Kashgar (喀什)
31 May 2019.
Arriving at Kashgar at 0735 on 31 May 2019, after a night on the train from Kucha. Everyone seemed to alight at this station, walking along the vast platform with their baggages until we came to a closed gate. A stationary train was going to pass through the tracks, the conductor blasted the train horn as a signal before the train started rolling. I was so startled my immediate response was to stop recording!
Cab rides in Kashgar start from 8 yuan. Similar to Kucha, the drivers had their license detailing their Mandarin Chinese names and birthdates right in front of the front passenger seat. Locals take pride in the safety of their neighbourhood, informing me that if I was in any trouble, the number for the police was 110 and all I had to do was to simply tell them the street number I was at as every street in Kashgar has a street number by the lamp post.
Arriving at Qinibagh Royal Hotel where we had prebooked our twin room, we paid our cab fare of 14 yuan and entered the nearest building to do our check in. The walk in rates for the cheapest room (Deluxe Single) at 488 yuan per night was more costly than the twin room I had booked on CTrip back in Singapore. We had gotten our room at a discounted 92 yuan per person and was directed to another tower for check in.
QiniBagh Royal Hotel. 0834hr.
We have found comfort for the night! It felt safe and cozy enough, more than I could ask for especially after our ordeal in Kucha. Here whilst we got ready to head out, we booked ourselves a day trip to Karakul Lake for the next day on CTrip for about 150-200 yuan per person.
Street near Qinibagh Hotel. Pedestrains and motorists share the pavement, with a small fencing in between both lanes. At the crossroads in the image on the right, motorists have a tent to shade them from the sun as they wait for the lights to turn green. 1123hr.
Kashgar seemed a mix between Kucha and Urumqi. Like in Kucha, the Uighurs outnumbered the Chinese but it was certainly more commercialized than Kucha with narrower streets, English songs blasting in shops, plenty of malls and scooters cutting through the lanes. Most travel to Central Asia or the famed Karakoram Highway linking China to Pakistan via Kashgar but for us, Kashgar was the furthest West we could go for now. As usual, we booked online one day tours on C-Trip and were eyeing the Karakul Lake for the next day.
Out on the streets, pedestrians and scooters share the same walkway, divided by a small fence. At road crossings, the demarcation isn’t so clear and we gradually got used to the scooters cutting and scooting past from everywhere at once. Later, we realized that pedestrians should make crossings with the underpass as the roads are for crossing scooters and vehicles. These underpasses aren’t the typ
We patronized a local Shopping Centre (环疆购物中心) for lunch which had surprisingly modern interiors, there is the Kopitiam (Food Court) Concept at the top floor where one can purchase a variety of cuisines from any of the stores in the area. Food variety wasn’t an issue, there was claypot, barbeque, soups, I had difficulty deciding what to get It almost felt like Singapore, except that that the food were almost all Chinese Cuisine served without pork.
16 yuan Porridge. 香菇肌肉粥 @ 环疆购物中心
View from the Food Court area. The dried mud colour of the buildings blends harmoniously into the landscape.
Strolling around the tour agencies after lunch for possible tour packages. We already had Karakul Lake on our itinerary for the next day and was looking to see if we could squeeze another attraction in for our last day in Kashgar where we had nothing yet planned.
The Karakul Lake Trip at these agencies were more expensive than the one we booked earlier on CTrip. Satisfied that we managed to snag a days trip at a decent price, we set off for some sightseeing. This was our first day in Kashgar and we had decided that it would be free and easy.
At around mid-afternoon, we received a message stating that we would not be able to join the next day’s tour as it was too late for the agents to apply for our permits (边境通行证). PERMITS? I spent a good hour asking for alternatives, we’d even made a dash to the local office via cab (18 yuan) for these travel permits which was a little out of town. We managed to get to the local office which issued permits before they closed at 1700, since the agents were not able to help us, we thought to apply for them ourselves so that we could be in time to join the tour the next day. Alas, the permits could only be applied by the tour agencies. Our backup plan was to visit Tashkorgan (塔县) where we were told 冰山的来客 was filmed (I have not yet watched it but will do soon) but Tashkorgan was a border town 70KM away which was honestly too far off to make it back within our 2 days for our flight back to Urumqi.
