The Tianshan Mountains cut Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in two-the southern territory and the northern territory. Kashgar is located at the most western edge of the southern part. It is small, but richly exotic, and ha~ kept its strong local flavour despite the pa'>Sing of time. Tourists to Xinjiang are often advised not to miss Kashgar, for it is said: " You have not been to Xinjiang unless you have been to Kashgar." Everything there is attractive to outsiders-the bustling free market, the mosques, the families to and fro in their donkey carts, the men and women in their colourful embroidered caps. The streets and alleyways of Kashgar are alive with a blend of Eastern and nomadic cultures; tall, hooked-nosed men with high cheekbones and long beards, prayer caps, turbans and Cossack-style fur hats; some women's faces are covered by thick brown shawls.

As early as 2,000 years ago, Kashgar, covering an area of 138,744 square kilometres was an important stopover on the northern Silk Road. Seventeen ethnic minorities inhabit Kashgar. Of the total population of 3.34 million, more than 92 per cent are Uygurs, Islam, the dominant region of Kashgar, is widespread with more than 9,000 mosques, big and small. The oldest mosques were built 500 years ago. In recent years, about 200 Muslims, supported by the local government, have been to countries in the Middle East to take part in religious activities. Southern Xinjiang Railway

The 1 ,446-kilometre-long South Xinjiang Railroad in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region officially opened on December 6, 1999, allowing this region to trade more easily with the world. The tracks run from Kashi (Kashgar) to Turpan. The first section of the railway, a 476. 49-kilometre stretch from Turpan to Korla, was completed in 1984. Construction of the Korla-Kashi section started in September 1996. The railway's completion has help Southern Xinjiang do business with the rest of the country and its neighbours. The area has a lot of business possibilities as a major agricultural and stockbreeding area. It encompasses 1.06 million square kilometres and has a population of 7.66 million. The Tarim Oil Field in this region has an annual production capacity of 4 million tons of crude oil. Its proven reserve of oil and gas is estimated at 19.1 billion tons.

Apakhojia Cemetery

The visitor is not bnly amazed by the artistic shape and beautiful decorations of the structure but also keenly interested in stories behind the cemetery. It is said to have been the eternal place of 72 people belonging to five generations of one family, but only 58 burial mounds have survived from weathering. These people were descendants of Hojiayusupu, father of Apakhojia, but Apakhojia enjoyed a better prestige and a higher religious status than his father-hence the name of the cemetery.

In 1807 the cemetery was expanded and renovated. Before 1949, Kuomintang plundered it and the cemetery was dilapidated. In 1956 the local government allocated a large sum of money to renovate this cemetery, and it has taken on a completely new look. The cemetery has another name after Princess Fragrance (Xiangfei), who was a favourite concubine of Qing Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795). This amorous romance has cast a mysterious and beautiful veil over the cemetery.

In Beijing perhaps more than other capital with a shorter story, almost every ancient building tells a story. A case in point is the Xinhua (New China) Gate which guards the Eternal Peace Boulevard entrance to Zhongnanhai (Middle-South Sea), now the working quarters of the Chinese Communist Party leaders and the State Council. The visitor to Beijing is bound to pass the gate-it lies on the west of Tian'anmen Square-but few will be aware of the romantic tale behind its construction in the 18 th century. Legend goes it that Qing Dynasty troops went to the aid of a tribe of Uygurs in the far northwest region of Xinjiang and in return for help in winning a civil war against neighbouring tribes, the Uygurs presented Emperor Qianlong with a pretty, 22-year-old concubine named Mamlizhimo. She became a great favourite of the emperor, who christened her his "Fragrant Concubine." But Mamlizhimo never ceased to pine for her native land; therefore, the emperor had a tower constructed so that she could indulge her nostalgia by ascending it and gazing towards her birthplace. That tower was the Xinhua Gate. When Mamlizhimo died in 1763, after only seven years in Beijing, the emperor ordered her remains to be carried back to Xinjiang in a sedan chair and placed in this ornate Apakhojia Cemetery in her hometown of Kashgar, where it stands to this day.

The Id Kah Mosque

The Id Kah Mosque is Kashi's biggest mosque and one of the most holy places in the Muslim world. It is said that the mosque was first built in 1798, and rebuilt several times. Encompassing one hectare ( 2 . 5 acres), the mosque is composed of four main parts-the gate tower, courtyard, hall for chanting scriptures, and the auditorium (160-metre-long, and 16 metres wide, accommodating 5,000 to 6,000 prayers) for routine services. On both sides of the mosque's gate stand two 10-metre-high towers, one on each side, and connected by low walls. If visitors make a trip to Kashi on a Friday, the day known to Islams as Djumah Oum'a), when the Muslim people assembly for midday prayer on yaum al-jum'a (day of assembly), the biggest religious service of the week. The Muslim people gather together waiting for the clock striking twelve. The crowd will be large that many of the worshippers are forced to sit in the courtyard outside the auditorium. The service starts at 1: 15 pm with imam, a mosque's officiating priest reciting the Koran, Islam's holy book, in Arabic and then translating and explaining it in the Uygur language. Then the group begins to pray. The service will last for 40 minutes. Each day about 2,000 to 3,000 Muslims attend the routine service in the Id Kah Mosque, and that number surpasses 6,000 on the day of Djumah. During big festivals like Corban or Rouza (the Ramadan), the number can be more than 40,000 or 50,000.

Doing business has long been a tradition in Kashi, which was once a key stop along the well-travelled ancient Silk Road, a time when a steady stream of traders made their way to the city from the Middle East and the Central Asia. Uygur people are good at making a variety of handicrafts; markets with rows of shimmering silks, knives and jewellery; and narrow back streets lined with aged thatched homes made of plaster. Markets are everywhere in the city. The major market is the Kashi International Trade Market of Central and Western Asia, a large structure of Muslin architecture. The building houses numerous stalls selling a large variety of local products and specialties from the nearby countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Turkey and Russia. The market area is indeed popular. There are 4,800 regular stalls and more than 1 ,000 temporary ones. Besides, the number of visitors each day often reaches 50,000. Kashi residents are primarily Islam, who are typically strict and traditional. But more women are now taking jobs outside the home as opposed to merely raising children and doing household tasks.

Kashi has an exotic air to it, due primarily to its intriguing ethnic mix of Uygurs who comprise the majority of the population with Tajik, Kirghisz, Uzbek, Han, and other ethnic groups. The city's old district is home to nearly 100,000 Uygurs, the largest chunk of Uygurs living in a community in the entire Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

For centuries, the Uygurs in Kashi prefer to eat their traditional food called nang , a kind of round-shaped cake. There are over 50 varieties of nang in Kashi with different ingredients or baking methods. The most traditional nang is made of leavened dough mixed with corn flour and salt. The Uygurs bake nang in special ovens made of mud bricks. The stove is large enough to bake some 40 nang at once. Kashi's Uygurs are big fans of nang, and one form or another is present at nearly every meal. They are also the traditional food served when the Uygurs have guests. They have various ways to serve nang, including served hot, cold, soaked in tea or milk or rerved with mutton or fruit.