Hey guys, thanks so much for watching! I really enjoyed filming this video during my recent visit to Kashgar. Things have changed...but it's still a wonderful place to visit! I have tons more great videos scheduled to be published over the coming months, so don't forget to subscribe here and follow me on Instagram! **SUBSCRIBE** ua-cam.com/users/farwestchina **Follow on Instagram** instagram.com/farwestchina
Please look up 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran. About 26,000 people died and 30,000 people wounded. The buildings in Kashgar were built in the similar way and materials as in Bam. It was one of the reason why they knocked down those old buildings and rebuild new ones for better earthquake proof. As of January 12th, 2019, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit Kashgar. I assume people would have fared worse if they had stayed in the old buildings. We all like historical buildings and have sentimental attachment to them, but sometimes, we have to change for better lives.
Kashgar is my father's hometown. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I understand your feelings, and although I have never been to Kashgar, I must say that rebuilding the old part of the city is actually a good change for the locals. We can't expect locals to live in poor and outdated neighborhoods forever. It's sad to see the metropolitan shift and losing cultural uniqueness in architecture, but the government is taking responsibility for improving living conditions. It's a good idea to establish an museum to tell the history of Kashgar too. Then again, Kashgar isn't meant to be a tourist spot, so we can't expect it to remain the same forever.
True, its too easy for pampered people to say oh we wish we could save the old buildings. Try live in a place without modern plumbing, have you ever emptied bottle of piss every morning, have you ever tried dumping shit for real?
well said. When the westerns are enjoying living in new big houses, why should they expect the local people in Kashgar to live in the small crappy places all the time?
The reason the government rebuilt the old city is because those kind of mud brick buildings were exceptionally vulnerable to earthquake with very high casualty rate. The government made the decision after what happened to Bam Iran in 2003 where a moderately strong earthquake (6.6) killed at least twenty-six thousand people there. Granted the rebuilt city has been gentrified and hence lost some of its charm but this is absolutely the right thing to do. The Chinese government should be applauded by its effort rather than be vilified. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Bam_earthquake
Thanks for your comment! I've been aware of the reasons they gave for rebuilding the Old City, although I don't quite believe them all. It seems a bit odd that the government made a 2009 decision five years after a 2003 incident, don't you think? There were many other reasons that the Old City came down, but safety (for a city that had stood for centuries) was not a big one of them.
Thanks for replying back. No I don't think it is odd at all that the government did it five years after the 2003. After all the city has been around for hundreds of years and there is no immediate urgency that an earthquake is imminent. It is just something that needs to be done. They probably starts earlier than 2009 with all the planning, studies and consultation with the locals. What do you think the other reasons were?
The real reasons had to do with security. The demolition of the town had pretty much nothing to do with safety (although that was the reason that was given to the international audience) - the town had never had a major incident in over a thousand years of existence. Now, all of the sudden - BAM! - it's UNSAFE! Yea, right. There were security incidents in 2008 and 2009 and the way that the Old Town was originally set up made it nearly impossible to police. I'm not saying it was a bad decision, I'm just saying that's the real reason the decision was made.
Many people died in the 2008 earthquake because it is much stronger. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake measured at 8.0M while the Bam earthquake measured at 6.6M. Note that this is in logarithmic scale. A 8M earthquake is 10 times stronger than a 7M earthquake. If the city Bam was constructed with modern structures instead of mud bricks building, the casualties should be much less. People should be extremely judgmental when reading reports by Westerners about ethnic relations from other non Western cultures. Not that these reporters are necessarily intentionally deceitful, but because Westerners have certain perspectives in seeing things due to their historic cultural background on ethnic relations, they will often come to conclusion that does not reflect reality and they couldn't help it. Unlike China Europe has been beset by ethnic tension and conflict for millennium. If the power differential between the two groups is huge, it became ethnic oppression. If the power differential between two groups is commensurable, it became war. This has been the default mode of Europe (Europe has been at peace with itself by and large post WWII is actually an anomaly) and so it is only natural that Westerners assume this is the common behavior among all human beings across cultures. China would not have existed if Chinese operate at the same mindset as that of their European counterparts. The Han group is actually many different ethnic groups/tribes that coalesce organically throughout several thousands years of nation building precisely because the Han culture has a very weak sense of ethno-nationalism. This is why there is 1.3 billion of them. You can still see remnants of group difference today by their many mutually intelligible vernacular. In modern political jargon China is the ultimate 'melting pot'. The Han people is equivalent to the European people while Han from different regions is equivalent to people from different European countries. So how is the situation of the Uyghurs people in China? Here is a podcast that talks about this issue. mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2013/10/bia_20131016.mp3
Media stereotypes: if not rebuilt media would say bad government don't give a shit about the poor Uyghurs who still live in dangerous mud houses; if rebuilt media will say the government didn't ask for Uyghur locals' opinions there's no democracy. Anyway it's the government who is to blame? What I believe is as long as the locals are still here Kashgar won't lose its spirit.
I agree with your final statement. As for the media, there are plenty of places where Uyghur are living in their mud homes here in Xinjiang and I don't hear anybody complaining about it, nor were they saying bad things about the Kashgar government before they tore down the Old City. So where are you basing this argument from, other than your own bias against the "media"?
It's not only about Kashgar and Uyghurs it's about the whole western China, you can see "poverty in western China" has been a big topic in recent years, and medias blame the government for ignoring poor people's living conditions in western China. It's a fact that mud houses are more traditional-looking, but concrete houses also have their advantages, they can stay stable during earthquakes and are more stable on electricity and water supply, it's an improvement to people's living conditions. As for people who have lived in mud houses for hundreds of years, it's definately not easy to adapt the to the life living in new houses, just like in my place where typhoons come every summer but there are still many people who are not willing to leave their old stone houses and put themselves in a hard condition, which is dangerous and inconvenient(of course they don't think it's dangerous and inconvenient)
haha i heard so much .they think han chinese take everything of xinjiang.so they are poor.even han chinese every complaining .once a old guy told me the road light is dark because the goverment move the money to their home.you are not local you do not know nothing.and maybe they do not know how is the modern house and modern life.they just dont know.
You made a good point about western media's treatment of China. Either way, the Chinese government will never win. They can come in and take a few photos and start to call out how the Communist regime is violating human rights by leaving people in poor living conditions. Or, once rebuilt, they will come in and say "look how the CCP have demolished their culture". The same treatment happened to Tibet too. After CCP came in in the 50s, they started to build hospitals and roads, whereas the CIA is funding terrorist attack in Tibet, caring little about the living conditions of Tibetans. All the western media did was to portray Tibet as this pristine land where people live in peace, whereas the CCP is just an oppressive regime taking away local culture. Little did they know the theocratic rule of Tibet was a hell on earth. The bottom line is for a culture to sustain, economic security is fundamentally crucial. With good local infrastructure and higher living standard, people can live and thrive, as well as their culture.
Great video boss. I just returned from my trip to Xinjiang. I can see the point of some of the comments here but I can also understand your preference for the "old" old city. Hell, when I went back to my home town, I was praying to God that the places I used to frequent aren't torn down. But speaking to the locals (my family included), I realized that life's got to improve and move on for them too
It is one thing to be nostalgic, but it’s another matter if you don’t improve living conditions of the locals. People scream “cultural genocide”. But what they do not know is, the living conditions the locals have to live with. It’s easier to say, retain what they have, but really, who is living their live out there? Pretty sure the locals would love to upgrade their homes for more comfortable and higher standard of living.
Old cities can be renovated without demolishing them completely. I'm pretty sure many houses there were good enough to withstand earthquakes like the new ones.
What you said makes no sense, Historic cities beat new cities any day, their more walkable, more urban, have more going, and lot more beautiful architecture, if you want to bulldoze that in favor of wide ugly roads glass blocks you're an imbecile
After coming to Belgium, I once went on a local tour of one of the outer districts of Brussels. We visited a few mini-districts that interestingly enough, made me think of the hutongs and siheyuans in China. The ones we visited were quite charming. The tour guide then explained that there used to be many such tiny districts in Brussels, and they were essentially crowded slums with no sanitation and prone to fire hazards. The vast majority had already been demolished, leaving only a few left (now renovated). It made me realize that Europe had all these 'cute' districts before as well, it's just that they demolished them and replaced them with modern villas long ago, and for good reason.
One of the many reasons to rebuild is for the sewerage and clean water system for hygiene. Stopping polluted water getting into rivers & streams & so on. It takes infrastructure to build Treatment Plants to purify water before it enters the rivers & streams.
If you want an "old town house structure" try to go to Philippines and stay on their "nipa hut" ( the very old traditional hut) . For sure in 1 night of stay, mosquito are so happy . No water, no electricity.
Actually he does not need to go anywhere. There are so many poor people in his own country for him to see. Not mention the increasing number of homeless who live in tents or just wonder around the city. He and his country men do Not care about these poor people at all.
The rebuilt looks good tbh, as long as it retains their culture stylings, which looks so awesome btw. Their features and everything about them looks so interesting. A blend of cultures.
I recommend you to watch the Taiwan youtube ‘九十里公车‘ s video. He explained how the rebuild works. The government actually consulted the locals on how they want to rebuild their house and they asked the locals to design their own house. And they rebuild it from inside out, change the material of the house but not the design. Or if the locals want to change the design, then they will go with it. I don’t blame you for your opinion because it might be shaped due to language barrier. Watch that UA-cam and it will change your opinion on how China’s local authorities work, and how effective those methods are
Think of it this way, Berlin is a historical city, but virtually all buildings had been bombed to the point where it needs to be rebuilt in 1945. The new buildings still looks great and European (and many might even look historical), but when you found out when it’s build, it’s hardly historical at all. So if you look at it from this perspective, maybe rebuilding a part of the city is not a bad thing, it’s a process of modernization. I mean in America, you will also go through 70s 80s 90s, you shouldn’t expect other cultures to stay stagnant and not improving. After all these are not heritage buildings like the blue mosque.
Not exactly. Berlin is still very historical. Many of the buildings were badly damaged, but they were still standing. Not completely demolished. They were rebuilt using the original materials as well.
Tourists always want to see the Oriental pictures remaining unchanged ever from their Western gaze. However, when they enter into their actual home (e.g. this guy's climbing unto the wavering and "dangerous" ladder), the fear can be heard from his voice and contempt seen from his face. Seems he started to notice how horrible (if they are compassionate enough) it would be for any government to ignore their own people by letting them live in endangered "old" buildings just for the sake of visitors' voyeuring. After he gets out, he said "it is fascinating how people even don't want to move". WOW! What a drastic change of attitude. Yup, this might be a good way for the Western tourists to experience what in their minds "destroying Kashgar by CCP" means BEFORE and AFTER. How ironic it is when a person who claims to be democratic (which means to advocate for people's equal enjoyment of resources) criticizes China's government's efforts on helping people transform their life into betterment!. Yes, you want to see an OLD CHINA. But old China is only an invaded and raped wretched land by the Western colonizers. Now, people have the NEW CHINA. But no one can ever deny new China's old history that extends for 5000 years. Construction is always accompanying destruction. Westerners usually only see China from their demonizing eyes so that China becomes demonized, not by anything else, but by themselves. Intentionally or not!
Hi Josh, I was in Kashgar just 2 weeks ago, and as you probably already know, the “old” old city is now off-limits to visitors, and I could only see it from the outside. There are signs that say city is going restoration works, but I’m not sure how long the signs have been up. Thanks for the video, for “bringing” me in. Awesome vid!
I just like how a part of the old city could still remain. The rebuilt new house is still beautiful though. It‘s easily for life. I could understand some older people want to stay in the older part bc they were born there, and it could be difficult for the elders to accept new things. But for the future and development, rebudiling is a must.
Nice video. New buildings replace old or deteriorated structures - pretty typically and happens everywhere in China and around the world. Understand you had mixed feeling as your memory attaches to the Old old town. Well, this is not about you, but the locals, so you should be happy as long as the locals are happy. The "new old town" retains its Uighur identify. Western medias may be disappointed as they cannot use the new old town to attack Chinese government.
@@Paladiini If you want an "old town house structure" try to go to Philippines and stay on their "nipa hut" ( the very old traditional hut) . For sure in 1 night of stay, mosquito are so happy . No water, no electricity.
@@Paladiini your claim is akin to saying a boy is totally happy when he literally crying. Also, you brain is also like a prison. Incapable of reaching out alternative information, consume only boring daily meal.