No was the answer. It wasn’t as easy as filling in forms to apply for the permits ourselves, it was about processing the permits which would not be in time for our trip the next day. We should have prebooked our Karakul Lake trip before coming to Kashgar so that the agents would have enough time to apply them for us. Without Karakul Lake in sight, we had one unplanned day in Kashgar the next day and wondered what we could do. We could just explore the city, it was interesting in itself. For the rest of that night, we took a cab back from the local permit office back to the City, specifically stopping at Huan Jiang Shopping Mall ( 环疆购物中心 ) and wandered around nearby streets for food and anything that caught our eye (:
Looking around the local market at 2051, the day pushes on and so do our energy levels!
Dinner at 2227. The sun has just started to set.
Albaik, Xinjiang’s famed Uighur fastfood restaurant. Our dinner that day as Zheng Xin Fried Chicken Cutlet. The entire piece of cutlet which was bigger than my hand itself cut into pieces by the vendor comes with free tea/ orange juice at 23 yuan.
1 June 2019.
Breakfast at QiniBagh Royal the next day, we simply reported our room number to the service staff. The dining room was reminiscent of a wedding banquet with round tables chairs covered lavishly with cloth.
Requesting for access to complimentary Hotel Breakfast. 0850hr.
One food item that has been consistently in my sight these few days in Xinjiang, there’s always a bowl of yoghurt lying around.
In the process of trying a little of everything. 0904hr.
Hotel Grounds. I like that the entrance of their soon to be completed underground carpark is an arched tunnel, something that’s not commonly seen back home. 1003hr.
Outside, everyone seemed to have risen earlier than us and were out in the streets doing their own activities. We changed upon a travel agency and made one last attempt to sign up for a tour to Karakul Lake, we still needed a permit as non-Chinese passport holders which cannot be applied in time. For Mainland Chinese tourists they would be able to enjoy the hassle free convenience of signing up and setting off at the earliest available time without the need to apply for the permit.
Out in the Streets. The International travel agency we found. 1048hr.
Planning to spend the rest of our day at the Kashgar Old City, there are public buses which serve the Old City area. Bus 7, 20 and 21 will drop passengers off at the East Gate of the Old City at a fare of 1 yuan, information of local buses and street names can be found on Amaps. I used it a lot for navigation and finding available transport to get from one place to another. The only downside is that the app is worded in Chinese.
Mainland Chinese tourists make up the majority, if not all of the crowds in the Old City. The Old City used to span a much larger area however, parts of them have been demolished and were undergoing renovation to make them more tourist friendly. The residents are Uighyur and main activities within the Old City for example, the selling of Naan bread and traditional instruments are still very much prevalent. The children of Kashgar Old City see tourists all day. Armed with the ability to peak both Uighur and Chinese, they were far from shy. One little boy did not hesitate in breaking the ice first with his younger sister. We spent most of our time at the Old City walking around with the boy and his sister who ran, disappeared into the alleyways and unknowingly appeared from elsewhere again and again. It’s especially heartwarming when you realize they are genuinely friendly without any tricks or scams. They did not hesitate to climb a tree when they spotted mulberries on it. Eating them on the spot, they offered those mulberries picked from the tree to us who could looked in awe from the ground.
A hospital, school, police station, bazaar and shops within the parameters of the Old City.
Nearer to the exit of the Old City, one can find food brands typically found in Chinese cities. 1628hr.
It was about 1700 when we left the Old City, we still had about 5 hours of daylight and decided to head towards the Cantral Asia Baazar for International Trade.
Milk flavoured tablets! Sold at a range of prices according to their quality, the lower grade tablets tasted similar to solidified milk powder whilst the better quality tablets were more chewy. Here, one can get 500g of milk tablets for 20 yuan.
One of the security entrances into a local market.
Saw some locals downing yoghurt drinks and decided to try it at 2 yuan per cup. It was sour and diluted, might be able to appreciate it better if this was my daily staple since young.
喀伸商业步行街. 1931hr.
Our 2230hr dinner at the locak Albaik. Pronounced as Ah-luh-beak. Apart from fast food, they also serve cakes, pizza, mala, pots of tea, fruits and sundae amongst lavish fittings with many Uighyur families celebrating birthdays. I had a chicken wrap and a cup of coke for 20 yuan in total which I apologetically spilled by accident whilst going up the stairs to the seating area on the second floor. I realised that we were the few if not the only Chinese looking individuals around in the restaurant. After that, we shopped around for a bit and got back to the Qinibagh Royal at neatly midnight, when the skies have already darkened.
