The Silk Road
We’ve compiled the best of the best in The Silk Road - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
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1. Karakorum Highway
The Karakorum Highway (KKH), a spectacular road winding across some of the most dramatic and inhospitable terrain on Earth, traces one of the major ancient silk routes, from Kashgar south for 2,100 km (1,300 miles) through three great mountain ranges over the Khunjerab Pass (the highest border crossing in the world) into Pakistan. The journey can be hair-raising in part because of rock- and mudslides and in part because of daredevil driving. Modern highways have taken away most of the risk---and some of the fun---of taking this incredible journey. At an altitude of 3,600 meters (11,800 feet), Karakul Lake is surrounded by mountains covered in beautiful glaciers and dominated by the 7,800-meter (25,600-foot) peak of Muztagata, the "Father of the Ice Mountains." Tourism has ebbed and flowed around the lake but restrictions over the past couple years on overnight visitors has taken its toll on the local tourism economy. It's possible and recommended to eat a meal in one of the lakeside yurts but without an expensive permit from officials in Kashgar, you'll need to continue on to Tashkorgan or return to Kashgar. Toilet facilities in this area are some of the worst in China, but the area's beauty makes it worthwhile. Tour the lake via camel, horse, or motorbike, or just walk around, which will take about three hours. Bring warm clothing even in the summer, as it can be downright chilly: during our visit in July, we were applying sunscreen in the morning and battling sleet in the afternoon. Any travel agent can arrange tours to Karakul Lake, but most people make the breathtaking journey by public bus on their way to Tashkorgan. Along the way you'll be stopped by at least four different police checkpoints, so have your passport handy. Buses headed for Tashkurgan, two hours south of the lake, leave Kashgar's International Bus Station every morning at 9:30 Beijing Time (the bus station operates on Xinjiang time, off by two hours). You'll have to pay the full price of Y51 for your ticket even though you're not traveling the full distance. Buses reach the lake in about four hours. To catch the bus back, wait by the side of the highway and flag it down—the bus returning to Kashgar from Tashkurgan passes the lake between 11 am and 1 pm. A seat should only cost Y40, but enterprising drivers may demand Y50. Either way, the bus is much cheaper than private tours, which will set you back about Y600 per day.
Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu, China -
2. Tomb of Abakh Hoja
About 5 km (3 miles) northeast of the city lies one of the most sacred sites in Xinjiang. The sea-green tiled hall that houses the tomb—actually about two dozen tombs—is part of a massive complex of sacred Islamic structures built around 1640. Uyghurs named the tomb and surrounding complex after Abakh Hoja, an Islamic missionary believed to be a descendant of Mohammed, who ruled Kashgar and outlying regions in the 17th century. Excavations of the glazed-brick tombs indicate that the first occupant was Abakh Hoja's father, who is buried here along with Abakh Hoja and many of their descendants. The Han, who prefer to emphasize the site's historical connection to their dynastic empire, call it the Tomb of the Fragrant Concubine. When the grandniece of Abakh Hoja was chosen as concubine by the Qing ruler Qianlong in Beijing, Uyghur legend holds that she committed suicide rather than submit to the emperor. In the Han story, she dutifully went to Beijing and spent 30 years in the emperor's palace, then asked to be buried in her homeland. Either way, her alleged tomb was excavated in the 1980s and found to be empty. The tomb is a bit difficult to navigate via bus, so take a taxi.
Aizirete Lu, Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu, 844000, ChinaNo phoneSight Details
Rate Includes: Y30, Daily 8–5 -
3. Id Kah Mosque
Start your tour of the city with a visit to the center of Muslim life in Kashgar. One of the largest mosques in China, the ornate structure of yellow bricks is the result of many extensions and renovations to the original mosque, built in 1442 as a prayer hall for the ruler of Kashgar. The main hall has a ceiling with fine wooden carvings and precisely 100 carved wooden columns. When services aren't being held, you are free to wander the quiet shaded grounds and even to enter the prayer hall. Women are permitted to enter but as this is an active site of worship, dress modestly.
Just off Jiefang Bei Lu, Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu, 844000, ChinaNo phoneSight Details
Rate Includes: Y20, Dawn–dusk -
4. Kashgar Old City
Once the heart of Uyghur culture in Kashgar, the well-known "old city" has undergone serious renovation since 2009. What you'll see around the reconstructed portion of the Old City is almost nothing like it was before: wider streets, tourist shops and plenty of police security. Despite these changes, wandering the streets of the Old City offers a picturesque look at Uyghur culture and plenty of good food options.
Spread throughout city center, Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu, China -
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