Kashgar

We have been good tourists today. First we went to a welcoming ceremony at the gate to the ‘old town’. It was a tacky event put on by the Chinese for Chinese tourists. A big drum, some dancing girls and 2 men in false beards. The town town has been ‘gentrified’.

Then we went in the bus outside the cit6 to what used to be the famous camel market. There were 2 camels and many goats, sheep and cattle. They were brought in on the back of open vans, or carts drawn by motorbikes, or small decrepit lorries. The Uighurs who do the farming and trade at the market, seem much poorer than the Han Chinese, who now make up 45% of the population.

After this we went to the covered market, which is like a market most places - food, materiel, implements, leather work, old bikes, furs, watches, spices etc. It was interesting to watch the people, but before we could get in, we had to queue for security. All the locals get the once over with the electronic detector, and bags go through scanners. Police are in twos or threes at every corner, with guns and riot shields.

Then we went for hot pot, similar to what we have had in Vietnam and Uzbekistan- a bowl of broth which you put on your burner, then you cook mushrooms, green veg etc in it. You gather condiments like sesame seeds, chilli oil and other unknown accompaniments to est with it. After that we walked back by the square with the mosque.

We have found out that the Karakoram Highway as we knew (a rough narrow dirt track from where we had to help remove rockfalls to get our vehicle through) no longer exists. Now it is a new tarred road built by the Chinese from Kashgar to the Pakistan coast, where they have been given land to have a port from where they can export goods.

That’s progress. But it is interesting to witness the fast onward march of China.