@@sz5263 You sure you understand the local girl in this vedio? As far as I can tell, there are some misunderstanding between the guy and the local girl due to language barriers and some proud feelings maybe. The girl doesn't understand fully of what this guy is saying, and she also tried to reply with simple English which I don't think fully expressed what she meant. (no affense). I see the girl is warmly-hearted to show the guy her house so she expressed her love to the house. But she didn't say she PREFERS the old house than the new one, and She also impled that her family owns another modernized house. I don't deny that the girl is proud of her old house, and likes her old house a lot. But to say the locals don't appreciate the renovations is a bit of arbituray.
@@sfbluestar I know it's easy to stereotype "Westerners" and it helps you to redirect the conversation away from the grim reality, but it needs to be said again: what makes this sad isn't the destruction of "traditional huts", it's the fact that the people who lived in those huts never had a say in what happened to them and where they moved.
Travel Xinjiang: Far West China I really like your video actually I live in china and i always wanted to visit xinjiang but I don’t know who to trust if it’s safe or not or if it would be a problem for me as I’m Muslim from an arabic country , I heard a lot of control mostly in kashgar
@@FarWestChina You mean like Imminent Domain laws are bad? Yes the China govt way can be draconian, but it's also a fact that in China many many many many people's dwelling situation needs improvement. They'd be lucky if govt even devotes the budget to rebuild their dwelling. Can't expect too much personal attention; that's just reality with such large population. If not for the draconian way of getting things done, China today will be more like India (which is a crappy place).
@@FarWestChina How do you know that the people who lived in those huts didnt have a say in what were to happen and where they were to move? They even participated in the deisign of their own new dwelling, and its not a stereotype of "westerners" cuz this "pointing fingers at others" kind of habit happens way to often among westerners.
Even if the city is so different, it was still very enjoyable to watch you interact with people that you came across on the streets. You can tell how much you have a passion for culture and travel in China.
Thank you! I'm glad that the passion shows - and I appreciate that you've stopped by to watch and comment, Jen. You've got some great stuff on your channel!
Actually what you saw were not the two thousand- year old house, because in the earthquake of 1902, nearly 90% of the old city houses were collapsed and more than 500 people died. Those old houses are going to collapse in an earthquake in the future.
I somehow can not find reliable sources about your statement here "because in the earthquake of 1902, nearly 90% of the old city houses were collapsed and more than 500 people died". Could you please give me links or info of your sources? Thanks.
Really glad I found your channel, Josh. You tell a good story - I knew nothing about Kashgar, but within 30 seconds I was intrigued to know all about their past and present. You've got a new subscriber.
Hello again, Josh. This is once more an excellent report of yours, this time about the actual Kashgar. I am absolutely thrilled just by the sound of the city's name, morally I am all prepared and economically I am still working on it. Nevertheless, your video-reports have motivated me and Xingjang will be my next destination. Thank you once more for your effort and for always friendly approach. Last but not least, thank you for the steady camera accompanying you. Keep well.
Translation of the above post: " The earthquake of 1902 is still a nightmare for the old city residents. 90% of the houses collapsed, more than 500 residents were killed or injured, and the Etihad Mosque, which is famous both at home and abroad, was not spared. The temple tower in front of the temple was severely damaged, and the wall cracked open... "Besides me and your aunt, the whole family There are no people in the blink of an eye." Abu Dhabi Sili Siri still remembers the disaster that his father told him."
Great video, Josh, as usual! :-) When we lived there in '04-'08 we would regularly walk through the old city on our way to Id Khah or even the post office. Yes, it was relatively easy to get lost, but you know what? Getting lost was kinda fun! We got to know more of the city - and more people who live there - in the process of finding our way out. We visited it again in '13, and at that time the new parts of the old city were in the process of being built. Like you, I was sad to see the loss of the chaotic charm of the original old city. But as I watched your video, it seemed to me that just maybe that charm is returning. Yes, it has wider streets and cookie-cutter architecture, but at least it uses a Uyghur-ish cookie cutter! Regarding the night market, when we were there from '04-'08 I don't remember Kashgar having a night market! It seemed to me that your video of the night market could have been the night market in Urumqi near Er Dao Qiao. Even the stalls look the same! I wonder if the city planners decided that Kashgar should have a night market similar to Urumqi's. Just a thought. Anyway, great video! Makes me want to go back more than ever! Maybe someday...
This was a really inspirational video for me. I've done some research in Tibet on residential development and this summer I'm planning on going to Xinjiang to do similar work. My goal is to work towards educational travel content like this. Really loved it thanks so much!
My pleasure, Jesse! Thanks for watching and commenting...I hope that your trip to Xinjiang goes well this summer and if it will be any help to you, make sure to grab a copy of my Xinjiang travel guide here: www.xjtravelguide.com
I have been there 2018,too !! I never knew it was rebuilt. It’s a big pity and a good thing. Because the house is easy to catch fire, The fire engine can’t come in and help put out the fire，Lane is too narrow
Thanks, Josh, very interesting video. I was in Kashgar about 5 years ago and thought the whole city delightful. I would agree with one of the comments that people want to live somewhere safe and well built so I can understand the Chinese government rebuilding some of the city. As for metal detectors, they are a fact of life everywhere now - Moscow, London, New York. There has been terrorism in Xinjiang just like the above cities and the government is only trying to protect people. I much enjoy your posts - I've visited Xinjiang twice and think it is a wonderful region with such friendly people, delicious food and wonderful places to visit. I'd recommend a visit to anyone. I'll be there again.
I went just a couple years ago and your video brings back fond memories. While the "old old city" was certainly very special, and I'm really glad it's still there so we can see how things used to be, I found the clean, wide streets inviting and refreshing and not suffering any shortage of life and charm. And being able to live without fear of the walls coming down around me from any middling earthquake was a relief. (Earthquakes happen in that region quite frequently! There was one just over the border in Pakistan while I was traveling back to Kashgar and people in Kashgar said they'd felt it.) The night market looks different... All the stalls have little roofs and are in orderly rows. It was much more chaotic and unkempt when I was there. Also, I didn't get the impression that it was touristy. Of course that's where the tourists go, as it's a great part of life in the old city, but the tourists were FAR outnumbered by the locals. And there were restaurants right off the night market that seemed to be *only* visited by locals (and me). :P Anyway, thanks for the cool video that refreshed these memories. :)
+Jason Bechtel My pleasure, Jason! Thanks for sharing your experience. I definitely agree with you that the new Old City is inviting and refreshing. As somebody who saw the original Old City, I'm too keenly aware of how the current iteration of the city reflects nothing of the historical reality. That said, I believe that the people are what make a city, not the buildings, so I'm not too heartbroken.
I am curious, Jason, what would have made you fearful of walls coming down on you? From a historical standpoint, despite the earthquakes, no major incident had happened in Kashgar before. Is that thought entirely based on the government saying it was unsafe?
honestly, it's a very remote, minuscule fear. i hadn't heard anything about it from the gov't. just the knowledge that things like that happen (e.g. in Nepal not too long ago).
Iran's ancient city Bam had similar mud houses and stood for 2000 years, then in 2003 an earthquake struck and killed 26k residents with 30k more injured. If a city lies in fault area, a quake will eventually happen en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Bam_earthquake
I enjoyed the video and I understand that your intentions are neutral with regards to West/East perspective. But urban development is not isolated to just Kashgar but the whole of China. You can debate that these buildings withstood for thousands of years and aren't in danger of collapse, but I think that's a pretty lazy argument. Kashgar is an ancient city and the original planners probably weren't all that interested in green space, navigable roads, earthquake contingency, or urban planning. Furthermore, Kashgar's future as a SEZ will bring further change as Beijing aspires to turn Kashgar into the keystone of the One Belt, One Road initiative. Kashgar will inevitably have a higher Han population as well. Kashgar's success was on the silkroad, so it is fitting that the new silkroad will create a new image for Kashgar aswell. Change is inevitable and there is no arguing against it.
Interesting argument, Josh, and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts in a constructive instead of combative way. I agree with you that development is inevitable and is happening not just all over China but all over the world. As you heard in the video, I'm not against the rebuilding of Kashgar's Old City. I have three points of contention here: 1) "It's for the safety of the people" - I'm tired of the lame excuses for why the city was rebuilt. On a scale of 1-100, maybe 5% of the reason was because of earthquake/safety. Another 5% was for the sake of development and economy. The other 90% was for better control/policing/monitoring. I mean, can we just be honest here? 2) The locals didn't have any say in the matter. They didn't get to choose to have their neighborhoods torn down nor did they get to choose or have say in how they would be rebuilt. It is no longer Uyghur architecture. It is Uyghur-inspired Chinese architecture, which is completely different. As I said in the video, it just makes me sad to see how it doesn't feel authentic at all - because it wasn't designed or built by Uyghur people. 3) "Kashgar will become a new hub of commerce on the New Silk Road!" At this point, that's not true. First, the government said they were going to make Kashgar on par with Shenzhen in terms of SEZs. Housing prices skyrocketed. Then a couple years later the government revised that statement to say "similar to Shenzhen but on a much smaller scale in terms of SEZ" (paraphrase mine). Prices fell. Why? Because they can't maintain such an unreasonable level of security while trying to promote international trade. All you have to do is drive outside the first Kashgar checkpoint to see the "little Guangzhou" trade district to see what I mean. It's been a ghost town for 5 years now. I'm not arguing against change. I'm lamenting the loss of authentic culture and the lame excuses that follow its destruction.
Travel Xinjiang: Far West China "90% for control/policing/ monitoring“? Hahaha. A government invested so much money to rebuild an old city is 90% for monitoring? Haha. First, Why didn't the government just install more and more cameras on the street to monitoring them. It costs much less than rebuild the whole city. Second, you think the government didn't control and monitor that area before rebuild the old city? Come on, dude, since you dislike Chinese government so much, I think you already know Chinese government has so many ways to control and monitor her people. Yes, the local people were already being controlled and monitored by the government even when they lived in the old houses. And the whole China are under controlling and monitoring by the government. Why are you foreigners so naive about this? Every government control and monitor their people include "The land of free", US. Or you never heard of Edward Snowden? And if you are the top leader of a country, you will do the same thing, too. Let's to be honest, Chinese government doesn't need this way to control and monitor their people, they already make it. And for the real reason to rebuild the city, 40% is for the people's safety. No more people should die in the next earthquake. 40% is for improving the local economy. The new city with wider roads and regularly arranged streets will bring more tourists. And the traffic will be improved, too, which is very important for the local economy. 20% is to improve the living standards of local people so locals will be more satisfied with the local government which will prevent the minority's chaos or terrorist actions.
@@haiyangzhang9156 well it's only blabla... as far as i know china recently change his politic and try to conserve old cities and monument... which got destroyed after mao zedong.. evolution is ok but losing his culture is not the best option. I live in shanghai and i'm sorry to tell that but shanghai/shengzhen/guangdong blabla lost their identities. It just looks like american cities. And if america is the model of china, it's a pity for china. In 400 years you won't be able to say if you are living/travelling in china or in an occidental country, that's the point... and i'm not really sure that modern occidental cities are really an example to follow... for me, it looks ugly and you feel no history and no soul
I fully agree with Josh, Kashgar is so rich in History that it should remain much as it is. Further development will erode it once the ancient charm crossroad to China.
I remember traveling here a while back! I was fascinated by the experience of being a Uighur in an otherwise Han majority environment. At the time, it was medium level security at the time, but the desert was majestic & awe inspiring.
Thanks for the video. I was very fortunate to vacation in Kashgar with my wife and kids two years ago. Although I didn't know the history of the rebuild, I had heard comments about "the real Kashgar" from various tourists. Every night after the rest of my family went to sleep, I'd go out and wander for hours, including in the remains of the old city. But even in the rebuilt city, I saw so much activity and vitality, including what I could only guess was some kind of bachelor party procession of about a hundred people and all sorts of musicians. It was rebuilt, but it wasn't Disneyland. It wasn't one of those fake "ancient cities" that are all over China. As far as I could tell, the people were very real. After my week there, I concluded with the following sentiment: I went searching for the real Kashgar, but I failed to ever find the fake one.
Thanks for sharing. I understand where you're coming from and I believe that the average tourist - particularly the Chinese tourists - won't be able to tell. As I said in the video, what makes Kashgar special is not old buildings, it's people; and as you mentioned, the people are still very real. That said, since you are a traveler who has no context or understanding of what was "real", how did you expect to know it when you saw it? You failed to find the fake one because that's all you knew. I walk around the new "old city" and all I see is fake. The people are great - I agree. It's important to note: your failure to find the "fake one" was not because it wasn't there, it's because you are unaware of what the "real one" was supposed to look like. This is exactly how China plans to eradicate the Uyghur culture, by rebuilding it with "Chinese characteristics" and hoping that the international community can't tell the difference.
