Kashgar — Forgotten Caravans' Secret

Your quest for the forgotten caravans begins at the Id Kah Mosque, a historic focal point for merchants and worshippers in Xinjiang. Originally built in 1442 under the Chagatai dynasty, then rebuilt in 1671 and expanded in 1933, this 16,000 m² mosque has hosted up to 20,000 faithful for Friday prayers and Muslim holidays for over 500 years. Here, the whispers of caravanners blend with the calls of muezzins, and the first clues of your mission are revealed through virtual inscriptions on its facades, immediately immersing you in the hustle and bustle of this oasis city.

Continue your investigation towards the Abakh Hoja Tomb, about 5 km from the center of Kashgar. This architectural complex, erected in 1648 for Afak Khoja, a Sufi leader and Uyghur Muslim saint, spans 13,000 m² and houses 72 family members, including his 5 wives buried alive according to tradition. This site is a testament to the spiritual and political role of influential families on the Silk Road, and here you will discover hidden symbols in the details of the courtyards and the 200 burial chambers, essential for understanding medieval trade networks.

Your journey then leads you to the Kashgar Grand Bazaar, a place that, since antiquity, has seen the Silk Road routes intersect towards India, Afghanistan, and the Mediterranean. Moved outside the ancient city walls in the 20th century, this bustling market continues to sell silks, spices, and animals, just as it did in the days of the caravans. Exploring this commercial crossroads near Kashgar Old City, your phone will show you the shadows of merchants from yesteryear, inviting you to browse virtual stalls to unearth coded scrolls, revealing secret routes and precious goods.

Kashgar Old City, with its more than 2000-year history, is a labyrinth of pedestrian streets and alleys, stretching over 4.25 km² and home to 126,800 inhabitants. Its traditional Uyghur buildings, renovated with colorful walls, round arches, and carved doors, immerse you in the atmosphere of centuries past. It is here, among the minor remnants of the ancient city walls almost entirely demolished in the 20th century for administrative control, that you will perceive the essence of this capital of the Kingdom of Kashgaria. Here you will decipher ancient engravings on the facades, indicating the next step of your quest.

As you complete your exploration of Kashgar, from the Gaotai Ancient Homes, a Uyghur community on a loess cliff 40 m high and 800 m long, with 600 years of history, you will have pieced together the fragments of the caravans' secret. Located northeast of Kashgar Old City, these traditional dwellings, featured in films to illustrate Kashgar's caravanning past, reveal the persistence of vernacular Uyghur architecture. Your mission has allowed you to understand how this oasis city has remained a central hub for caravan trade, a true Uyghur heritage of Xinjiang, and the role of figures like Afak Khoja and Yakub Beg in its millennial history.