介绍:
The ancient city Kashgar is the Western gateway to China at the crossroad of the Northern and Southern Silk Road. The city, lying near the borders of eight countries, connects Central Asia with Europe. Known as “a pearl on the Silk Road”, it has been the center of trade and cultural exchange for more than 2,000 years.
Zhang Qian, an envoy in the Western Han Dynasty to explore China’s western regions, arrived in the city in about 128 BC and was amazed by its stores and well-maintained roads, as well as the various goods imported from Rome and Central Asia. Kashgar was once a prosperous international center on the Silk Road. Italian merchant, Marco Polo, once called it the Cairo of the East.
Now, Kashgar still displays many traces of its old splendor. About 220,000 people from 13 ethnic groups still live in the old city, which covers about eight square kilometers. The houses in the city are mainly made of earth, wood or bricks, and some are hundreds of years old. Walking in the old town is like traveling through time, which is a real experience of touring the local folk culture. More than 100 lanes of various widths form a life that leads you straight into the local people’s life.
Many stores in the city have been in operation for generations. The Sunday Market, the world’s largest outdoor bazaar, sees the city teeming with vendors selling handmade blankets, headscarves and spices, and customers bargaining for these goods. The city attracts tourists from around the world. Now the “pearl on the Silk Road” includes two styles. One is the old, full of history and traditional style, while the other is the new, thriving and full of vigor. The city is going to play an even more important role — to be a new economic belt along the old silk route.