@@FarWestChina I like that you actually went to XingJiang to see for yourself what's happening there. But while I like to experience and see cultures, architectures in their most traditional form as much as you do, you should at least do some research before you form any kind of opinion especially what the Chinese gov is doing or what they have done in that region. Your opinions sounded 'under-researched'.
@@alexeilyubimov7760 Josh lived and worked in Xinjiang for a number of years, he didn't just pass through. He is definitely not under-researched. He also rarely spoke out on political issues, but he did in this instance and his POV sounds very convincing, given that he speaks and writes mandarin and was on the ground to witness many changes first hand.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I just want to say that we live in present, and the present is the history of the future. What we call old is actually modern for people who lived in the past. So, I don't agree with Josh's comment about what's "real" and what's "fake". Josh seems only want the time to freeze at 2006 when he first traveled there. He would see any change, any modernization as "China's evil plan to eradicate the Uyghur culture." If we follow this logic, then himself, a non-local foreigner, living there gradually influencing the local apperance is another form of culture eradication. Kashgar has been older than 2006. Kashar has been 100 years old, 200 years old, and 3000 years old, and can be in the future 100000 years old. And 2000 years ago, this Kashgar is filled with Buddism cultures, then would you call today's muslim Kashgar "Fake"? Time is limitless, but Geograghic space is! Now, we can only cherish the bit of every stage of the historical cultural still preserved in a shared geological space, but we can't force any point of time to FREEZE. Also, I don't agree with his opinion about Chinese characteristics polluting Kashgar. Kashgar for thousands of years has been a place with. multiple cultures intermingled to form its unique culture (including multiple Chinese cultures now all melted into Han culture). Now keep in mind, culture has fluidity, it is not rigid, forever unchanged. I can assure you that there is this group of people once existed on the silk road that is not persian, not Chinese, not turkic, but they are a group that's really good at trading and doing bussiness. But their trace has lost in the long river of history. There is not enough records left except the old literature has recoded their existence. In short, I just want to say that as a person live in this moment of time, we can only cherish whatever has survived the histroy and is still present. It is certainly unfair to judge certain period of time as "real" or "fake"! after all, WE ARE PART OF THE HISTORY.
@@FarWestChina Thanks for your comments. I like most of your videos. However, I want to share some thoughts about your view that "Chinese people are eradicating the Uyghur culture." I want to say that we are living in the present, and the present is the history of the future. What we call "old" is actually "modern" for people who lived in the past. So, I disagree with your comment about "real" and "fake." You seem only to want the time to freeze at 2006, when you first traveled there. Hence, you would see any change, any modernization as "China's evil plan to eradicate the Uyghur culture." If we follow this logic, then you, a non-local foreigner, living there gradually influencing the local appearance is another form of cultural eradication. Kashgar has been older than 2006. Kashgar has been 100 years old, 200 years old, and 3000 years old, and can be in the future 100000 years old. For example, 2000 years ago, this Kashgar was filled with Buddism cultures. Then would you call today's Muslim Kashgar "Fake"? Time is limitless, but geographic space is! Now, we can only cherish the bit of every stage of its historical culture still preserved in a shared geological space, but we can't force any point in time to FREEZE. Also, I can't entirely agree with your opinion about Chinese characteristics polluting Kashgar. You view Chinese as a pure foreign culture to Kashgar culture. (I also felt a subtle tone that you seem to consider the Chinese being inferior to Uyghur culture. Your preference is your freedom. Is that because Uyghurs are more western looked?) For thousands of years, Kashgar has been a place with multiple cultures intermingled to form its unique culture (including multiple different Chinese cultures, which now all melted together under the name of Han culture). Now keep in mind that culture has fluidity. It is not rigid, not forever unchanged. I can assure you that this group of people once existed on the silk road. They were not Persian, not Chinese, and not Turkic, but they were very good at trading and doing business. But their trace has been lost in the long river of history. There are not enough records left except the old Chinese literature has recorded their existence. In short, I want to say that as people living at this moment of time, we can only cherish whatever has survived the history and is still present. Therefore, it is unfair to judge certain cultural sites as "real" or "fake"! After all, WE ARE PART OF THE HISTORY.
change like this happens everywhere in china. im from a city near the Dongting Lake, and the majoritie of the old town in my city was also replaced by concret about 50 yrs ago. My grand parents feel sad about that too, but they feel more content about moving into a new house equiped with running water, electricty, and a modern toilet. ya, the old toilet was just a huge hold covered by wide wooden bars. Destroy and rebuild is an easier and cheaper solution, at that time, local gov was too poor to maintain the old town. now that china has developped a lot, local gov has started a protection program to preserve what still remains. sad that there are not much to preserve, but people do get a better life. A paradox.
I personally think the reason for tearing down the city is twofold. Firstly to improve safety. You cannot have economic growth if everything is destroyed in a disaster or heavily disorganized where one cannot provide decent education or healthcare due to the nature of the place. Second is security. The Uyghur community had seen a number of people go to Syria and Iraq to fight for the Islamic State and other jihadist groups. China is naturally fearful of their return as are Western countries with their own citizens. Aside from that Xinjiang is one of the places that has a separatist mentality is Tibet and the latter has clearly seen benefits under Chinese rule. Specifically Chen Quanguo's. This man is very popular in the CCP because in truth it is still mostly a meritocracy. The man pushed policies that helped elevate the Tibetans from poverty and was transferred to Xinjiang in 2016 after uplifting Tibet. Chen Quanguo's policies can be summed up as carrot and stick. The carrot being affirmative action, where private businesses have to have a minimum number of ethnic employees and expanding the police force to include more of the local ethnic groups. The stick comes in the form of a wide surveillance net (partly aided by the reconstruction in Kashgar) and troublemakers are arrested by their own people. With economic benefits and a reduction in poverty, people as less likely to take to the streets. As we can see from the decreasing amount of anti-China material coming out of Tibet since he was posted there in 2011, he seems to have succeeded. He is replicating his success in Xinjiang.
The vocational education centres (concentration camps in western media) and associated economic measures effectively cut the source of extremists. So younger Uyghurs are required to obtain skills and learn Mandarin. Once it is done they are suggested to open their own business or stay with the vocational education centres, in case some are really incompetent to run business themselves, for simple manufacturing jobs. Besides these actually unproductive but heavily government subsidised manufacturing jobs (CCP is buying them out here), mostly they run food businesses like serving food in the night markets, or selling dry fruit and nut businesses in the day markets. Among them some smartest ones even relocated to inland China to extend their businesses like, as I read somewhere before, one wholesaling nuts big in Wuhan with a supply chain starting from Xinjiang. As this develops further, with money the Uyghurs now mostly come back to their traditional lives, like dancing in colourful dresses and drinking alcohols. That's an ongoing dereligionisation process.
@@ozsharpener Except that the CCP clearly does not want a brain drain into the cities, nor does it want a traditional Uyghur lifestyle. Which is why the Belt and Road goes through the Western Regions to encourage growth there. They want a modern society. The traditional stuff is all for show for Western audiences who decry the loss of a unique culture, which does not contribute to the betterment of humanity. In the CCP it is seen as holding back society, things like Traditional Chinese Medicine or foot binding are seen in the same vein. Only problem with TCM is that it has a significant following and lobbies, which makes it hard to eliminate. Not saying the CCP has no problems, it has plenty and reform is significantly harder than in the West due to censorship, but we are seeing progress in LGBT rights for example.
@@eugeneng7064 I have to say some of your observations are not accurate. However I don't want to have a debate on them, for example TCM and LGBTs. Regarding the Uyghurs, they were not quite good at fighting historically. They are not highly religious either as they do drink a lot and wear sexy outfits. You can see that from many recent Xinjiang videos on UA-cam. All the past extremism problems were mainly due to poverty. Their integration with the Hans is actually a lot easier than most people would have thought. For instance, in Mao's era, they were employed in state run, "unproductive" factories and farms. Many said they were becoming the so called semi-Hans down the track of such integration. I read an online article written by a Han guy who worked in a workshop of such a factory. As he recalls, some of his Uyghur male colleagues even took chances to have sex with their girlfriends during break times. So, they did quite enjoy such financial freedom back then. They went for extremism after Deng's capitalism reform started, just because all those unproductive facilities collapsed. That's why when the money was poured in again in past decade, Xinjiang's situation quickly stabilised and the integration resumed. They now even have more options, the "unproductive" factories (vocational education centres) are back and private run markets are also available. So keeping the old houses makes no sense to them. They are not stubborn people.
Thanks Josh. Great to see inside a house. I felt that the new old city was more like Spain. Someone told me that the old city was more diverse, with every house having it's own differently decorated front door, and that the designers of the new old city, not the residents, wanted more uniformity. That happens all over the world, including in my own city. But I'm glad to see that the vibrancy is returning to the new area. I was there at the end of 2015 and it looked a lot more sterile than it does here.
Translation of the above post: "After 5 years, the renovation of the core area of the old town of Kashgar has been completed... The structure is more sturdy, can withstand the 8.5-magnitude earthquake, and the roadway is wider, and the fire rescue channel is opened. ............ Large-scale demolition and relocation of the old city, there is no incident of cross-level petition: as an important turning point in the construction and development of the city of Kashgar, the renovation of the old city, in addition to the core area, also includes 27 peripheral areas, involving 49,083 households and 220,000 people; but from Kashgar According to the records of the local government's petition bureau, since the implementation of the reform, there has not been a case of mass petitions, and there has not been a case of petitioning to the autonomous region and Beijing"
Great video, man! I've always wondered about this. I remember seeing the news about the old city being torn down way back in the day and being so saddened by it. It's great that you actually can show people what's up rather than just reading a news story. Thanks for the video!
We were in Kashgar in 2012. At that time some construction on the rebuilt was underway. The night market was still in the old place. It was more intimate than it looks like now. The charm of the city was special. For some one who has travelled in China since 1980 I have seen almost a total rebuild of the Country. As usual some of the charm is lost but for some of the people their living conditions are improved. The rural areas are slower in rebuilding so the charm is still there making the visit to the countryside more rewarding if you are interested in examining the old world charm of China.
Great comment. I agree - it's not a simple black and white issue. There was a lot about the "old" old city that was charming and special, but at some point a city has to grow and develop.
It is nice to see a lot of tourists in this city. Never heard of this Kashgar before, went on google to check where that is and got really surprised that it is not that far from where I was born and grew up which is Almaty, Kazakhstan. Thank you for sharing this video. Old (rebuilt) Kashgar is nice city to visit and explore.
Living in old mud-built houses is cool, but it is very vulnerable to fire and earthquake. And a responsible government should think ahead about the future of the community.
I am a Pakistani and a Turkic Afghan "Khan" by race , I always been amused by the old Islamic Cultures of Kashgar (China) and Bukhara , Samarkand (Uzbekistan) , it's my wish to travel over there and see all these things from my own eyes , although many foods which I saw are quite Similar to Pakistan , also the language as Kashgari language is written in the same script in which Urdu (Pakistani language) is written, so I might pick up few words which I can understand and hopefully , I will be able to not to get lost into the street :D
I swear I've been on that same roof! Or one of the many that look just like it :P. Your videos really make me miss Xinjiang so badly. Hope everything is well with you!
Thanks for another video. We're really looking forward to visiting Xinjian and hopefully also making it to Kashgar in particular. The people really do seem to be friendly and welcoming.
Hey bigfoot786, thanks for the comment! Have you had a chance to check out the FarWestChina travel guide? It's 400+ pages of super-helpful travel information that dwarfs the Lonely Planet. Find it here on Amazon (amzn.to/2sAerhp) or as a PDF download (gum.co/xinjiang-travel-guide).
Rebuilding brought/or at least greatly improved sewage system, made tap water available in every home. I understand you, as a tourist, maybe attached to old town's genuine "Old" feeling, but try to think living as locals there. In one video I saw a Uyghur girl mentioned how much she appreciated the convenience and the overall living standard improvement after rebuilding.
It's more like this: old beautiful architectures has a life. When it reach its life, either you need to refurbish it or rebuild it. Now we face two issues: 1. The cost. For an old building to be refurbished to an anti-earthquake scale, it may cost much more than building a cheap mock-Uyghur style concrete building. So it's a question whether choosing refurbishing instead of rebuilding worth it. Keep in mind that people in Xinjiang cannot simply print dollars out to get unlimited money (and let the Mexicans pay for it). 2. From the video it looks like the "real" old quarter are made of modern bricks. So I'd estimate they're some 1980s structures instead of some 1880s buildings, and that seemed to be all over Kashgar by 2009. Now it's more crucial to ask whether keeping those 1980s "old" quarters instead of simply rebuild a new old town is a good idea. If you keep a 1919 Afghan coin, it may worth a lot by 2021, but if you keep a 2007 Zimbabwe one trillion dollars banknote to 2021 it might not worth that much.
