Why do you say "you have not been to Xinjiang if you have not been to Kashgar"?

Tajik herders are grazing in the pasture near the town of Taxkorgan County, and Muztag Peak is in the distance. Photography/Master Huang from Zigong

-Speaking of Fengwujun-

If you don’t reach Kashgar, you won’t be counted as Xinjiang

Kashgar is one of the westernmost regions in China.

Kashgar area, the west gate of China. Graphics/Paprika

Snow-capped mountains, plateaus, deserts, and oasis , you can find all the magnificent landscapes you can imagine here; the wild signs of the new city and the colorful doors and windows of the ancient city are cyberpunks that are time-staggered; the colorful and integrated ethnic customs are lively The Grand Bazaar will decorate Kashgar into a carnival party that never ends.

Fancy doors and windows of classic Uygur dwellings in Kashgar Old Street. Photography/He Xiaoqing

Kashgar, the secret realm of the Western Regions , can always make everyone who has been here feel emotional, just like a line in the movie "The Kite Chaser" that was filmed in Kashgar : "For you, thousands of times. "

How extreme is the Secret Realm of the Western Regions?

When Beijing's "community animals" finished their 996 commute and were ready to wash away their fatigue and fall asleep, the Kashgar area of ​​Xinjiang was just covered with the afterglow of the sunset.

There is a time difference of more than 3 hours between Kashgar and Beijing. In Uyghur, the full name of Kashgar is Kashgar, which means the place where jade is concentrated . The creator has a special preference for this land, all the scenery is like jade, clean as a secret world.

The first impression of Xinjiang’s geography is the textbook "three mountains with two basins" . The Kashgar area is located on the west side of the Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang . The Karakoram Mountain , the world’s second highest mountain range , and the Tianshan Mountain , one of the seven major mountain systems in the world , wrap the Kashgar region from north to south. The world mountain knot Pamirs stands at the western end of the Kashgar region, looking at the Taklimakan Desert in the east of Kashgar. .

Populus euphratica in the Taklimakan Desert. Photography/Zhang Yongfeng

Plateaus and snow-capped mountains are the labels of Kashgar. Hundreds of millions of years ago, the collision of the Indian Ocean plate and the Eurasian plate raised the Pamirs in the heart of Europe and Asia. Five world-class mountains- Tianshan Mountains, Kunlun Mountains, Karakoram Mountains, Himalayas and Hindu Kush Mountains are intertwined here and then spread out.

As the main peak of the Karakoram Mountains, it is located on the Qogoli Peak in Yecheng County, Kashgar , with an altitude of 8611 meters, which is the second highest peak on the earth after Mount Everest . Although the reputation is far less than the former, but the ravines of Chogori Peak is a paradise of courage in the hearts of climbers .

The second highest peak in China is also the second highest peak in the world, the Chogori Peak. Photography/Wolf Big Wet, Picture/Picture Worm·Creative

Snow-capped mountains are the normal state of Qogeli Peak. Walking between the mountains, even at night, it is as bright as day. However, under this purity, it is perilous. This mountain is recognized by the International Mountaineering Festival as the most difficult mountain to climb . The ice cliff stands on the wall, and the light and dark ice cracks crisscross. If you are not careful, it will trigger the switch of ice avalanches and avalanches.

Glaciers and snow-capped mountains are not unique scenery of Qiaogeli Peak. In Kashgar, such secret places can be seen everywhere. Therefore, in the Qing palace film and television drama, when the concubine Xiangfei left Kashgar to go to the capital, the complex that her lover died due to an avalanche while following was not an unfounded "dog blood" gimmick.

Snow mountain grassland in Taheman Township, Ta County, Kashgar City. Photography/Zhang Yongfeng

Glaciers and snow-capped mountains are the scenery and the source of life . After the ice and snow covering the mountains melted, the mountains rushed out from the mountains west of Kashgar, cutting the mountains into valleys, forming many rivers such as the Yarkand River and the Kashgar River . Plants such as tamarisk and weeds grow in the place where the river flows. In the desert of Kashgar, oasis is laid out .

It is precisely because of these oasis that Kashgar, the secret realm of the Western Regions, has a connection with the world.

Taklimakan Desert Oasis in the Tarim Basin. Photography/Chai Jianghui

What is the Western Region? Come to Kashgar to find out!

British historian Toynbee said that if life can be repeated again, he hopes to live in the Western Regions of ancient China. The term Western Regions has a unique style and always has a kind of magic that people yearn for. And Kashgar is one of the regions with the most western style .

Swipe left

▲ Kashgar Old Town. Photography/Gu Hongwei

The pre-Qin classic "Mu Tianzi Biography" once described the Kunlun Mountains including Kashgar. However, this jade-like oasis is widely known in the Western Han Dynasty.

When Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Bowang Hou Zhang Qian went to the Western Regions as an envoy, opening up the central government's blank for the Western Regions. At that time , Kashgar, named Shule , began in 60 BC, and this area was under the jurisdiction of the Western Regions established by the Western Han Dynasty.

The stone city in Taxkorgan County, where Xuanzang passed through. Photography/Fang Thomas

According to the records of "Hanshu·Biography of the Western Regions" , there were 36 ancient countries in the Western Regions, including Shule, Qiuci, Yanqi, and Loulan. However, due to natural reasons such as wars, mergers, or the loss of water sources, these small countries of the Western Regions have been declining. Only the ancient Shule country in Kashgar has stretched for thousands of years and became one of the famous "Anxi Four Towns" in the later Datang Empire .

