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Published: August 21st 2006
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Meeting the locals
These guys were surprisingly keen to get a photo with us ;o) Kashgar - when did Central Asian become ‘Chinese’? For the last five days we have been in Kashgar, an exotic city - the westernmost in China. The region we are in - Xin Jiang - is predominantly Muslim, and in very sense it is more Central Asian than Chinese. As Indie highlighted in his last political opinion piece (some of you may call it a rant), Kashgar represents a land that has been gradually usurped by the Chinese. Nevertheless, even in spite of increasing numbers of Han Chinese migrants here, the place feels like a far-flung Arabian Nights setting. The local language, Uighur, uses Arabic script; the mosque is literally the center of the city; and metalworkers, jewelers, cobblers and carpet-makers fill the dusty streets of the old town.
We are in the desert here, and it is very hot and dry. That’s not the only thing that’s far removed from Beijing. Although we are over 4,000 km to the west of the capital, the Chinese government decrees that Xin Jiang province is officially part of the same time zone as the capital, therefore services such as banks, buses, post offices etc must run on ‘Beijing time’.
This is crazy: the sun doesn’t rise until around 0830 ‘Beijing time’ and it doesn’t go down until after 2230. This bizarre situation means that the locals tend to ignore ‘Beijing time’. Instead, they use an unofficial ‘Xin Jiang time’, which is two hours behind the official time. So when you agree to meet someone, or you ask when a place opens or closes, it’s necessary to clarify whether you are talking about official or unofficial time! Xin Jiang really does march to a different beat from the rest of China.
We’d read about the ‘world famous’ Sunday market here at Kashgar. To quote Lonely Planet, it is one of the ‘most mind-boggling bazaars in Asia’. To quote Indie and myself, it was “underwhelming, uninspiring and simply pants!” To be fair, it wasn’t that disappointing - we’d merely hyped it up so much that it was going to take the cool factor of Beijing or Luang Prabang (if this makes no sense, see previous blogs) to really blow our minds. Indie and I visited the market on a Saturday and a Sunday and there was no difference, other than there being more tourists on the Sunday.
What we
have found fascinating are the contrasts here. Just walking down a street you can see elements of various different cultures. For example, there is the Uighur muslim aspect: women dress in long skirts and many are completely covered up under the full hijab, while the men wear Islamic headcaps and some lay out carpets anywhere and everywhere to pray. On the same street young people wear Western clothing and rival loudspeakers blare out techno and club classics, competing to hear who can play the loudest! There are also outdoor fashion shows with teenage models of Chinese, Uighur and Tajik descent. On top of that, you see people from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and there is a multitude of Pakistani businesses and restaurants.
Indie - the cultural chameleon I jokingly say to Indie that he cleverly strives to blend in to whatever suits him, wherever he is. When it favours him, he shrewdly relies upon his (Asian) Indian, (African) Kenyan, or (European) British backgrounds in order to curry favour with the locals or with other backpackers. I see nothing wrong with this - it’s a good idea. However, here in what seems like ‘the Islamic Republic of’ Kashgar,
there is no need for Indie’s chameleon antics - everyone assumes he’s Pakistani!
When we are walking around the city, whether we see Uighurs or Central Asians or Pakistanis, Muslim men give Indie ‘the nod’. In contrast to this show of respect, I get completely ignored. Indeed, some people look at us very strangely. I’ve had some very dirty looks from local guys - perhaps they consider me to be a corrosive element - an adverse influence on someone who they perceive as their ‘Muslim brother’. I’ve not grasped it to be honest. Nonetheless, most locals are warm and very keen to talk with us (particularly with Indie!). The other day we went to try a traditional Uighur noodle dish in a small cafe, where the owner invited in several friends, each of whom brought watermelons and cantaloupes. They then proceeded to whip out a hefty knife (I’m talking Crocodile Dundee-style “that’s not a knife,
this is a knife!”) and cut us some big slices of fruit, which were delicious. They started talking with us, asking us about where we are from, what we think of Kashgar etc. They are generally very friendly people.
And finally… Here in Kashgar we’ve had plenty of time to chill out and map out our plans for Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Russia. We’re halfway through our cross-continental trip, and we’re as enthusiastic as ever about entering Central Asia; surely the least-known part of the world today.
Now, the part you’ve all been waiting for - the award for
most stupid comment of the week. I’m delighted to announce that the award goes to……..Indrajit Shah!
In planning several treks around the highlands of Kyrgyzstan, an
extremely mountainous country, Indie asked me,
“you think we will have to trek uphill?!?
Indie on Colonialism Colonialism - I believe that colonialism stems from insecurity. Insecurity of their way of life; their culture; their land - this leads for a need for something more, something better. This need leads them to greed. So it is no wonder that the major colonizers are European… I mean, don’t get me wrong - European culture has a lot of depth with the food, the literature etc…. yet it lacks the rich colours and vibrancy of Asia; the rhythms and harsh landscapes of Africa; the echoing sounds of the Middle East; or the vast mysteries of the Mayans or
Aztecs. I mean these people never really colonized. Think about it.
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Rochy
non-member comment
Nice one!!!
This blog is getting better and better, every new entry gets more interesting and also it gets harder not to want to know what you two are up to, what’s being your latest adventure. Have fun.