Kashgar

Best time to visit

1. Jan
2. Feb
3. Mar
4. Apr
5. May
6. Jun
7. Jul
8. Aug
9. Sep
10. Oct
11. Nov
12. Dec

From the airport or station to the city

Where you land, the ways into the city centre, how long each takes and what it costs.

Getting around

Kashgar city is open to foreign visitors without a special permit. Carry your passport at all times: there are ID and bag checks at the train station, the airport, the Old City entrances, some hotels and on roads out of town. The Old City, Id Kah Mosque and the Grand Bazaar are walkable; use taxis or DiDi for the livestock market and Apak Khoja Tomb. Karakul Lake and Tashkurgan on the Karakoram Highway are in a border area: foreigners need a Border Area Permit (边境管理区通行证), applied for in person at an exit-entry office or through a local travel agency, usually 1–3 days ahead, and there are several checkpoints on the road. Official times are Beijing time, but many locals use Xinjiang time (2 hours behind); check which one a time refers to.

Book these before you fly

These sights need a reservation with your passport. Walk-ups are usually turned away.

• Karakul Lake (Karakoram Highway)You need a Border Area Permit for the Karakoram Highway area. Foreigners apply in person with their passport at an exit-entry office in Kashgar, or a local travel agency arranges it with the car and driver; allow 1–3 days. Have your passport and permit ready at every checkpoint.

Top sights

喀什古城Kashgar Old CityA maze of restored mud-brick lanes with workshops, tea houses, bakeries and carved wooden balconies.Half a day or more艾提尕尔清真寺Id Kah MosqueChina’s largest mosque, founded in 1442, with a yellow-tiled gate facing a big square and a courtyard of poplars.30–45 minutes喀什牛羊大巴扎Sunday Livestock MarketFarmers from the whole region trade sheep, cattle, donkeys and horses every Sunday, with test rides and bargaining in the dust.1.5–2 hours香妃园Apak Khoja Tomb (Xiangfei Garden)A 17th-century family mausoleum with a green-tiled dome, set in gardens with a small mosque and cemetery.1–1.5 hours喀什国际大巴扎Kashgar Grand BazaarA huge covered market for dried fruit, nuts, spices, carpets, knives, hats and fabrics; busiest on Sundays.1–2 hours喀拉库勒湖Karakul Lake (Karakoram Highway)A high mountain lake at about 3,600 m under the snow peak of Muztagh Ata, reached on a spectacular drive along the Karakoram Highway.Booking requiredFull day (about 3.5–4 hours’ drive each way), or overnight in Tashkurgan高台民居Gaotai Old ResidencesAn old mud-brick quarter on a loess cliff about 40 m above the Tuman River, at the northeast edge of the Old City, with lanes, overhead passages and craft workshops.1–2 hours喀什地区博物馆Kashgar MuseumThe regional history museum, from Stone Age tools found near Upal to Tang-dynasty Buddhist sculpture from Bachu and old manuscripts.Booking recommended1.5–2 hours玉素甫·哈斯·哈吉甫墓Tomb of Yusuf Khass HajibA tiled mausoleum and garden honouring the 11th-century poet who wrote the long didactic poem Kutadgu Bilig (“Wisdom of Royal Glory”).About 1 hour盘橐城遗址公园Pantuo City Site Park (Ban Chao Memorial)The oldest known city site in Kashgar, where the Han-dynasty general Ban Chao was based in the 1st century AD; a park with statues, a rebuilt wall and a memorial hall.About 1 hour麻赫穆德·喀什噶里墓Tomb of Mahmud Kashgari (Upal)Hilltop mausoleum of the 11th-century scholar who compiled the first Turkic–Arabic dictionary, with a small exhibition room and views over the Upal oasis.Half a day including the drive莎车古城Yarkand (Shache) Old CityThe old centre of Yarkand, once capital of the Yarkand Khanate and known as the home of the Twelve Muqam music, with the khanate’s royal tombs, old lanes and teahouses.Full day from Kashgar百年老茶馆Old Teahouse (Century-old Teahouse)A two-storey teahouse in the Old City, open for about a century, where locals sit over pots of tea and flatbread and musicians often play in the afternoon.1 hour喀什古玩街Kashgar Antique StreetA pedestrian shopping street west of the centre with about 300 shops selling Hotan jade, ceramics, bronzes and paintings, plus a jade culture museum.1 hour喀什市民间玉石展览馆Kashgar Folk Jade and Carpet HallA private exhibition hall on Hotan jade and hand-knotted carpets, with a jade-carving workshop and a carpet-weaving room where you can watch the work.45 minutes–1 hour稻乡泉村Daoxiangquan VillageA village in the green oasis just south-west of Kashgar, with canals, small bridges, rice and vegetable fields and traditional houses, a calm change from the city.1.5–2 hours伯什克然木乡佰果万亩石榴园Beshkeram Pomegranate OrchardsLarge pomegranate orchards in a farming township north of Kashgar with more than 20 years of growing history; best at harvest time in autumn.1–2 hours

Map

Further out, not on this map: Karakul Lake (Karakoram Highway), Yarkand (Shache) Old City

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