2 June 2019.
The next day, we planned to visit the Kashgar Sunday Livestock market in the late morning. Before that, we had some time and decided to return to the old city to an area where we had seen excavators and bulldozers looming in the distance. That area was marked as Gao(1) Tai(2) Ming(3) Ju(1) （高台民居）on the map, which seemed to be an extension of the Kashgar Old City.
Simple morning breakfast at Qinibagh Royal. 0858hr.
Gao (1) Tai(2) Ming(3) Ju (1)（高台民居) was just across the road from the Old City we had visited yesterday thus we took a cab for 8 yuan to the Eastern Gate of the Old City. 0936hr.
Upon arriving at Gao(1) Tai(2) Ming(3) Ju(1)（高台民居）, it was clear that it was slated to be an upcoming attraction just like the Kashgar Old City. The Chinese Government was in the midst of “clearing up” the area for remodelling. Work had not started yet as we were there early in the morning and this part of the city seemed to be in partial ruin, with metal shafts as barricades and a sign that read “No Tresspassing.” The shafts were held together by a lock but it was unlocked. We lingered for a while and a lady emerged from the workers’ dormitories were just next to the metal barricades with her bicycle, presumably heading off somewhere. “You can go in.” she said. “We can?” I didn’t want to miss the chance especially if everything was going to be pulled apart into ruins. “Yes, take a quick look and come out, no one will know.” she waved goodbye.
Original Mud and Brick dwellings of the Uighurs. 0951hr.
Pushing open the makeshift metal door, I didn’t know how to describe what we saw other than the residential area looked like it had been shelled. I wanted to close the makeshift door, my travel buddy suggested against it, reasoning that someone might accidentally lock us from the outside. We left the door hanging open in the end. We took ten minutes to walk down the narrow street in the silence, some walls of surrounding buildings lay in ruins but with intact interior spaces. Wires were everywhere, construction tools, wooden doors – it was a charming area by itself. The street curved past a small mosque and suddenly there seemed to be a lot of alleyways. It was very possible to get lost. We were deciding which route to take when a bespectacled man wheeling a bicycle approached from behind. He looked with interest at the ruins, stopping to observe his surroundings with every step. Not long later, a group of five men wearing yellow plastic helmets and safety jackets came.
“Please evacuate this area, it is not safe.” They seemed like contractors/ surveyors and were going to chase us out.
“We will go in a moment” the bespectacled man replied, hurriedly taking pictures of what he could. He had the same motives as we did and had subconsciously became our spokesperson. Of course we weren’t in a hurry to leave.
“Please go. It’s for your safety.” the contractor was simply trying to do his job.
“A moment, this is very interesting.” We hung around for two more minutes.
“Sir, could we go a little further? We hardly see something so unique as this.” I pleaded.
“Unique? I see this all the time. They are all over my hometown in Gansu.” he was a liittle taken aback.
“Oh, I’m heading there in a few days! But can we just stay around we won’t disturb your work.”
“No, this is a restricted area. It’s dangerous here.”
“We will take responsibility for ourselves.”
“No no, you should go, it’s really not safe here.”
“Ok.” Our presence was more unsafe for them than ourselves. Yet they were just doing their job so we slowly retreated, followed by the bespectacled man. He was an honest enthusiast, trying to make the best of the opportunity by walking with his back towards the makeshift gate so he could take more photos of the surroundings. The contractors didn’t stop us, they were simply glad to see us walking to the gate.
“Go and lock the door. I wonder who left it unlocked last night.” one of the contractors instructed another.
The fact that this old town is being taken down really is a pity. Re-looking at the Kashgar Old City in the distance, it seemed nothing like the ruins we were chased out of. Not all buildings within the old city were made of mud and hay like we had seen in the ruins. Pavements in the Old City were smoothly paved out unlike the bumpy dirt paths in the alleyways of the ruins that gave it character. The Kashgar Old City was also filled with traditional motifs which now seemed a little too colourful and deliberate. Probably what we see in Kashgar in a few years would be the Chinese interpretation of the past. Which isn’t anything anything negative..but to the untrained tourist eye like mine, the ruins were part of a more distinctive neighbourhood that would have flourished if it wasn’t scheduled for demolition and rebuilding.
