As with many of these ancient cities, there are remnants of the old buildings, many about to be torn down. Credit has to go to the local autonomous government that is trying to appease the local people by at least building similar style building resembling the traditional adobe style homes. Unfortunately, these dwellings are usually in the heart of the cities where real

Small roadway

estate is very costly, so many displaced people are unable to afford to move back to the downtown areas. Our guide, Abdul, explained that the local government will give the displaced people a place to stay while the rebuilding occurs for a similar rent fee. A new building is erected with the shell and basic services like plumbing and electricity, then often a real estate company or private individuals will come in and finish off the rooms inside the building piece by piece.

A Glimpse of History:
We were fortunate to walk around some of the older areas of the city, where local people still live along dusty, narrow streets and alleyways in the traditional adobe houses, hundreds of years old. It was very eerie, and a little sad, to walk by homes that were being demolished. sometimes a wall or ceiling would be gone giving us a glimpse of an ornately decorated ceiling or interior wall.

Demolition has begun

We passed women in traditional dress with shopping baskets on their arms coming or going to market, sometimes carrying young children, older men standing on corners chatting, kids playing in the dirt. Everywhere we went we turned heads as few European looking people ever ventured into these neighborhoods. Sometimes a doorway would be open, and we would get a glimpse of the courtyard with children playing, a woman cooking or cleaning, men laying bricks or working - people just going about their daily business. You could imagine few things have changed in their lives (except everyone has a motorcycle, a satellite dish and cell phone!)

Rebuilding requires a lot of manual labor

Street Scenes:
The larger busier streets were lined with small vendors selling fruits and vegetables, spices, clothing and lots of cooked food. Lots of delicious smells and sights. As in most of the cities we visited, these roads had traffic lanes in the center for busies, cars and trucks, while another lane for motor scooters exists on both sides of the road, before the actual sidewalks that are reserved for pedestrians and lined with shops. It's a pretty organized system. As In all the cities we visited, the motorcycles and scooters, as well as the motorcycle - carts all have electric motors, and all the buses are either electric, using overhead trolley lines, or LPG. This is to try to alleviate the amount of pollution caused by the coal power plants, coal heated homes and businesses, and the numerous cars found in most large cities.

Public Places:
Kashgar has a very modern section in its center, full of high rise hotels, banks, big corporations (banks), government buildings and some high rise apartments. However, it has managed to keep quite a bit of green space, with several large parks. One, near our hotel, has one of the largest remaining statues of Chairman Mao, looking stern in his big overcoat, holding out his right arm in a military salute. We, of course, had to take our picture imitating him. The parks are used extensively by many people who can be seen exercising, chatting with friends, flying kites, roller blading and often there are rides and games, too, for children. Kashgar, like most Chinese towns and cities has a people's square, a gathering place in the center of town. Kashgar's and Urumchi's had a significant police presence because there have been demonstrations and unrest by people demonstrating against unfair pay practices and demanding civil rights.

A portable variety store

Weddings, Uyghur Style:
The first time we heard loud drumming coming from the back of a pickup truck where two guys were whacking huge drums, we were startled. But following closely behind was a lavishly decorated luxury car, honking its horn, followed by others with their lights on, and we quickly realized it was a wedding. Apparently, the wedding party drives through the streets “announcing” the big event.

Many large buildings are garishly lit at night

Huge lights in the nearby People's Square