However, besides 1980s brick structures, there seems to be older structures made of rammed earth. I guess those rammed earth structures have a lot of cultural relic value. I'd like to see the building group to select complete ones among those rammed earth structures to preserve.
the standard base on the 1902 magnitude 8 Artux earthquake, 35km away from Kashgar. someone said the dissymmetry of Id Kah Mosque is monument for the damage.
Really love the idea and story behind this video and how your storytelling brings to life your memories and the way things have changed! You have a new sub here!
@@FarWestChina , That was just one local in your sampling. One doesn't make statistics. Also, those who chose to stay put were staying put, weren't they? The same thing that irks me big time is some lower-middle-income Westerners bring their kids to vacation in Africa, and profusely lobby to have the natives stay primitive, so they can have a good time in the Safari on the cheap, and feel king mighty above the locals on a (Western) poor man's budget.
Thanks for sharing this video. I didn't aware that the old city has been torn down when I last visited in the year 2000. Is the amazing Sunday market still exist?. BTW I'm from Singapore.
Totally agree. I think those foreigners are actually very selfish, I'll bet they don't live in ancient dwellings that are falling apart in their own country. Britain is constantly making rejuvenation programs in various towns and areas, you don't hear complaints that the gov't is wiping out culture, in fact, most people welcome this type of improvement in their neighbourhood. But when the Chinese gov't does the same thing, there must be some dark motives according to some foreigners. Very strange logic indeed.
@@jerrywinefield2217 All humans are animals, some more savage than others. Expecting some to live in poor condition in the name of culture, history, (entertainment for tourists) is what reduces their lives to a zoo. Poverty is not criminal making it a spectacle is.
Hey Josh, One of those great episodes mate! I really enjoyed this one as Kashgar is such a lovely city. and keep up the good work! Greetings from Sydney. Ghalip
As they say, you cannot freeze time. Time will keep bringing change and that is true to all parts of the world. The Buddhist Uzgars found out that their old ways of living is over with the conquest of their land by the Muslim Turks. And now Buddhist China is reclaiming the land from the Turks. Time keep bringing in changes. That is the way it is.
I think you are been selfish and only think of the romantic view of what it was like in the " day"old" to suit your mind set. I was in Kasgar in 1995 and found the place to be in very poor condition. I didn't found the people very happy in those dwelling. These people deserve more.
It's crazy how a whole city like that can be smashed down and rebuilt in just a few years. I'm glad to see that it retains some of it's old charm, but I would have loved to see it before the reconstruction. I bet it was amazing.
@@FarWestChina Not just power, it is demand. The old city was threatened by the earthquake and was deeply affected. Therefore, for security reasons, reconstruction is also an urgent matter.
No one mentioned about the earthquakes risk of Kashgar region. The old city was not able make through the earthquakes. narrow street, wooden clay structure . No vehicle or rescue machines is able pass through those street at all. In 2003 there were a very bad earthquakes happened at the Kashagar region(Not in the city but in Jiashi) . Lots people lost their life in the earthquake. if you still want people stay in the old houses do you want the casualty happen again?
Yea...I don't believe that one bit. History has shown that these buildings have withstood over a thousand years of these earthquakes. Chinese concrete buildings, though, have been shown time and again to be so poorly built that they fall down at the smallest shake.
Travel Xinjiang: Far West China actually we don’t care about ur opinion ur opinion is to keep all people in poverty and keep ur privilege , most people like to new house and it’s more convenient few who don’t want to change just leave them alone no one has luxury time to change them, in inner china the situation is the same,u can get money and new house or else u stay in ur poverty with more happiness that’s ur business no one cares
Great question. You know, the truth is that everybody in Xinjiang has been conditioned well not to share their true feelings on politically sensitive matters like that. Even if they opposed the new city, they wouldn't tell many people - much less a foreign traveler.
Well that does make sense. I am sure opposition to the government's policies were not exactly encouraged. It's a shame though because I strongly believe in preserving history any chance we can. Sometimes it's out of our hands.
@@FarWestChina do you know any polling done in xinjiang? I know polling done for the whole china shows the majority support the government but I haven't seen anything region specific
Hi good afternoon from New Jersey, I just want to ask if I buy carpet in Kashgar , do the local have shipping company like DHL or Fedex that i can use to ship carpet to the USA .?
Here is an introduction to the ancient city of Kashgar. Welcome everyone to visit Kashgar, the westernmost city in China, a special economic zone, the Pearl of Central Asia.在这里推广一下喀什古城，欢迎大家来喀什旅游，中国最西的城市，经济特区，中亚明珠，喀什。The ancient city of Kashgar is the world's largest "architecture complex" in the world. A few years ago, China repaired the ancient city. Now It is a free 5A-level attraction. Other ancient cities with similar cultures in the world were all destroyed by war. Paramount Vantage released the Afghan story film "The Kite Runner", which was filmed in Kashgar. Afghanistan city was destroyed by gunfire.喀什古城是世界是最大的“生土建筑群”，几年前国家进行了保护性维修，现在是免费的5A级景区。而世界上其他类似文化的古城都毁于了战乱。派拉蒙发行的获奥斯卡奖影片，描写阿富汗故事电影《追风筝的人》就是在喀什拍的，阿富汗累似古城都毁于战争。
@Travel Xinjiang: Far West China Just for ur old school Nostalgia and summer holidays u cant deprive the people of their development, education and advancement.!! Its high time to focus on advancing infrastructure
So amazing to see they still have prayer mat I read a lot in history about KASHGHAR BUKHARA SAMARQAND Quite shocked to see that one in China I was expecting in islamic country
So hypocrite, like many westerns. It's like in Rio de Janeiro favelas, middle-class foreigners like to visit there as they are in a safari, "oh so exotic, interesting culture, look at so many unconventional skills, peculiar architecture..." But would they dare to live in such? It's a challenge for any goverment to ensure security and social development withal preserving cultural heritage and respecting all families' aspirations. In fact this region is facing terrorism and separatism threats which makes the situation even more tricky.
I am a chinese canadian. I have been to Kashgar on March 29, 2018. All most people can not speak chinese. However, body language is works. The price was cheaper than east china. People friendly and looks different likes foreigners. Buildings style are very different. Dry air but street clean. Policemen anywhere because Kashgar's location close Middle East(you know why). Whatever I like their so much.
I also had mixed feeling when I visited the first settlers village in Plymouth, Mass. It's a shame Pilgrims don't live in those cute small houses w/o toilet or central heating anymore. Bummer!
Nice video of a place I want to visit one day along with other parts of western China. Being from Pakistan and having traveled to the pak China border, this place holds a special value for me.
Privilege view by many Westerners who prefer to see the locals ins qualor bc that's the 'authentic' experience they prefer on their travels. Locals want to enjoy the benefits of the modern world, simple basic amenities like clean water etc. Its Orientalism for Westerners constantly believing they know what's best for the natives. Old town maybe could have been more nuance din redevelopment but it has been rebuilt and a lot of work went into trying to preserve the cultural designs of the old town. In time, the place when lived in will have a more authentic feel naturally. I think what's important is for the Govt to ensure that whilst some parts are open to commercilization/tourism which provides good income for the locals, that there is a residential mix as well and that part remains strictly less invaded by Tourism yet still open for people to wander and explore.
Thanks, Antony! Glad you enjoy it. The song is perhaps inspired by Hindi music, but it's actually a Uyghur song from a local singer here in Urumqi. I don't know the name of it off-hand.
Nice videos. I'm considering visiting Xinjiang on a tour. Was wondering if they generally allow selfie sticks to take photos and videos like how I'm guessing you used one. Or do you have to be discreet and conceal it? Are the people there generally timid if I were to politely ask to take a photo with them?
I can totally understand why you prefer the east side of the city, it looks a lot more real and less aimed at the tourists.So cool that this girl let you visit her house.I really like how you captured the different atmospheres of this city, in the old part and in the new part as well.Congratulation on your level of Chinese, it was really fun to see you speak in Chinese in this video.
Thanks for for share. What the view u share is i never knew in the life. There's a lot city from China i don't know about. And I'm going to travel there at the next Chinese New Year.
Hey guys, thanks so much for watching! I really enjoyed filming this video during my recent visit to Kashgar. Things have changed...but it's still a wonderful place to visit! I have tons more great videos scheduled to be published over the coming months, so don't forget to subscribe here and follow me on Instagram!
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I was there last month.. very pretty city indeed
I am looking forward a filming of your video in my hometown, Hutubi Country (Changji Hu Autonomous Region)in Xinjiang.
Please look up 2003 Bam earthquake in Iran. About 26,000 people died and 30,000 people wounded. The buildings in Kashgar were built in the similar way and materials as in Bam. It was one of the reason why they knocked down those old buildings and rebuild new ones for better earthquake proof. As of January 12th, 2019, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit Kashgar. I assume people would have fared worse if they had stayed in the old buildings. We all like historical buildings and have sentimental attachment to them, but sometimes, we have to change for better lives.
Kashgar is my father's hometown. Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I understand your feelings, and although I have never been to Kashgar, I must say that rebuilding the old part of the city is actually a good change for the locals. We can't expect locals to live in poor and outdated neighborhoods forever. It's sad to see the metropolitan shift and losing cultural uniqueness in architecture, but the government is taking responsibility for improving living conditions. It's a good idea to establish an museum to tell the history of Kashgar too. Then again, Kashgar isn't meant to be a tourist spot, so we can't expect it to remain the same forever.
Thanks for the comment!
True, its too easy for pampered people to say oh we wish we could save the old buildings. Try live in a place without modern plumbing, have you ever emptied bottle of piss every morning, have you ever tried dumping shit for real?
Aslam alikum
Can you are live in kashgar independently or not
My question about religion in china
Khuda hafiz
well said. When the westerns are enjoying living in new big houses, why should they expect the local people in Kashgar to live in the small crappy places all the time?
Beautiful Kashgar waooo
The reason the government rebuilt the old city is because those kind of mud brick buildings were exceptionally vulnerable to earthquake with very high casualty rate. The government made the decision after what happened to Bam Iran in 2003 where a moderately strong earthquake (6.6) killed at least twenty-six thousand people there. Granted the rebuilt city has been gentrified and hence lost some of its charm but this is absolutely the right thing to do. The Chinese government should be applauded by its effort rather than be vilified.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Bam_earthquake
Thanks for your comment! I've been aware of the reasons they gave for rebuilding the Old City, although I don't quite believe them all. It seems a bit odd that the government made a 2009 decision five years after a 2003 incident, don't you think? There were many other reasons that the Old City came down, but safety (for a city that had stood for centuries) was not a big one of them.
Thanks for replying back. No I don't think it is odd at all that the government did it five years after the 2003. After all the city has been around for hundreds of years and there is no immediate urgency that an earthquake is imminent. It is just something that needs to be done. They probably starts earlier than 2009 with all the planning, studies and consultation with the locals.
What do you think the other reasons were?
The 2003 Bam earthquake was in Iran but it shares the same type of mud brick buildings like the one in Kashgar.
The real reasons had to do with security. The demolition of the town had pretty much nothing to do with safety (although that was the reason that was given to the international audience) - the town had never had a major incident in over a thousand years of existence. Now, all of the sudden - BAM! - it's UNSAFE! Yea, right.
There were security incidents in 2008 and 2009 and the way that the Old Town was originally set up made it nearly impossible to police. I'm not saying it was a bad decision, I'm just saying that's the real reason the decision was made.
Many people died in the 2008 earthquake because it is much stronger. The 2008 Sichuan earthquake measured at 8.0M while the Bam earthquake measured at 6.6M. Note that this is in logarithmic scale. A 8M earthquake is 10 times stronger than a 7M earthquake. If the city Bam was constructed with modern structures instead of mud bricks building, the casualties should be much less.
People should be extremely judgmental when reading reports by Westerners about ethnic relations from other non Western cultures. Not that these reporters are necessarily intentionally deceitful, but because Westerners have certain perspectives in seeing things due to their historic cultural background on ethnic relations, they will often come to conclusion that does not reflect reality and they couldn't help it. Unlike China Europe has been beset by ethnic tension and conflict for millennium. If the power differential between the two groups is huge, it became ethnic oppression. If the power differential between two groups is commensurable, it became war. This has been the default mode of Europe (Europe has been at peace with itself by and large post WWII is actually an anomaly) and so it is only natural that Westerners assume this is the common behavior among all human beings across cultures.
China would not have existed if Chinese operate at the same mindset as that of their European counterparts. The Han group is actually many different ethnic groups/tribes that coalesce organically throughout several thousands years of nation building precisely because the Han culture has a very weak sense of ethno-nationalism. This is why there is 1.3 billion of them. You can still see remnants of group difference today by their many mutually intelligible vernacular. In modern political jargon China is the ultimate 'melting pot'. The Han people is equivalent to the European people while Han from different regions is equivalent to people from different European countries.