After being chased out from the restricted area by the Chinese contractors and surveyors, we flagged down a cab to bring us to the famed Kashgar Livestock Animal Market. It costs 30 yuan to get to the Livestock Animal Market from Kashgar City and locals recommend to arrive at the market in the late morning and leave in the early afternoon. If you are arranging your own transportation there, it is easier to get there then returning back as the market is rather isolated along a main road for heavy trucks and high speed vehicles where there are no cabs you can easily flag down to return to the city. Most drive to the market in their own vehicles or have tour arrangements. Instead, arrive early to witness vendors setting up their spaces at around 1000 and leave by early afternoon when the market is the most lively for more luck in flagging down a cab that has just dropped tourists by the roadside.
Interestingly, there is no fixed name for the Animal Market. Most websites name it along the lines of Kashgar Sunday Livestock Market but that name is not known to the locals. Not at least when we asked around. They instantly recognise the place and drive you there, just like our cab driver did but there is no name for the place. Our cab driver insisted that we should have asked the Uighur men instead of the ladies where the Animal Market was, the men have visited the market since they were children whilst the ladies won’t know anything about the whereabouts or even the existence of the market. It’s best to have a few pictures of the market on your phone for convenience.
The journey there via cab took about half an hour. 1029hr.
Address of the Sunday Livestock Market. Show these to the local cab drivers for easier communication.
This was an attractive place for tourists indeed, we chanced upon small numbers of international tourists in groups of twos and fives upon reaching the gates of the Livestock Market. Mainland Chinese tourists were also there too, everyone seemed to have chartered a van or car as part of a tour package.
The live market was really a scene to be behold for city dwellers like myself. Cows swinging towards you, sellers tugging groups of bleating goats that did not want to move with ropes, people making transactions with large wads of cash – a live goat fetches approximately 1,800 yuan and a cow 4000-6000 yuan. The Uighurs were friendly and welcoming when we took photos of their livestock as long as we did not get in their way. Just as we were curious about their sales, they were curious about our cameras and would occasionally peer over at the LCD screen.
The Kashgar Sunday Livestock Market is opened earlier in the morning however, most of the locals only started streaming in with their animals at 1100hr. During the peak period, there were cows, goats and horses everywhere, each area manned by an owner. With transactions were ongoing amid the loud public announcements made in Uighur over the horn speakers, we stayed to watch the hustle and bustle till early afternoon, witnessing truckloads of cattle arrive to join in the crowd.
By around 1300hr, some of the sellers have started driving their herd of cattle back. The peak period was over. We had to hail another cab back to the city and were wondering if we should book a Didi car (Grab in China) as there were no cabs in sight. However, I had never used Didi in Xinjiang before. Just as we were wondering, a cab pulled up, a tourist had arrived to see the Livestock Market. We gladly took his cab back at a quoted 22 yuan, the driver was also happy to have picked us up as cabs usually come back empty to the city due to the location of the Livestock Market due to the far out location of the Livestock Market. I hope the tourist would be able to get a cab back to the city later that day though.
Next up, we were to travel back to Urumqi by plane and then take a train to Turpan, another city North of Urumqi on the same night. Reaching Qinibagh Royal at about 1400 after the trip to the Sunday Livestock Market, we got ready for checking out at 1500 and headed to the airport via cab for 33 yuan.
Till then Qinibagh Royal, I had a comfortable stay! Also found it interesting that they had a China-Pakistan International Friendship Building, bearing in mind that we were close to the borders of Pakistan. Arrived at the local Airport at 1534hr, ahead of our scheduled 1740 departure.
Bun, Yoghurt and a bottle of water as snacks abroad China Southern Airlines.
Upon touch down at Urumqi Diwopu International Airport at about 2010 hr, we bought a 10 yuan shuttle bus ticket to take us straight to the Urumqi Railway Station （乌鲁木齐站) Note that there is also the Urumqi South Railway Station (乌鲁木齐南站 which is another railway station altogether thus it is advisable to always double check the departure venue listed on your e-ticket purchase on CTrip so that you do not end up at the wrong station.
Shuttle Bus from Urumqi Diwopu Airport to Urumqi Railway Station. 2034 hr.
Collecting our hardcopy train ticket over the counter. 2103hr. On the right, I had also chosen to retrieve my hardcopy ticket to Xining in a few days time. I would be departing from Urumqi Railway Station again and did not want to queue again to retrieve on that day itself.
Passengers were allowed to access the train platform to board the train about 20 minutes earlier. The sun has yet to set as of 2130hr that day.