Kashgar - Saving the Best Til Last!

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When I arrived in Kashgar first, before I went up the Old Silk Road, I had a good look aorund the fabulous Youth Hostel. I saw on the notice board a request from a Uyghur young woman saying something like, “I would like to take you on a free tour of my home town of Kashgar. I will improve my English while I tell you about Uyghur culture and customs.” I had noted her number and called her that evening. When there was no answer I sent her a text message. As luck would have it, when I had 2 ½ more days in Kashgar Sofia rang and arranged to meet me!

Sofia is Uyghur, 30 years of age and does not look Chinese. Her features reflect the deep central Asian roots of the Uyghur people. She is a university-educated pharmacist in Uyghur medicine and with my para-medical background and interest in alternative medicine this was fascinating to me. She had attended the Uyghur university in Hotan a large oasis town on the southern Silk Road route, on the rim of the Taklamakan Desert before the ascent into the mountains. She had been working in the large Uyghur Hospital in Kashgar for a few years, but she was now working in centre for producing traditional herbal medicines, whatever you call it.

We went walking and talking and it was a wonderful experience. First she brought me across the Tuman River to the old city and the famous Sunday Market. It is a bazaar that has expanded such that it is open every day now and sells everything from teas and herbs to carpets and clothing. I wore out a few camera batteries trying to capture the wonder of all the goods for sale. We strolled through the old town and watched a very old house being demolished. It is a bit complicated but she said that the Chinese government wants to preserve the old town and make it a tourist attraction. .

Ahmed had said that the traditional Uyghur homes were made of mud and hay and were warm in winter but cool in summer. He said that the Chinese government are eagerly building new homes and apartment blocks of brick construction that are boiling hot in summer and very cold in winter. I couldn't understand that.

I had noticed that some women wore brown blankets over their heads. I know it sounds odd but they are not brown scarves or veils, they are large, warm-looking, knitted shawls that they wear over their heads. I did see some older women who had pushed it up to reveal their faces while chatting to friends but many groups of women chatted away, oblivious of what seemed to me to be a significant barrier. It seemed to me to be even worse than a burka because at least there the woman has a mesh fabric window. Sofia stopped some women and asked if I could have a look through a scarf. Yes, it was loosely enough woven that you could see through it somewhat, but it felt soft like wool and I could only imagine the heat under there! The women were amused at my surprise. Sofia said that this head covering is unique to Uyghur women and I certainly haven’t seen anything like it anywhere. You can see in the pictures.

The men and boys often wore the Muslim skull cap or a unique Uyghur design and it is Uyghur tradition that young girls wear them too. One thing that struck me was that most of the young girls had short hair. Sofia said that adult Uyghur women have to wear long hair, but she couldn’t explain why small girls had cropped hair. We passed by the Id Kah Mosque, originally founded in 1442 and among the largest in China. This mosque dates from the 18th century and I wanted to go in and see the vast prayer hall supported by over 100 pillars. Sofia said that because she chooses not to wear a hijab or scarf she wouldn’t be permitted to go in, and she wasn’t sure if Westerners would be allowed in either.


The afternoon sun was intense so we retired to a Uyghur restaurant which was very cool and the food was amazing. After lunch we went our separate ways, with an arrangement to meet the next morning. That evening I took the local buses to the Abakh Khoja Tomb, which could be described as a “potential” tourist site. I didn’t mind that there wasn’t much to actually see at the Tomb because I enjoyed the journey there and the walk through the village, then the multi-bus adventure of finding my way back to my hotel.

Sofia and I had talked about Chinese traditional medicine and I told her about my experience of “cupping” by the Tibetan woman doctor in Katmandu, Nepal. Bless her heart, Sofia arranged for me to be seen the next morning by the top Uyghur doctor at the hospital. I wasn’t sick or anything, but I believe in preventive medicine.

In the early evening I went for a walk to find the famous “John’s Café” where “everybody” (from the West, that is, backpackers) gathers to talk about their travels and plans. It is mentioned on every Internet site about Xinjiang Province and John has even opened other centres in Urumqi and Turpan. The group at the Youth Hostel had said that they had been there and it was, like, nothing. It was a victim of its own success and so well-known that real travellers avoided it. Hmmm. Well, when I finally found the courtyard of the Seamen Hotel there was John’s Café and a travel agency – and no customers except three or four middle-aged local men having coffee. Sigh, another travel myth dies.

The next morning I was surprised at how big the Uyghur Hospital is in Kashgar. Sofia explained that the seriously ill go to Chinese hospitals for operations or to the big Uyghur Hospital in the capital city, Urumqi. She said Uyghur traditional medicines are in big demand and readily available in a number of pharmacies throughout the town and at the hospital. The hospital seemed to me to be like any small town facility – clean and friendly. There weren’t a lot of people sitting around, waiting, like in Irish hospitals.
I was brought in to see the doctor very promptly. He had no English but Sofia interpreted for us. He took my right wrist and held it for about a minute, feeling my pulse. He then took my left wrist and did the same. He then pronounced his diagnosis.
Apparently this is the routine diagnostic method. The doctors are trying to detect any irregularities in the pulse or blood flow at the wrist. He told me that I had been travelling for a long time so I was very tired. (OK, that didn’t take a genius.) Traditional medicine in China emphasises “hot” and “cold” like yin and yang. He told me that I had cold inside and that I shouldn’t drink cold drinks or eat foods like watermelon and chicken. Chinese people can cite a long list of these “hot” and “cold” foods. He also recommended that I don’t drink coffee, which is good because I don’t anyway. The doctor said if I had problems they would be in my stomach. I thought that was very astute of him, considering he didn’t know about me being a coeliac. Overall he said I was very healthy and prescribed a herbal tea blend. That was it, the end of the consultation after 10 minutes maximum, including translation time. No wonder there is no queue of patients!
Sofia brought me to the pharmacy window and in a couple of minutes my powdered medicinal concoction was prepared. It was about a cupful. Sofia advised me to put a pinch of the medicine in hot water and drink the tea once or twice a day. At that rate I’ll never live long enough to use all this up! It isn’t really all tea leaves because there are ground spices like ginger in it too and some kinds of seeds.
Then we had to go to the main window to pay the bill. I was getting a little nervous at this point because I hadn’t asked Sofia at the outset how much it was going to cost to be seen by the Top Doc. The final bill for the consultation and medicines was…wait for it….15RMB, that is, €1.50! I could hardly believe it.
I’ll tell you one thing, though. That doctor told me that I was very healthy, right? Well, if I get sick in the next year I’m going back for a refund!!