So how is the situation of the Uyghurs people in China? Here is a podcast that talks about this issue.
mpegmedia.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/2013/10/bia_20131016.mp3
Media stereotypes: if not rebuilt media would say bad government don't give a shit about the poor Uyghurs who still live in dangerous mud houses; if rebuilt media will say the government didn't ask for Uyghur locals' opinions there's no democracy. Anyway it's the government who is to blame?
What I believe is as long as the locals are still here Kashgar won't lose its spirit.
I agree with your final statement. As for the media, there are plenty of places where Uyghur are living in their mud homes here in Xinjiang and I don't hear anybody complaining about it, nor were they saying bad things about the Kashgar government before they tore down the Old City. So where are you basing this argument from, other than your own bias against the "media"?
It's not only about Kashgar and Uyghurs it's about the whole western China, you can see "poverty in western China" has been a big topic in recent years, and medias blame the government for ignoring poor people's living conditions in western China.
It's a fact that mud houses are more traditional-looking, but concrete houses also have their advantages, they can stay stable during earthquakes and are more stable on electricity and water supply, it's an improvement to people's living conditions. As for people who have lived in mud houses for hundreds of years, it's definately not easy to adapt the to the life living in new houses, just like in my place where typhoons come every summer but there are still many people who are not willing to leave their old stone houses and put themselves in a hard condition, which is dangerous and inconvenient(of course they don't think it's dangerous and inconvenient)
haha i heard so much .they think han chinese take everything of xinjiang.so they are poor.even han chinese every complaining .once a old guy told me the road light is dark because the goverment move the money to their home.you are not local you do not know nothing.and maybe they do not know how is the modern house and modern life.they just dont know.
You made a good point about western media's treatment of China. Either way, the Chinese government will never win. They can come in and take a few photos and start to call out how the Communist regime is violating human rights by leaving people in poor living conditions. Or, once rebuilt, they will come in and say "look how the CCP have demolished their culture".
The same treatment happened to Tibet too. After CCP came in in the 50s, they started to build hospitals and roads, whereas the CIA is funding terrorist attack in Tibet, caring little about the living conditions of Tibetans. All the western media did was to portray Tibet as this pristine land where people live in peace, whereas the CCP is just an oppressive regime taking away local culture. Little did they know the theocratic rule of Tibet was a hell on earth.
The bottom line is for a culture to sustain, economic security is fundamentally crucial. With good local infrastructure and higher living standard, people can live and thrive, as well as their culture.
as long as the locals are still here Kashgar won't lose its spirit.
Great video boss. I just returned from my trip to Xinjiang. I can see the point of some of the comments here but I can also understand your preference for the "old" old city. Hell, when I went back to my home town, I was praying to God that the places I used to frequent aren't torn down. But speaking to the locals (my family included), I realized that life's got to improve and move on for them too
对游客来说，最怕的就是目的地没了所谓的原汁原味，对于当地人来说，现代化的改造才能让他们每天生活的更好。
国内的问题是缺少更仔细的规划。不过政府的初心的是好的
It is one thing to be nostalgic, but it’s another matter if you don’t improve living conditions of the locals. People scream “cultural genocide”. But what they do not know is, the living conditions the locals have to live with. It’s easier to say, retain what they have, but really, who is living their live out there? Pretty sure the locals would love to upgrade their homes for more comfortable and higher standard of living.
I understand you like to see poor and old city which makes you feel good. But local people deserve new and better city and better life.
Cant agree more
Old cities can be renovated without demolishing them completely. I'm pretty sure many houses there were good enough to withstand earthquakes like the new ones.
What you said makes no sense, Historic cities beat new cities any day, their more walkable, more urban, have more going, and lot more beautiful architecture, if you want to bulldoze that in favor of wide ugly roads glass blocks you're an imbecile
After coming to Belgium, I once went on a local tour of one of the outer districts of Brussels. We visited a few mini-districts that interestingly enough, made me think of the hutongs and siheyuans in China. The ones we visited were quite charming.
The tour guide then explained that there used to be many such tiny districts in Brussels, and they were essentially crowded slums with no sanitation and prone to fire hazards. The vast majority had already been demolished, leaving only a few left (now renovated).
It made me realize that Europe had all these 'cute' districts before as well, it's just that they demolished them and replaced them with modern villas long ago, and for good reason.
👏👏👏
One of the many reasons to rebuild is for the sewerage and clean water system for hygiene. Stopping polluted water getting into rivers & streams & so on.
It takes infrastructure to build Treatment Plants to purify water before it enters the rivers & streams.
@@LCDH-jw5hi
So true.
People should work closely with government.
More development not politic
I just got back a few days ago from Kashgar. I loved it. The locals were awesome, perhaps some of the most friendly i've met in China.
So true. Glad you had such a good time, Andrew!
If you want an "old town house structure" try to go to Philippines and stay on their "nipa hut" ( the very old traditional hut) . For sure in 1 night of stay, mosquito are so happy . No water, no electricity.
Actually he does not need to go anywhere. There are so many poor people in his own country for him to see. Not mention the increasing number of homeless who live in tents or just wonder around the city. He and his country men do Not care about these poor people at all.
@@旅加学者李建宏博士 hahaha that was perfect response :)
The rebuilt looks good tbh, as long as it retains their culture stylings, which looks so awesome btw. Their features and everything about them looks so interesting. A blend of cultures.
I recommend you to watch the Taiwan youtube ‘九十里公车‘ s video. He explained how the rebuild works. The government actually consulted the locals on how they want to rebuild their house and they asked the locals to design their own house. And they rebuild it from inside out, change the material of the house but not the design. Or if the locals want to change the design, then they will go with it. I don’t blame you for your opinion because it might be shaped due to language barrier. Watch that UA-cam and it will change your opinion on how China’s local authorities work, and how effective those methods are
Link please, I don't know how to type that
Yes. Taiwan goverment is better than China Comunist Party
Think of it this way, Berlin is a historical city, but virtually all buildings had been bombed to the point where it needs to be rebuilt in 1945. The new buildings still looks great and European (and many might even look historical), but when you found out when it’s build, it’s hardly historical at all. So if you look at it from this perspective, maybe rebuilding a part of the city is not a bad thing, it’s a process of modernization. I mean in America, you will also go through 70s 80s 90s, you shouldn’t expect other cultures to stay stagnant and not improving. After all these are not heritage buildings like the blue mosque.
Not exactly. Berlin is still very historical. Many of the buildings were badly damaged, but they were still standing. Not completely demolished. They were rebuilt using the original materials as well.
Anyone thanks for your video. It was nice to walk around the 100 year old part with ya. I make vids and vlogs from Guangzhou
Tourists always want to see the Oriental pictures remaining unchanged ever from their Western gaze. However, when they enter into their actual home (e.g. this guy's climbing unto the wavering and "dangerous" ladder), the fear can be heard from his voice and contempt seen from his face. Seems he started to notice how horrible (if they are compassionate enough) it would be for any government to ignore their own people by letting them live in endangered "old" buildings just for the sake of visitors' voyeuring. After he gets out, he said "it is fascinating how people even don't want to move". WOW! What a drastic change of attitude. Yup, this might be a good way for the Western tourists to experience what in their minds "destroying Kashgar by CCP" means BEFORE and AFTER.
How ironic it is when a person who claims to be democratic (which means to advocate for people's equal enjoyment of resources) criticizes China's government's efforts on helping people transform their life into betterment!. Yes, you want to see an OLD CHINA. But old China is only an invaded and raped wretched land by the Western colonizers. Now, people have the NEW CHINA. But no one can ever deny new China's old history that extends for 5000 years. Construction is always accompanying destruction. Westerners usually only see China from their demonizing eyes so that China becomes demonized, not by anything else, but by themselves. Intentionally or not!
Well said 😬👌🏼
Drama queen.
Hi Josh, I was in Kashgar just 2 weeks ago, and as you probably already know, the “old” old city is now off-limits to visitors, and I could only see it from the outside. There are signs that say city is going restoration works, but I’m not sure how long the signs have been up. Thanks for the video, for “bringing” me in. Awesome vid!
Sad to hear that!
I just like how a part of the old city could still remain. The rebuilt new house is still beautiful though. It‘s easily for life. I could understand some older people want to stay in the older part bc they were born there, and it could be difficult for the elders to accept new things. But for the future and development, rebudiling is a must.
Nice video. New buildings replace old or deteriorated structures - pretty typically and happens everywhere in China and around the world. Understand you had mixed feeling as your memory attaches to the Old old town. Well, this is not about you, but the locals, so you should be happy as long as the locals are happy. The "new old town" retains its Uighur identify. Western medias may be disappointed as they cannot use the new old town to attack Chinese government.
@@Paladiini not according to the locals , nor this American who made the video.
@@Paladiini If you want an "old town house structure" try to go to Philippines and stay on their "nipa hut" ( the very old traditional hut) . For sure in 1 night of stay, mosquito are so happy . No water, no electricity.
@@Paladiini your claim is akin to saying a boy is totally happy when he literally crying. Also, you brain is also like a prison. Incapable of reaching out alternative information, consume only boring daily meal.
@@sz5263 You sure you understand the local girl in this vedio? As far as I can tell, there are some misunderstanding between the guy and the local girl due to language barriers and some proud feelings maybe. The girl doesn't understand fully of what this guy is saying, and she also tried to reply with simple English which I don't think fully expressed what she meant. (no affense).
I see the girl is warmly-hearted to show the guy her house so she expressed her love to the house. But she didn't say she PREFERS the old house than the new one, and She also impled that her family owns another modernized house.
I don't deny that the girl is proud of her old house, and likes her old house a lot. But to say the locals don't appreciate the renovations is a bit of arbituray.
Dude, real people live in those houses, do you want to live in a concrete solid house or mud-stacked rain- leaking house???
Westerners want everyone else to live in traditional huts for their viewing pleasure.
@@sfbluestar I know it's easy to stereotype "Westerners" and it helps you to redirect the conversation away from the grim reality, but it needs to be said again: what makes this sad isn't the destruction of "traditional huts", it's the fact that the people who lived in those huts never had a say in what happened to them and where they moved.
Travel Xinjiang: Far West China I really like your video actually I live in china and i always wanted to visit xinjiang but I don’t know who to trust if it’s safe or not or if it would be a problem for me as I’m Muslim from an arabic country , I heard a lot of control mostly in kashgar
@@FarWestChina You mean like Imminent Domain laws are bad? Yes the China govt way can be draconian, but it's also a fact that in China many many many many people's dwelling situation needs improvement. They'd be lucky if govt even devotes the budget to rebuild their dwelling. Can't expect too much personal attention; that's just reality with such large population. If not for the draconian way of getting things done, China today will be more like India (which is a crappy place).
@@FarWestChina How do you know that the people who lived in those huts didnt have a say in what were to happen and where they were to move? They even participated in the deisign of their own new dwelling, and its not a stereotype of "westerners" cuz this "pointing fingers at others" kind of habit happens way to often among westerners.
Even if the city is so different, it was still very enjoyable to watch you interact with people that you came across on the streets. You can tell how much you have a passion for culture and travel in China.
Thank you! I'm glad that the passion shows - and I appreciate that you've stopped by to watch and comment, Jen. You've got some great stuff on your channel!
Actually what you saw were not the two thousand- year old house, because in the earthquake of 1902, nearly 90% of the old city houses were collapsed and more than 500 people died. Those old houses are going to collapse in an earthquake in the future.
I somehow can not find reliable sources about your statement here "because in the earthquake of 1902, nearly 90% of the old city houses were collapsed and more than 500 people died". Could you please give me links or info of your sources? Thanks.
Really glad I found your channel, Josh. You tell a good story - I knew nothing about Kashgar, but within 30 seconds I was intrigued to know all about their past and present. You've got a new subscriber.
Hey, thanks so much Dan! I've been enjoying a lot of your videos out there in Canada :)
Hello again, Josh. This is once more an excellent report of yours, this time about the actual Kashgar. I am absolutely thrilled just by the sound of the city's name, morally I am all prepared and economically I am still working on it. Nevertheless, your video-reports have motivated me and Xingjang will be my next destination. Thank you once more for your effort and for always friendly approach. Last but not least, thank you for the steady camera accompanying you. Keep well.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Glad you enjoyed it ;)
1902年的那次地震，至今仍是老城居民的梦魇。90%民房倒塌，500多名居民伤亡，蜚声中外的艾提尕尔清真寺也未能幸免，寺前的寺门塔楼遭到严重损坏，墙体裂开大缝……“除了我和你姑姑，全家人眨眼工夫都没有了。”阿不都热苏力·西里甫至今记得父亲给他讲述过的那场灾难。
Translation of the above post: " The earthquake of 1902 is still a nightmare for the old city residents. 90% of the houses collapsed, more than 500 residents were killed or injured, and the Etihad Mosque, which is famous both at home and abroad, was not spared. The temple tower in front of the temple was severely damaged, and the wall cracked open... "Besides me and your aunt, the whole family There are no people in the blink of an eye." Abu Dhabi Sili Siri still remembers the disaster that his father told him."
