Sunday Market Kashgar

Kashgar’s Sunday Market: What Remains, What’s Changed, and What You Need to Know

Kashgar is a Uyghur city in China’s Xinjiang region, at the point where the Silk Road split around the Taklamakan Desert. For centuries it was one of the most significant trading centres in Central Asia, and the Sunday Market (properly the China-Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan Bazaar, or more specifically the livestock market and the central bazaar that together constitute “the Sunday Market”) was its commercial heart. Some of what made Kashgar remarkable is still there. Some of it is not.

The Current Context

It’s important to be honest about this. Since approximately 2017, the Chinese government has implemented an extensive security and surveillance programme in Xinjiang that has fundamentally changed daily life for Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the region. Much of Kashgar’s old city was demolished in the 2000s and replaced with government-managed “reconstruction.” The old bazaar area has been significantly commercialised and managed for tourism. Checkpoints, surveillance cameras, and mandatory identity checks are part of daily life.

Western governments including the UK, US, and EU have issued advisories about Xinjiang; your own government’s current advisory should be checked before visiting. The visit experience is not the same as it was before 2017, and visitors should understand what they’re engaging with.

The Sunday Market

Despite these changes, the market remains substantial and genuinely interesting. The livestock market, which takes place on the eastern edge of the city, involves several thousand animals: horses, donkeys, cattle, sheep, and goats changing hands on Sunday mornings from around 8am. The haggling, the noise, the smell, and the spectacle are all real. This section is the authentic remainder of something that has been happening here for centuries. Arrive early; it winds down by noon.

The central bazaar area sells textiles (including carved jade, silk, and embroidery), food (flatbread from tandoor ovens, dried fruit, nuts, kebabs, pomegranate juice), tools, and general goods. The food section is the most reliable for quality.

The Old Town

The preserved section of Kashgar old town near Id Kah Mosque is a managed heritage district. The architecture is genuine (or genuine-adjacent after restoration) and gives some sense of the labyrinthine alley structure that characterised the pre-demolition city. The Id Kah Mosque, one of the largest in China, has been maintained and is accessible to visitors outside prayer times; dress modestly.

The Abakh Khoja Mausoleum, 5 kilometres east of the centre, is a Sufi saint’s burial complex from the 17th century with coloured glazed tile domes in Central Asian style. It is the most significant Islamic historical site in Xinjiang that remains accessible.

The Karakorum Highway

The most compelling reason to use Kashgar as a base is the Karakorum Highway (KKH) heading south toward Pakistan. The road climbs into the Pamir plateau past Karakul Lake, at 3,600 metres, where the reflections of Mount Muztagata (7,546 metres) in the calm morning lake are among the most visually dramatic images in Central Asia. The lake is about 190 kilometres from Kashgar by road and accessible as a day trip, though an overnight stay in the yurt accommodation allows you to see the light at dawn.

The high section of the KKH between Kashgar and the Pakistan border at Khunjerab Pass is one of the great mountain roads. The Pass itself is at 4,714 metres. Whether the Pakistan side is currently accessible depends on the current status of the border; it opens seasonally and has periodic closures.

Food

Uyghur food is genuinely one of the world’s great undiscovered cuisines. The fundamentals: laghman (hand-pulled noodles in a lamb and vegetable sauce), polo (rice pilaf cooked with carrots, lamb, and onion, similar to Uzbek plov), samsa (baked lamb-filled pastries), and the ubiquitous kebabs cooked over charcoal with cumin. The naan bread from wood-fired tandoors, stamped with a distinctive pattern, is baked fresh throughout the day. The quality at small restaurants and market stalls is generally higher than at tourist-facing establishments.

Getting There

Kashgar has an airport (KHG) with domestic connections from Urumqi (about 2 hours) and Beijing. Urumqi is the main hub for Xinjiang connections. All visitors to Xinjiang pass through police checkpoints and identity verification; have your passport accessible at all times. Foreign nationals report varied experiences at these checkpoints, from routine ID checking to more extensive questioning.