Kashgar- Home of the Uighurs

For our final week in China we travelled yet further west and into the Uighur heartland of Kashgar. The Uighurs are a central Asian race of people that in no way resemble the Han Chinese from the east in respect to their appearance, food, language or religion.

Kashgar is a historical silk road town that sits on the edge of the Taklamakan desert, which at this time of year can be transformed into a raging storm of dust and sand. We experienced this first hand when, having flown to within 30 mins of Kashgar, the pilot announced that the plane was turning back because of visibility problems. Our flight, originally due to arrive at 10am, eventually got us there at 11pm after we were sent to a hotel to wait out the weather (admittedly this ended up being out nicest accommodation in China!).

Uighur men chatting on the steps of the Id Kah Mosque

The colours and shapes of buildings in Kashgar's old town

One of the favourite Uighur pastimes- sipping black (rather than 'Chinese' green) tea

One of our favourite aspects of Xinjiang cuisine was the Enani bread- consumed with almost every meal and cooked in an oven like a tandoor

On the outskirts of Kashgar lies the Abakh Hoja Tomb- as well as the burial site for one of Kashgar's rulers, it is also claimed to be the resting place of a concubine of a Chinese Emperor

Trent colour coordinated with the spectacular green glazed tiles of the tomb

A lakeside teahouse was a good way to escape the heat of the day

Some silk from the Silk Road

One of Kashgar's wildest scenes is the livestock market. Held every Sunday it sees tens of thousands of people flock to town to buy and sell all creatures great and small.

A dusty mass of people and animals

Before the deal is done, a test ride is in order!

A young entrepreneur does a stocktake

We couldn't believe the passive obedience of this arrangement...

...but not all participants are as cooperative