After that fantastic experience, and feeling a lot healthier, I went with Sofia back to the bazaar to find some small gifts for my kids and grandkids. I was at the end of my month-long trip so I no longer needed to be concerned about having to carry excess baggage from place to place. Sofia was great at helping me to be sure I was getting the genuine article at a reasonable price. The little Mandarin I had learned in Beijing was no use to me in Xinjiang where they converse in Uyghur. When we’d done the shopping we went to a different Uyghur restaurant for lunch, then I went back to the hotel to get organised for my return to Beijing the next morning.

Just a word of advice to other travellers that came to mind as I was packing – OK, I will not go on about how wonderful the Baa-Baa/Gro-Blind was. Actually, I found that in China hotels have their curtains lined with a thin silver/grey fabric so I wouldn’t really need it. I had a tailor in my local market in Beijing make lining for all the curtains in my apartment and they are very effective at keeping out the hot summer sun. (I got that tip from our years in Winnipeg, to close the curtains during the day to keep the sun from baking the house.)
I was also pleased with myself for wearing a large Timex watch I had bought so I could easily tell the time, but then decided it was really meant for men. I don’t wear jewellery or my favourite Swatch on a trip because there is no point in tempting thieves. But I always use this watch when travelling because it has the date and time. It amazing how much time one can spend on a trip wondering what the heck day it is anyway. This is important when you have trains to catch. Maybe I’m easily confused. Another plus with this watch is that you can light up the face. This is great when you are on long fights and the airplane lights are out. OK, young people would always use their mobile phone but I usually turn mine off when I’m travelling so I don’t have to pay for other her people calling me. I check my texts/SMS at the end of the day.
You may have noticed in the photos that I always wear a small hipsack for my camera, extra money, batteries, etc. At the airport I was able to weigh my luggage and see that the backpack weighed a maximum of 10kg. I found that a very comfortable weight to carry for long walks. That’s when I would be pulling my small wheelie, where I stored anything heavy, which was 15 kg maximum. The next time I use the backpack I will bring a smaller schoolbag for day use. The one I have is very good – too good, in fact, because it has supports and padding and took up too much room in the backpack. It was great to have a small bag for going about in the daytime and holding water, a thin jacket, sunhat, wallet, etc. As I said before, the next time I travel in China I am bringing a roll-up inflatable mattress for the rock hard beds. I think it will fit well upright, lining the interior of the backpack.

OK, back to Kashgar. Before I left I had one more important place to visit – the world-famous animal market held outside the town on Sunday mornings. My flight was at noon so I organised for a fellow from the travel office at the hotel to come with me in the taxi and show me around, then bring me to the airport. The market was great fun with herds of goats and sheep, cows, horses and even a camel or two. Some cows were brought to market in a truck with no tailgate/ramp so the men had to persuade the cows to jump down about 4 feet. (See the photo.) I would have thought there was quite a risk that a cow would break her leg and be rendered worthless, but that’s the way they do it. There was a lot of action and mighty struggles with frisky bulls. Goats were tethered by their necks in a chorus line and there was a commotion when they got tangled up. As at the Irish horse fairs, there was wheeler-dealing going on all over the market. Of course there were also traders selling ropes and bridles and other necessary paraphernalia.

At the side there were kitchens to buy meals. At last I got to see a Uyghur man making noodles by hand. I had heard it was a sight to see and I can hardly explain it. I would need to send a series of photos separately. He takes a lump of dough and stretches it, then he swings it between his hands like a skipping rope and it breaks into a few ribbons which he folds to the other hand to make twice as many ribbons, then keeps spinning and pulling the ribbons and folding them over until he has an armful of noodles! All this happens in about 2 minutes. I also saw the traditional clay oven with dumplings baking on the walls and being scooped out one-by-one as they were ready and served with a bowl of mutton stew.

The entire market was an exciting place to be and I could have stayed there for a few hours. My guide was rather nervous throughout because he was afraid that I might get gored by a rampaging bull or trampled by frisky horses. Not at all, I was fine. When I had worn out the batteries in my camera I decided it was time to head for the airport. What a fitting end to a fabulous one-month adventure!

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Photos

Uyghur schoolgirl
- with compulsory Pioneer neckerchief

"Jump!"
- at the animal market

woman in Kashgar hijab
- in the old town

Comments

[Dave]

Great Take on Kashgar!
Great writing and great pictures of Kashgar. Also great that you were open to seeking out the local woman who wanted to practice her English. My wife and I also consider Kashgar 'the best'. We were there 10 days ago!