Great video, Josh, as usual! :-)
When we lived there in '04-'08 we would regularly walk through the old city on our way to Id Khah or even the post office. Yes, it was relatively easy to get lost, but you know what? Getting lost was kinda fun! We got to know more of the city - and more people who live there - in the process of finding our way out.
We visited it again in '13, and at that time the new parts of the old city were in the process of being built. Like you, I was sad to see the loss of the chaotic charm of the original old city. But as I watched your video, it seemed to me that just maybe that charm is returning. Yes, it has wider streets and cookie-cutter architecture, but at least it uses a Uyghur-ish cookie cutter!
Regarding the night market, when we were there from '04-'08 I don't remember Kashgar having a night market! It seemed to me that your video of the night market could have been the night market in Urumqi near Er Dao Qiao. Even the stalls look the same! I wonder if the city planners decided that Kashgar should have a night market similar to Urumqi's. Just a thought.
Anyway, great video! Makes me want to go back more than ever! Maybe someday...
This was a really inspirational video for me. I've done some research in Tibet on residential development and this summer I'm planning on going to Xinjiang to do similar work. My goal is to work towards educational travel content like this. Really loved it thanks so much!
My pleasure, Jesse! Thanks for watching and commenting...I hope that your trip to Xinjiang goes well this summer and if it will be any help to you, make sure to grab a copy of my Xinjiang travel guide here: www.xjtravelguide.com
Hey, that's Hindi (Indian) song in background, not Uighur!
Yes...the girl is saying maintain distance from me.
@@amitjaiswal366 That's a good COVID-19 social distancing order song.
I have been there 2018,too !! I never knew it was rebuilt. It’s a big pity and a good thing. Because the house is easy to catch fire, The fire engine can’t come in and help put out the fire，Lane is too narrow
Thanks, Josh, very interesting video. I was in Kashgar about 5 years ago and thought the whole city delightful. I would agree with one of the comments that people want to live somewhere safe and well built so I can understand the Chinese government rebuilding some of the city.
As for metal detectors, they are a fact of life everywhere now - Moscow, London, New York. There has been terrorism in Xinjiang just like the above cities and the government is only trying to protect people.
I much enjoy your posts - I've visited Xinjiang twice and think it is a wonderful region with such friendly people, delicious food and wonderful places to visit. I'd recommend a visit to anyone. I'll be there again.
Thank you, Richard! I'm glad to know that you enjoy the videos and that you've had a chance to visit Kashgar. I hope you're able to return soon ;)
I went just a couple years ago and your video brings back fond memories. While the "old old city" was certainly very special, and I'm really glad it's still there so we can see how things used to be, I found the clean, wide streets inviting and refreshing and not suffering any shortage of life and charm. And being able to live without fear of the walls coming down around me from any middling earthquake was a relief. (Earthquakes happen in that region quite frequently! There was one just over the border in Pakistan while I was traveling back to Kashgar and people in Kashgar said they'd felt it.)
The night market looks different... All the stalls have little roofs and are in orderly rows. It was much more chaotic and unkempt when I was there. Also, I didn't get the impression that it was touristy. Of course that's where the tourists go, as it's a great part of life in the old city, but the tourists were FAR outnumbered by the locals. And there were restaurants right off the night market that seemed to be *only* visited by locals (and me). :P
Anyway, thanks for the cool video that refreshed these memories. :)
+Jason Bechtel My pleasure, Jason! Thanks for sharing your experience. I definitely agree with you that the new Old City is inviting and refreshing. As somebody who saw the original Old City, I'm too keenly aware of how the current iteration of the city reflects nothing of the historical reality. That said, I believe that the people are what make a city, not the buildings, so I'm not too heartbroken.
I am curious, Jason, what would have made you fearful of walls coming down on you? From a historical standpoint, despite the earthquakes, no major incident had happened in Kashgar before. Is that thought entirely based on the government saying it was unsafe?
honestly, it's a very remote, minuscule fear. i hadn't heard anything about it from the gov't. just the knowledge that things like that happen (e.g. in Nepal not too long ago).
The walls have been standing like that for two thousands years. Moreover, the houses were mud-brick and court-yarded and environmentally friendly.
Iran's ancient city Bam had similar mud houses and stood for 2000 years, then in 2003 an earthquake struck and killed 26k residents with 30k more injured. If a city lies in fault area, a quake will eventually happen en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Bam_earthquake
I'm uyghur and i liked your video. Good luck
I enjoyed the video and I understand that your intentions are neutral with regards to West/East perspective. But urban development is not isolated to just Kashgar but the whole of China.
You can debate that these buildings withstood for thousands of years and aren't in danger of collapse, but I think that's a pretty lazy argument. Kashgar is an ancient city and the original planners probably weren't all that interested in green space, navigable roads, earthquake contingency, or urban planning.
Furthermore, Kashgar's future as a SEZ will bring further change as Beijing aspires to turn Kashgar into the keystone of the One Belt, One Road initiative. Kashgar will inevitably have a higher Han population as well.
Kashgar's success was on the silkroad, so it is fitting that the new silkroad will create a new image for Kashgar aswell. Change is inevitable and there is no arguing against it.
Interesting argument, Josh, and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts in a constructive instead of combative way. I agree with you that development is inevitable and is happening not just all over China but all over the world.
As you heard in the video, I'm not against the rebuilding of Kashgar's Old City. I have three points of contention here:
1) "It's for the safety of the people" - I'm tired of the lame excuses for why the city was rebuilt. On a scale of 1-100, maybe 5% of the reason was because of earthquake/safety. Another 5% was for the sake of development and economy. The other 90% was for better control/policing/monitoring. I mean, can we just be honest here?
2) The locals didn't have any say in the matter. They didn't get to choose to have their neighborhoods torn down nor did they get to choose or have say in how they would be rebuilt. It is no longer Uyghur architecture. It is Uyghur-inspired Chinese architecture, which is completely different. As I said in the video, it just makes me sad to see how it doesn't feel authentic at all - because it wasn't designed or built by Uyghur people.
3) "Kashgar will become a new hub of commerce on the New Silk Road!" At this point, that's not true. First, the government said they were going to make Kashgar on par with Shenzhen in terms of SEZs. Housing prices skyrocketed. Then a couple years later the government revised that statement to say "similar to Shenzhen but on a much smaller scale in terms of SEZ" (paraphrase mine). Prices fell. Why? Because they can't maintain such an unreasonable level of security while trying to promote international trade. All you have to do is drive outside the first Kashgar checkpoint to see the "little Guangzhou" trade district to see what I mean. It's been a ghost town for 5 years now.
I'm not arguing against change. I'm lamenting the loss of authentic culture and the lame excuses that follow its destruction.
Travel Xinjiang: Far West China "90% for control/policing/ monitoring“? Hahaha. A government invested so much money to rebuild an old city is 90% for monitoring? Haha. First, Why didn't the government just install more and more cameras on the street to monitoring them. It costs much less than rebuild the whole city. Second, you think the government didn't control and monitor that area before rebuild the old city? Come on, dude, since you dislike Chinese government so much, I think you already know Chinese government has so many ways to control and monitor her people. Yes, the local people were already being controlled and monitored by the government even when they lived in the old houses. And the whole China are under controlling and monitoring by the government. Why are you foreigners so naive about this? Every government control and monitor their people include "The land of free", US. Or you never heard of Edward Snowden? And if you are the top leader of a country, you will do the same thing, too. Let's to be honest, Chinese government doesn't need this way to control and monitor their people, they already make it.
And for the real reason to rebuild the city, 40% is for the people's safety. No more people should die in the next earthquake. 40% is for improving the local economy. The new city with wider roads and regularly arranged streets will bring more tourists. And the traffic will be improved, too, which is very important for the local economy. 20% is to improve the living standards of local people so locals will be more satisfied with the local government which will prevent the minority's chaos or terrorist actions.
@@haiyangzhang9156 well it's only blabla... as far as i know china recently change his politic and try to conserve old cities and monument... which got destroyed after mao zedong.. evolution is ok but losing his culture is not the best option. I live in shanghai and i'm sorry to tell that but shanghai/shengzhen/guangdong blabla lost their identities. It just looks like american cities. And if america is the model of china, it's a pity for china. In 400 years you won't be able to say if you are living/travelling in china or in an occidental country, that's the point... and i'm not really sure that modern occidental cities are really an example to follow... for me, it looks ugly and you feel no history and no soul
I fully agree with Josh, Kashgar is so rich in History that it should remain much as it is. Further development will erode it once the ancient charm crossroad to China.
@@benyisg7633 , City is built for people that live there 365 days of the year. Not for tourists to look at.
I remember traveling here a while back! I was fascinated by the experience of being a Uighur in an otherwise Han majority environment. At the time, it was medium level security at the time, but the desert was majestic & awe inspiring.
Thanks for the video. I was very fortunate to vacation in Kashgar with my wife and kids two years ago. Although I didn't know the history of the rebuild, I had heard comments about "the real Kashgar" from various tourists. Every night after the rest of my family went to sleep, I'd go out and wander for hours, including in the remains of the old city. But even in the rebuilt city, I saw so much activity and vitality, including what I could only guess was some kind of bachelor party procession of about a hundred people and all sorts of musicians.
It was rebuilt, but it wasn't Disneyland. It wasn't one of those fake "ancient cities" that are all over China. As far as I could tell, the people were very real. After my week there, I concluded with the following sentiment:
I went searching for the real Kashgar, but I failed to ever find the fake one.
Thanks for sharing. I understand where you're coming from and I believe that the average tourist - particularly the Chinese tourists - won't be able to tell. As I said in the video, what makes Kashgar special is not old buildings, it's people; and as you mentioned, the people are still very real.
That said, since you are a traveler who has no context or understanding of what was "real", how did you expect to know it when you saw it? You failed to find the fake one because that's all you knew. I walk around the new "old city" and all I see is fake. The people are great - I agree.
It's important to note: your failure to find the "fake one" was not because it wasn't there, it's because you are unaware of what the "real one" was supposed to look like. This is exactly how China plans to eradicate the Uyghur culture, by rebuilding it with "Chinese characteristics" and hoping that the international community can't tell the difference.
@@FarWestChina I like that you actually went to XingJiang to see for yourself what's happening there. But while I like to experience and see cultures, architectures in their most traditional form as much as you do, you should at least do some research before you form any kind of opinion especially what the Chinese gov is doing or what they have done in that region. Your opinions sounded 'under-researched'.
@@alexeilyubimov7760 Josh lived and worked in Xinjiang for a number of years, he didn't just pass through. He is definitely not under-researched. He also rarely spoke out on political issues, but he did in this instance and his POV sounds very convincing, given that he speaks and writes mandarin and was on the ground to witness many changes first hand.
Thanks for sharing your experience! I just want to say that we live in present, and the present is the history of the future. What we call old is actually modern for people who lived in the past.
So, I don't agree with Josh's comment about what's "real" and what's "fake". Josh seems only want the time to freeze at 2006 when he first traveled there. He would see any change, any modernization as "China's evil plan to eradicate the Uyghur culture." If we follow this logic, then himself, a non-local foreigner, living there gradually influencing the local apperance is another form of culture eradication.
Kashgar has been older than 2006. Kashar has been 100 years old, 200 years old, and 3000 years old, and can be in the future 100000 years old. And 2000 years ago, this Kashgar is filled with Buddism cultures, then would you call today's muslim Kashgar "Fake"? Time is limitless, but Geograghic space is! Now, we can only cherish the bit of every stage of the historical cultural still preserved in a shared geological space, but we can't force any point of time to FREEZE.
Also, I don't agree with his opinion about Chinese characteristics polluting Kashgar. Kashgar for thousands of years has been a place with. multiple cultures intermingled to form its unique culture (including multiple Chinese cultures now all melted into Han culture). Now keep in mind, culture has fluidity, it is not rigid, forever unchanged. I can assure you that there is this group of people once existed on the silk road that is not persian, not Chinese, not turkic, but they are a group that's really good at trading and doing bussiness. But their trace has lost in the long river of history. There is not enough records left except the old literature has recoded their existence.