In the inland Western Regions, the source of water is the eternal theme and the secret of Kashgar for thousands of years . In the hearts of people who travel through thousands of miles of yellow sand and come from afar, Kashgar, sitting on an oasis, is heaven. For this reason, Kashgar, located in the heart of Europe and Asia, has naturally become the brightest pearl on the ancient Silk Road .

Kashgar city where tradition and emerging meet. Picture/Visual China

For thousands of years, people of different skin colors have come and gone on the streets of Kashgar; rare goods from the East and the West have been transferred in and out of Kashgar. Merchants, monks, and explorers came from different places, rested in Kashgar, and set off again in vigor. Among these crowds, there was the figure of the great Tang monk Xuanzang .

With people coming and going , China’s Central Plains culture, ancient Persian culture, ancient Indian culture, ancient Roman culture , as well as the Uyghur, Tajik, Hui and other ethnic minority cultures in the Western Regions of China are intertwined and integrated in Kashgar. Thousand years of prosperity. To this day, Kashgar is still one of the important hubs of China's “Belt and Road” and the first special economic zone in inland China .

As for today's ancient city of Kashgar, you can still get a glimpse of the lively scene of the year. The scattered mud walls, colorful doors, and horseshoe-shaped carved windows give people the illusion of time and space folding. Even the movie "The Kite Chaser" , which tells the story of Amir's salvation, the young master of Afghanistan , uses the ancient city of Kashgar as an important location for filming .

Overlooking the old town of Kashgar. Photography/Fang Thomas

In addition, in the streets of the ancient city of Kashgar, the dongbula, matouqin that sounded from time to time , and the front yard of the small house full of fruits and melons are all overflowing with the excitement and prosperity of the Western Region. It is no exaggeration to say that all your imagination of the Western Regions can find satisfactory answers in Kashgar . No wonder some people sigh with emotion: If you do n't reach Kashgar, you don't count as Xinjiang.

What is the taste of Kashgar?

Most of the time, taste is the most direct way for people to know a city. The Kashi taste, to go in search of Bazaar, to enjoy the night market to digest the food .

Bazaar, which is the bazaar, has the true appearance of Kashgar. In Kashgar, bazaars are divided into specialties . Different goods have different bazaars, such as livestock bazaar, cloth bazaar, dried fruit bazaar, etc.

The cattle and sheep bazaar in Kashgar. Photography/Shen Tao

Highly saturated colors, a dazzling array of goods, just like the old local saying: "You can see everything except your parents in Bazari." Especially the Dongmen Grand Bazaar , which has 5,000 stalls and nearly 10,000 kinds of goods. , Is the largest international trade market in Northwest China.

Kashgar in Bazari is rich and colorful, while Kashgar in the night market is boiling and fresh . Mutton is the protagonist of the food in Kashgar and even the entire northwestern region.

Above: Dried fruits in Kashgar Bazari; Below: Yogurt lumps. Photography / Come on Wei Ontheway, Picture / Picture Worm·Creative

"Come on, come on, the mutton is very fragrant, and the unmarried mutton is very tender!" When walking on the street, the enthusiastic boss often greets customers like this.

The lamb skewers on the Kashgar night market drooled when I saw it. Photography/Fang Thomas

On the night market in Kashgar, tumbling sheep offal cauldron everywhere, boiling foam, rotating around chasing the pot along with a surge of heat from the smell of sheep. On the chopping board next to it, there are piles of sheep's heads, hooves , or rolled sheep 's intestines . Lifting them up, there will be trembling waves. Slice the lamb intestines, scoop a spoonful of lamb soup, and sprinkle some pepper at will, enough to attract customers to "smelt the fragrance".

Kashgar gourmet haggis pot. Photography/Liu Yunze

In addition to haggis, spicy goat hooves are also the light of Kashgar's night market. Different from the fatness of pig's trotter, sheep's trotter requires a lot of firewood. The firm sheepskin wraps the sheep's trotter tightly, which is very chewy. The fat under the sheep's skin has a natural sweetness of cream. When mixed with pepper and chili, it has a great effect. Strong fragrance. After a bite, you can't even bite the bones, it is full of soft and waxy collagen.

Kashgar sheep hoof. Picture/Picture Worm·Creative

On the side of the lamb stall, there is often a stove for roasting naan . The naan cakes with various patterns are arranged on the cutting board, releasing bursts of wheat fragrance that people cannot ignore.

Naan making in Kashgar Old Town. Photography/Kang Hui

Naan wrapped with meat is the night market memory of many Xinjiang friends. Cut the boned lamb into small pieces, add potatoes and carrot pieces after stewing, and simmer into a highly layered umami soup. Before serving, the whole naan was cut into small pieces and spread on the bottom of the plate, and topped with stew, radish, and potatoes. The rest of the soup is the essence of the whole dish. After it is poured, it is absorbed by the old naan pieces on the bottom of the plate. Compared with mutton, the taste of naan is better.

In addition, in addition to the strong aroma of protein and carbohydrate , the taste of Kashgar also contains the mellow yogurt and the delicate fragrance of fruits .

The smell of various foods is complex and direct , fusing into the unique taste of Kashgar. And this may be the charm code of the Western Regions .