Kashgar's Desert Ge, 2008-6-23 11:36:25

Airport - The Kashgar International Airport is 15kin east of the city. It's about 20 minutes from the airport to the city center by taxi and 30 minutes by bus. The airport shuttle bus costs RMB 3.
Taxi - Taxis are readily available. RMB 5 per trip will be enough to get you anywhere within the city.

The Best of Kashagar
Abakh Khoja Tomb
Add: Aizi Laiti Lu
Open Time: 10am to 7pm
Cgarge: RMB 30

Id Kah Mosque
Add: center of Kashgar City
Open Time: 9am to 5pm
Charge: RMB 2O

The Stone City
Add: Tashiku'ergan County
Open Time: 11amto8pm
Charge:30

Hotels

Qinbag Hotel ��
Add: 144 Seman Lu
Charge: 380 - per person, peak-season
Charge: 220 - per person, off-season

Wenzhou Dasha ��
Add: 17 Renmin Xi Lu
Charge: 488 - per person, peak-season
         388 - per person, off-season

Xinlong Da Jiudian ��
Add: Binhe Lu
Charge: 480 - per person, peak-season
         280 - per person, off-season

Kashgar Hotel ��
Add: 57 Tawuguzi Lu
Charge: 200 - per person, peak-season
     100 - per person, off-season

Seman Hotel ��
Add: 337 Seman Lu
Charge: 160 - per person, peak-season
         120 - per person, off-season

Food Restaurants
Tuck into delicious meat pies called daman or gosh girde in Uyghur. It's a Kashgar specialty and is great for breakfast. Pilau, rice with lamb and yellow peppers and shashlik kebabs are perfect for lunch. Hot-from-the-oven Uyghur naan flatbreads, which has over 50 varieties, sprinkled with sesame seed are made for tea. Finish off the day with laghman – wheat noodles in a thick spicy soup of chopped mutton, peppers and tomatoes for dinner.

That's just the menu for the first day. There are endless bagels, baked envelopes of meat called samsas and suoman (square noodles) to sample. The locals rely on mutton for protein and wheat as their staple. Strong Turkish influences are apparent in the ingredients and cooking methods. Check out the food stalls near the Id Kah Mosque just off Jiefang Bei Lu.

Kashgar is also a city of mouthwatering fruits. Countless varieties of nuts are found at the street stalls. Melons, apricots, peaches, figs, cherries, raisins and grapes are sold everywhere.

RESTAURANTS
Baijin Restaurant
Serves up yummy local cuisine.
Add: 50 Jiefang Nan Lu
Open Time: 10am to 10pm

Caravan Cafe
A European cafe managed with sandwiches, cakes and pizza.
Add: 30m from Qinbag Hotel
Open Time: 10am to 10:30pm

Chayuan
One of the best restaurants in Kashgar for local food.
Add: Renmin Xi Lu
Open Time: 8am to midnight

Souvenirs
You can't miss the Yekshenba Bazaar, also known as the Sunday Bazaar, at Aizilaiti Lu. It's the mother of all bazaars. Farmers from out of town will congregate by their donkey carts just to hawk their wares at the famed Sunday bazaar. The visual spectacle of people, animals and items of every imaginable shape, size and function will send your cameras into overdrive.

If you miss the Sunday bazaar, the daily bazaars are still the focus of much activity.
Centuries before, caravans would roll into Kashgar with Chinese silk, exquisite porcelain and exotic spices. Farmers and herdsmen continue this age-old tradition, selling anything from leather ware, Turkish teapots to and beautifully woven carpets.

Some stalls sell a little of everything. Others offer specialty goods. Kashgar is famous for its hats and knives, handmade hats can cost up to RMB 8 to RMB 300.

Located in the eastern suburb of Kashgar, the East Gate Bazaar is another souvenir hunter's paradise. Look for handmade doppa hats and exquisitely made Yengsar knives.

If you have energy left, head for the animal market. Rows and rows of cattle, mules, camels and exotic songbirds are looking for new owners. You might want to try luck at bargaining for a horse, then you could ride back to your hotel in style.

Memorable Experiences
Chilling out with ice-blended doh - a refreshing concoct on of shaved ice, rich
vanilla ice cream and thick syrup served in a big soup bowl.
An impromptu bike tour with youths Mohamed Yassin and Ali John, who enthusiastically translated Kashgar's mysterious charms into English. Email:uyghurguide80@yahoo.com
Learning more about the old town's history from retiree Arenhan, who used to work as a Uyghur-Chinese translator.

Quotes
"1 n Kashgar, I am transported back in time. Goodbye modern world. Hello time warp!"
"It's rugged, heady; sometimes too hot, sometimes too cold. It's breathtaking."
"Bring lots of camera film because you will want to photograph everything."