In short, I just want to say that as a person live in this moment of time, we can only cherish whatever has survived the histroy and is still present. It is certainly unfair to judge certain period of time as "real" or "fake"! after all, WE ARE PART OF THE HISTORY.
@@FarWestChina Thanks for your comments. I like most of your videos. However, I want to share some thoughts about your view that "Chinese people are eradicating the Uyghur culture." I want to say that we are living in the present, and the present is the history of the future. What we call "old" is actually "modern" for people who lived in the past.
So, I disagree with your comment about "real" and "fake." You seem only to want the time to freeze at 2006, when you first traveled there. Hence, you would see any change, any modernization as "China's evil plan to eradicate the Uyghur culture." If we follow this logic, then you, a non-local foreigner, living there gradually influencing the local appearance is another form of cultural eradication.
Kashgar has been older than 2006. Kashgar has been 100 years old, 200 years old, and 3000 years old, and can be in the future 100000 years old. For example, 2000 years ago, this Kashgar was filled with Buddism cultures. Then would you call today's Muslim Kashgar "Fake"? Time is limitless, but geographic space is! Now, we can only cherish the bit of every stage of its historical culture still preserved in a shared geological space, but we can't force any point in time to FREEZE.
Also, I can't entirely agree with your opinion about Chinese characteristics polluting Kashgar. You view Chinese as a pure foreign culture to Kashgar culture. (I also felt a subtle tone that you seem to consider the Chinese being inferior to Uyghur culture. Your preference is your freedom. Is that because Uyghurs are more western looked?) For thousands of years, Kashgar has been a place with multiple cultures intermingled to form its unique culture (including multiple different Chinese cultures, which now all melted together under the name of Han culture). Now keep in mind that culture has fluidity. It is not rigid, not forever unchanged. I can assure you that this group of people once existed on the silk road. They were not Persian, not Chinese, and not Turkic, but they were very good at trading and doing business. But their trace has been lost in the long river of history. There are not enough records left except the old Chinese literature has recorded their existence.
In short, I want to say that as people living at this moment of time, we can only cherish whatever has survived the history and is still present. Therefore, it is unfair to judge certain cultural sites as "real" or "fake"! After all, WE ARE PART OF THE HISTORY.
Very fantastic video and very nice talk with ladies. House room is very beautifully decorated.
change like this happens everywhere in china. im from a city near the Dongting Lake, and the majoritie of the old town in my city was also replaced by concret about 50 yrs ago. My grand parents feel sad about that too, but they feel more content about moving into a new house equiped with running water, electricty, and a modern toilet. ya, the old toilet was just a huge hold covered by wide wooden bars. Destroy and rebuild is an easier and cheaper solution, at that time, local gov was too poor to maintain the old town. now that china has developped a lot, local gov has started a protection program to preserve what still remains. sad that there are not much to preserve, but people do get a better life. A paradox.
I personally think the reason for tearing down the city is twofold. Firstly to improve safety. You cannot have economic growth if everything is destroyed in a disaster or heavily disorganized where one cannot provide decent education or healthcare due to the nature of the place. Second is security. The Uyghur community had seen a number of people go to Syria and Iraq to fight for the Islamic State and other jihadist groups. China is naturally fearful of their return as are Western countries with their own citizens.
Aside from that Xinjiang is one of the places that has a separatist mentality is Tibet and the latter has clearly seen benefits under Chinese rule. Specifically Chen Quanguo's. This man is very popular in the CCP because in truth it is still mostly a meritocracy. The man pushed policies that helped elevate the Tibetans from poverty and was transferred to Xinjiang in 2016 after uplifting Tibet.
Chen Quanguo's policies can be summed up as carrot and stick. The carrot being affirmative action, where private businesses have to have a minimum number of ethnic employees and expanding the police force to include more of the local ethnic groups. The stick comes in the form of a wide surveillance net (partly aided by the reconstruction in Kashgar) and troublemakers are arrested by their own people. With economic benefits and a reduction in poverty, people as less likely to take to the streets. As we can see from the decreasing amount of anti-China material coming out of Tibet since he was posted there in 2011, he seems to have succeeded. He is replicating his success in Xinjiang.
The vocational education centres (concentration camps in western media) and associated economic measures effectively cut the source of extremists. So younger Uyghurs are required to obtain skills and learn Mandarin. Once it is done they are suggested to open their own business or stay with the vocational education centres, in case some are really incompetent to run business themselves, for simple manufacturing jobs. Besides these actually unproductive but heavily government subsidised manufacturing jobs (CCP is buying them out here), mostly they run food businesses like serving food in the night markets, or selling dry fruit and nut businesses in the day markets. Among them some smartest ones even relocated to inland China to extend their businesses like, as I read somewhere before, one wholesaling nuts big in Wuhan with a supply chain starting from Xinjiang. As this develops further, with money the Uyghurs now mostly come back to their traditional lives, like dancing in colourful dresses and drinking alcohols. That's an ongoing dereligionisation process.
Wow, those are probably some of the most racist, insensitive and ignorant thoughts I’ve read in a while.
@@ozsharpener Except that the CCP clearly does not want a brain drain into the cities, nor does it want a traditional Uyghur lifestyle. Which is why the Belt and Road goes through the Western Regions to encourage growth there. They want a modern society. The traditional stuff is all for show for Western audiences who decry the loss of a unique culture, which does not contribute to the betterment of humanity. In the CCP it is seen as holding back society, things like Traditional Chinese Medicine or foot binding are seen in the same vein. Only problem with TCM is that it has a significant following and lobbies, which makes it hard to eliminate. Not saying the CCP has no problems, it has plenty and reform is significantly harder than in the West due to censorship, but we are seeing progress in LGBT rights for example.
@@FarWestChina I am interested in honest engagement. Would you mind breaking down my post and detail why it is racist, ignorant, and insensitive?
@@eugeneng7064 I have to say some of your observations are not accurate. However I don't want to have a debate on them, for example TCM and LGBTs.
Regarding the Uyghurs, they were not quite good at fighting historically. They are not highly religious either as they do drink a lot and wear sexy outfits. You can see that from many recent Xinjiang videos on UA-cam. All the past extremism problems were mainly due to poverty. Their integration with the Hans is actually a lot easier than most people would have thought.
For instance, in Mao's era, they were employed in state run, "unproductive" factories and farms. Many said they were becoming the so called semi-Hans down the track of such integration. I read an online article written by a Han guy who worked in a workshop of such a factory. As he recalls, some of his Uyghur male colleagues even took chances to have sex with their girlfriends during break times. So, they did quite enjoy such financial freedom back then.
They went for extremism after Deng's capitalism reform started, just because all those unproductive facilities collapsed.
That's why when the money was poured in again in past decade, Xinjiang's situation quickly stabilised and the integration resumed. They now even have more options, the "unproductive" factories (vocational education centres) are back and private run markets are also available. So keeping the old houses makes no sense to them. They are not stubborn people.
China always has this mysterious aura around it! Your channel looks quite interesting, thanks for sharing the Far West China. :)
My pleasure! Thanks for stopping by, Parichay :)
Eastern Turkistan
@@rinatabenov5814 Xinjiang of China
It is related to Nepal. Khas= Gorkha=Nepal.
@@SM-ku3uo east turkistan not china
Thanks Josh. Great to see inside a house. I felt that the new old city was more like Spain. Someone told me that the old city was more diverse, with every house having it's own differently decorated front door, and that the designers of the new old city, not the residents, wanted more uniformity. That happens all over the world, including in my own city. But I'm glad to see that the vibrancy is returning to the new area. I was there at the end of 2015 and it looked a lot more sterile than it does here.
Thanks, Deirdre! I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you have a chance to come back and see how things have changed/improved (hopefully).
历时5年，喀什老城核心区改造已经完成......结构更加坚固、能抗8.5级地震，巷道更宽、打通了消防救援通道。
............
大规模的老城拆迁改造，没有出现一起越级上访事件：作为喀什城市建设发展的重要转折点，老城区改造，除了核心区，还包括外围27个片区，涉及49083户、22万人；但从喀什地委信访局的记录来看，改造实施以来，没有发生一例群体性上访事件，也没有发生一例到自治区、北京上访的事件。
Translation of the above post:
"After 5 years, the renovation of the core area of the old town of Kashgar has been completed... The structure is more sturdy, can withstand the 8.5-magnitude earthquake, and the roadway is wider, and the fire rescue channel is opened.
............
Large-scale demolition and relocation of the old city, there is no incident of cross-level petition: as an important turning point in the construction and development of the city of Kashgar, the renovation of the old city, in addition to the core area, also includes 27 peripheral areas, involving 49,083 households and 220,000 people; but from Kashgar According to the records of the local government's petition bureau, since the implementation of the reform, there has not been a case of mass petitions, and there has not been a case of petitioning to the autonomous region and Beijing"
Great video, man! I've always wondered about this. I remember seeing the news about the old city being torn down way back in the day and being so saddened by it. It's great that you actually can show people what's up rather than just reading a news story. Thanks for the video!
My pleasure, Austin! Thanks so much for watching - now you just need to come out and see it yourself ;)
We were in Kashgar in 2012. At that time some construction on the rebuilt was underway. The night market was still in the old place. It was more intimate than it looks like now. The charm of the city was special. For some one who has travelled in China since 1980 I have seen almost a total rebuild of the Country. As usual some of the charm is lost but for some of the people their living conditions are improved. The rural areas are slower in rebuilding so the charm is still there making the visit to the countryside more rewarding if you are interested in examining the old world charm of China.
Great comment. I agree - it's not a simple black and white issue. There was a lot about the "old" old city that was charming and special, but at some point a city has to grow and develop.
It is nice to see a lot of tourists in this city. Never heard of this Kashgar before, went on google to check where that is and got really surprised that it is not that far from where I was born and grew up which is Almaty, Kazakhstan. Thank you for sharing this video. Old (rebuilt) Kashgar is nice city to visit and explore.
I'm hoping to make a trip out to Almaty in the next year or two! It's pretty easy to do from the Xinjiang capital of Urumqi now.
Living in old mud-built houses is cool, but it is very vulnerable to fire and earthquake. And a responsible government should think ahead about the future of the community.
Come on, man. Think for yourself here instead of regurgitating the propaganda! How is a mud-brick house in danger of fire??
you are brainwashed by west media or you just west media.
come on, man! do you really think that mud-brick houses are immune to fire? doesnt every house need to store fuels to keep them warm?
mud-brick can be burnt after some other flameble material are on fire....
old electricity line are the most comment story for fire to start.
Kashgar looks like a great place to explore. All that history
It's a great place to visit!
I am a Pakistani and a Turkic Afghan "Khan" by race , I always been amused by the old Islamic Cultures of Kashgar (China) and Bukhara , Samarkand (Uzbekistan) , it's my wish to travel over there and see all these things from my own eyes , although many foods which I saw are quite Similar to Pakistan , also the language as Kashgari language is written in the same script in which Urdu (Pakistani language) is written, so I might pick up few words which I can understand and hopefully , I will be able to not to get lost into the street :D
Great! Thanks for the comment.
If similar to Pakistan then also similar to north India.
Thank you for filming and uploading this. You really bring a great experience to those who can't afford to go there themselves!
Great story Josh, keep up the good work.
Thanks as always for your support, Marc! I hope you're doing well.
My grand grandfather came from Qashqar to Kazakhstan in 18 century , and he lived exactly around Idkah mosque.
I swear I've been on that same roof! Or one of the many that look just like it :P. Your videos really make me miss Xinjiang so badly. Hope everything is well with you!
Haha! They do all seem to look the same, don't they?
Thanks so much...the family is doing well. How are you?
Thanks for another video. We're really looking forward to visiting Xinjian and hopefully also making it to Kashgar in particular.
The people really do seem to be friendly and welcoming.
Hey bigfoot786, thanks for the comment! Have you had a chance to check out the FarWestChina travel guide? It's 400+ pages of super-helpful travel information that dwarfs the Lonely Planet. Find it here on Amazon (amzn.to/2sAerhp) or as a PDF download (gum.co/xinjiang-travel-guide).
I already have it Josh :)
Rebuilding brought/or at least greatly improved sewage system, made tap water available in every home. I understand you, as a tourist, maybe attached to old town's genuine "Old" feeling, but try to think living as locals there. In one video I saw a Uyghur girl mentioned how much she appreciated the convenience and the overall living standard improvement after rebuilding.
Hi to kashgar from down south neighbor kashmir
not sure why you are saying hi. It's not like any one from Kashgar can actually read your comment. the ccp is evil.
@@いちごくん-l6d are you uyungur?
