Kashgar Bazaar
Bazaar means market or fair in Uyghur language. Many streets in the old districts of Kashgar have bazaars. But the most bustle Kashgar Bazaar is locted at the city east gate and, is known as the largest international trade market & fair in Northwest China, even in ancient central Asia.
In ancient times, Kashgar is a key stop on the Silk Road. Its bazaar was one of Asia's largest distributing center of commodities. The merchants who started out from Xian always met here no matter what route they went through the Tianshan Moutains.
Before 1992, Kashgar grand bazaar was only held on Sunday. So that foreiners called it Sunday Bazaar on travel guidebooks. In fact, the market is open everyday for people, but the highest busy tide still comes on Sunday. Today's Kashgar has preserved the old traditions.
The bazaar has been thriving for over two thousands of years. Now there are more than 5000 stalls, 10000 sorts of goods, 0.1 millon of people everyday flows on the market. On the streets one can find markets selling various commodities, such as vegetables, fruits, food, garments, tools and handicrafts. Kashgar's markets differ from markets in other places in that most of the commodities on sale are made by the vendors themselves. Here tourists can see the handicrafts actually being made in the workshops. At the shoes and caps market, the caps and boots on sale are made on the spot. One can hear the clanging of blacksmiths' hammers. If you hear the sound of an electric saw, then you can go and see carpenters making furniture and kitchen utensils.
Going ahead, If you smell the fragrance of baked cakes, you will soon find an eating place serving Nang, the staple food of the Uygur people. The nang is broken into small pieces and dipped in soup. It is said nang can be kept for weeks without going stale.
According to the Uyghur traditions, the grand bazaar is divided into over 20 special markets for firewoods, carpets and blankets, piece goods of cloth and textile fabrics, live stocks, means of production, knife tools, dry fruits and more. Among them, Mal Bazaar or the livestock market on Sundays, is the most attractive, where locals from all the surrounding villages come to town to buy and sell animals. It is held on an open and fenced ground. It is popular with tourists, but the market is so big it still feels like a working bazaar. At last, the daily Yengi Bazaar must be referred, which has a great variety of handicrafts, cloths, carpets and anything-else-you-can-expect market for tourist selection. Less crowded on weekdays. Bargain hard!
The Bazaar is growingly larger and larger in scale and attracts more merchants from all over Xinjiang and neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Kirghizstan.Wandering around the Kashgar bazaar, the glory of this ancient trading city on the Old Silk Road can be seen in the past and today.
Travel tips:
It usually very crowded on the market, please keep your personal effects well from theft.
Reviews from trip adviosrs:
A massive shopping bazaar - I think that a lot of people did not go there as the description does not correspond. This bazaar is huge and 99.999 of the people there are locals doing their shopping. Did not see a single tourists in the two hours we spent there. This is just across the bridge from the old town.
There is lots to look at and just sight see within the market like instruments, clothing, spices, etc. We bought some saffran from Iran which was 10% of the price that we pay back home. Also bought some chuan'r along the street and watermelon. We also tried their drink which is made of yogurt, ice and honey. Quite tasty. A must do in Kashgar.
Had a great time - The Kashgar Live Stock Market is just a bit outside of town. This is obviously a big thing for the locals farmers. A lot of wheeling and dealing going on there. We took a lot of great photos. It is always a bit uncomfortable to take picture of people on the street but here it is ok. They are focussed on the task at hand. They would even pose for us sometimes.