It's more like this: old beautiful architectures has a life. When it reach its life, either you need to refurbish it or rebuild it. Now we face two issues:
1. The cost. For an old building to be refurbished to an anti-earthquake scale, it may cost much more than building a cheap mock-Uyghur style concrete building. So it's a question whether choosing refurbishing instead of rebuilding worth it. Keep in mind that people in Xinjiang cannot simply print dollars out to get unlimited money (and let the Mexicans pay for it).
2. From the video it looks like the "real" old quarter are made of modern bricks. So I'd estimate they're some 1980s structures instead of some 1880s buildings, and that seemed to be all over Kashgar by 2009. Now it's more crucial to ask whether keeping those 1980s "old" quarters instead of simply rebuild a new old town is a good idea. If you keep a 1919 Afghan coin, it may worth a lot by 2021, but if you keep a 2007 Zimbabwe one trillion dollars banknote to 2021 it might not worth that much.
However, besides 1980s brick structures, there seems to be older structures made of rammed earth. I guess those rammed earth structures have a lot of cultural relic value. I'd like to see the building group to select complete ones among those rammed earth structures to preserve.
Between the 1997-1998, there are 9 times magnitude 6 earthquake in Kashgar around 70 km region.
Guess what? Even Chinese-built building fall down with magnitude 6 earthquakes. I don't think people are any safer.
the new building are designed for the magnitude 8.5,even it have no taste
the standard base on the 1902 magnitude 8 Artux earthquake, 35km away from Kashgar. someone said the dissymmetry of Id Kah Mosque is monument for the damage.
Really love the idea and story behind this video and how your storytelling brings to life your memories and the way things have changed!
You have a new sub here!
Thank you, Mel and Jona! Glad you guys were able to stop by and drop a comment.
You prefer the old because for you as a tourist they were good to look at and you don't have to live thru the daily inconvenience like the locals did.
And yet, if you watched the video, the locals said they still wanted to live there.
Please actually watch the video before you leave a comment.
@@FarWestChina , That was just one local in your sampling. One doesn't make statistics. Also, those who chose to stay put were staying put, weren't they?
The same thing that irks me big time is some lower-middle-income Westerners bring their kids to vacation in Africa, and profusely lobby to have the natives stay primitive, so they can have a good time in the Safari on the cheap, and feel king mighty above the locals on a (Western) poor man's budget.
@@yaglehoole5662 Have you seen Chinese tourist abroad? They act like chauvinists.
Thanks for sharing this video. I didn't aware that the old city has been torn down when I last visited in the year 2000. Is the amazing Sunday market still exist?. BTW I'm from Singapore.
The Sunday Market exists, but it's not the same as it used to be, unfortunately.
I am against human zoo to entertain foreign tourists. People deserve good living conditions and prosperity.
Totally agree. I think those foreigners are actually very selfish, I'll bet they don't live in ancient dwellings that are falling apart in their own country. Britain is constantly making rejuvenation programs in various towns and areas, you don't hear complaints that the gov't is wiping out culture, in fact, most people welcome this type of improvement in their neighbourhood.
But when the Chinese gov't does the same thing, there must be some dark motives according to some foreigners. Very strange logic indeed.
Funny you assume people living lives are like animals in a zoo.
@@jerrywinefield2217 All humans are animals, some more savage than others. Expecting some to live in poor condition in the name of culture, history, (entertainment for tourists) is what reduces their lives to a zoo. Poverty is not criminal making it a spectacle is.
@@nasreenazam right. I agree. I misread the comment
Have you seen the actual human zoo in hawaii that's really demeaning
Hey Josh, One of those great episodes mate! I really enjoyed this one as Kashgar is such a lovely city. and keep up the good work!
Greetings from Sydney.
Ghalip
Thanks, Ghalip! I hope all is well out there in Sydney. I look forward to seeing you again when you return.
All these crumbling mud homes need to be razed to ground and redeveloped with strong materials
keeping in mind the turk persian architecture style
Good job Josh! Keep up the good work. I enjoy your videos very much. Stay strong Kashgar!
Thanks so much, Robert! Glad you enjoy it ;)
As they say, you cannot freeze time. Time will keep bringing change and that is true to all parts of the world. The Buddhist Uzgars found out that their old ways of living is over with the conquest of their land by the Muslim Turks. And now Buddhist China is reclaiming the land from the Turks. Time keep bringing in changes. That is the way it is.
Very insightful for future travellers, thanks 👍🏻
Great! Glad you were able to find it useful, Arif 😀
I think you are been selfish and only think of the romantic view of what it was like in the " day"old" to suit your mind set. I was in Kasgar in 1995 and found the place to be in very poor condition. I didn't found the people very happy in those dwelling. These people deserve more.
I was there in 1987. The place wasn't modern, but it was bustling with activity. Many people seemed well off due to trade.
It's crazy how a whole city like that can be smashed down and rebuilt in just a few years. I'm glad to see that it retains some of it's old charm, but I would have loved to see it before the reconstruction. I bet it was amazing.
That's the power of the Chinese construction process! They can do things *fast*.
@@FarWestChina
Not just power, it is demand. The old city was threatened by the earthquake and was deeply affected. Therefore, for security reasons, reconstruction is also an urgent matter.
Another new video! Yeah~~!
I hope you enjoyed it! :)
mud house will collapse when the earth quack comes! that's why it was rebuilt
Thank you for your comment. I have already answered my thoughts on this excuse elsewhere.
I would not expect it to be so beautiful! many nice shots and I think I would like to be there once
I hope you get a chance someday!
No one mentioned about the earthquakes risk of Kashgar region. The old city was not able make through the earthquakes. narrow street, wooden clay structure . No vehicle or rescue machines is able pass through those street at all. In 2003 there were a very bad earthquakes happened at the Kashagar region(Not in the city but in Jiashi) . Lots people lost their life in the earthquake. if you still want people stay in the old houses do you want the casualty happen again?
Yea...I don't believe that one bit. History has shown that these buildings have withstood over a thousand years of these earthquakes. Chinese concrete buildings, though, have been shown time and again to be so poorly built that they fall down at the smallest shake.
Travel Xinjiang: Far West China actually we don’t care about ur opinion ur opinion is to keep all people in poverty and keep ur privilege , most people like to new house and it’s more convenient few who don’t want to change just leave them alone no one has luxury time to change them, in inner china the situation is the same,u can get money and new house or else u stay in ur poverty with more happiness that’s ur business no one cares
En Kashgar se produce el mediodía en Febrero a las 15:10, eso es muy tarde y en la punta más occidental es a las 15:19.
people look so nice there :)
They really are! Thanks for stopping by to watch and comment, Danny :)
The girl giving him a tour is such a sweetheart
She really was. I was very fortunate to run into her.
保存文化很重要，但改善当地人的居住环境也很重要。
People shouldn’t live in dangerous old buildings just because you like it more. You see the cracks on the wall?
I never said they should, Eric. I said *they should choose*. Why should they move just because you want them to?
@@FarWestChina Yeah. They did choose to live in a better house and have a better life.
I didn't know much about this at all, thanks for informing me. I am curious, in your talks with the locals did most favor or oppose the new city?
Great question. You know, the truth is that everybody in Xinjiang has been conditioned well not to share their true feelings on politically sensitive matters like that. Even if they opposed the new city, they wouldn't tell many people - much less a foreign traveler.
Well that does make sense. I am sure opposition to the government's policies were not exactly encouraged. It's a shame though because I strongly believe in preserving history any chance we can. Sometimes it's out of our hands.
@@FarWestChina do you know any polling done in xinjiang? I know polling done for the whole china shows the majority support the government but I haven't seen anything region specific
Hi good afternoon from New Jersey, I just want to ask if I buy carpet in Kashgar , do the local have shipping company like DHL or Fedex that i can use to ship carpet to the USA .?
In the past they did...right now I'm not sure how easy it is to ship things. Security has made that a bit more difficult.
thank you for responding
Do China have straight bullet train to Kashgar ?
Here is an introduction to the ancient city of Kashgar. Welcome everyone to visit Kashgar, the westernmost city in China, a special economic zone, the Pearl of Central Asia.在这里推广一下喀什古城，欢迎大家来喀什旅游，中国最西的城市，经济特区，中亚明珠，喀什。The ancient city of Kashgar is the world's largest "architecture complex" in the world. A few years ago, China repaired the ancient city. Now It is a free 5A-level attraction. Other ancient cities with similar cultures in the world were all destroyed by war. Paramount Vantage released the Afghan story film "The Kite Runner", which was filmed in Kashgar. Afghanistan city was destroyed by gunfire.喀什古城是世界是最大的“生土建筑群”，几年前国家进行了保护性维修，现在是免费的5A级景区。而世界上其他类似文化的古城都毁于了战乱。派拉蒙发行的获奥斯卡奖影片，描写阿富汗故事电影《追风筝的人》就是在喀什拍的，阿富汗累似古城都毁于战争。
@Travel Xinjiang: Far West China Just for ur old school Nostalgia and summer holidays u cant deprive the people of their development, education and advancement.!! Its high time to focus on advancing infrastructure
Very nice Josh....... just after 20 days I will be there......interesting....
Have a safe trip there!
So amazing to see they still have prayer mat
I read a lot in history about KASHGHAR BUKHARA SAMARQAND
Quite shocked to see that one in China I was expecting in islamic country
Love it.
So hypocrite, like many westerns. It's like in Rio de Janeiro favelas, middle-class foreigners like to visit there as they are in a safari, "oh so exotic, interesting culture, look at so many unconventional skills, peculiar architecture..." But would they dare to live in such? It's a challenge for any goverment to ensure security and social development withal preserving cultural heritage and respecting all families' aspirations. In fact this region is facing terrorism and separatism threats which makes the situation even more tricky.
I am a chinese canadian. I have been to Kashgar on March 29, 2018. All most people can not speak chinese. However, body language is works. The price was cheaper than east china. People friendly and looks different likes foreigners. Buildings style are very different. Dry air but street clean. Policemen anywhere because Kashgar's location close Middle East(you know why). Whatever I like their so much.
I'm glad you got to visit! Thanks for the comment.
You can speak Mandarin, good for you! Keep going!
I also had mixed feeling when I visited the first settlers village in Plymouth, Mass. It's a shame Pilgrims don't live in those cute small houses w/o toilet or central heating anymore. Bummer!
Absolutely Fabulous.
Nice video of a place I want to visit one day along with other parts of western China. Being from Pakistan and having traveled to the pak China border, this place holds a special value for me.
Privilege view by many Westerners who prefer to see the locals ins qualor bc that's the 'authentic' experience they prefer on their travels.
Locals want to enjoy the benefits of the modern world, simple basic amenities like clean water etc.
Its Orientalism for Westerners constantly believing they know what's best for the natives.
Old town maybe could have been more nuance din redevelopment but it has been rebuilt and a lot of work went into trying to preserve the cultural designs of the old town.
In time, the place when lived in will have a more authentic feel naturally. I think what's important is for the Govt to ensure that whilst some parts are open to commercilization/tourism which provides good income for the locals, that there is a residential mix as well and that part remains strictly less invaded by Tourism yet still open for people to wander and explore.
I think the important thing is giving people options, ie. if they want to stay in old houses.
I do think it would have been nice for the community to have more say in the whole deal.
Can't wait to see Kashghar. Your videos are simply tempting!! Thanks for useful information.
My pleasure, Shehla! I'm glad you've found them useful. :)
0:51 What song is this? Song name please :)
Hello Josh,
Long time man, I look forward to your videos.
And nice Hindi song you got playing in there.
Can you share me the details.
Thank you.
Thanks, Antony! Glad you enjoy it.
The song is perhaps inspired by Hindi music, but it's actually a Uyghur song from a local singer here in Urumqi. I don't know the name of it off-hand.
@@FarWestChina almost every word is hindi how can you say that it is from kashgar
Nice videos. I'm considering visiting Xinjiang on a tour. Was wondering if they generally allow selfie sticks to take photos and videos like how I'm guessing you used one. Or do you have to be discreet and conceal it?
Are the people there generally timid if I were to politely ask to take a photo with them?
Love this country Rich in culture . No bars , pub n religious place.
Love Ardsigul, hi to you from Beijing.
I can totally understand why you prefer the east side of the city, it looks a lot more real and less aimed at the tourists.So cool that this girl let you visit her house.I really like how you captured the different atmospheres of this city, in the old part and in the new part as well.Congratulation on your level of Chinese, it was really fun to see you speak in Chinese in this video.
Ha! Thanks. I appreciate the comment.
Nice house, beautiful red colour blanket. Nice girl. Good experience.
just back from holiday in Kashgar. I like the old Town
Thanks for for share. What the view u share is i never knew in the life. There's a lot city from China i don't know about. And I'm going to travel there at the next Chinese New Year.