Kashgar 喀什

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One of the largest surviving raw-earth architectural complexes in the world; the Uyghur-inhabited old town has carried on since Shule City of the Han dynasty

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One of the largest mosques in China, founded in 1442, facing east at the heart of the Old City; its yellow-brick gateway and flanking minarets form the iconic portrait of Kashgar

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The "Fragrant Concubine's Tomb" is in fact the family mausoleum of Apak Hoja, 17th-century leader of the Islamic White Mountain sect; built around 1670, its dome of green glazed bricks rises dozens of meters—the largest surviving domed mausoleum in Xinjiang

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Systematic displays trace the civilizational thread of the Kashgar region from prehistory through the Ming and Qing: Han-Tang documents and coins attest its status as a key town on the southern Silk Road, Gandhara-style Buddhist statues show traces of Hellenistic art spreading eastward, and Wei-Jin brick-chamber tomb artifacts and Silk Road ethnic costumes share the hall—a primer for understanding the "five ports…

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The base camp of Eastern Han general Ban Chao in administering the Western Regions: from 73 CE onward Ban Chao ranged across the Western Regions with 36 men, garrisoning here for more than ten years

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One of the largest bazaars in Central Asia, with over 2,000 stalls displaying dried fruits, Atlas silk, Yengisar knives, copper pots, carpets, and medicinal herbs

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A handicraft lane in the Old City: the molded pottery of the Gaotai Dwellings is a national-level Uyghur intangible cultural heritage, and inheritor workshops still throw pots on the wheel and carve and glaze patterns

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A high-altitude moraine lake on the Pamir Plateau at approx. 3,600 m, facing the 'Father of Ice Mountains' Muztagh Ata (7,546 m) across the road; on clear days the snow peaks reflect in the lake, and smoke curling from Kyrgyz yurts and yaks drinking by the shore form a classic scene

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Ancient fortress ruins on the north side of Tashkurgan county town: the Puli Kingdom in the Han dynasty and the royal capital of the Jipantuo Kingdom in the Tang dynasty, at 3,100 m with crumbling walls perched on a high terrace overlooking the grassland

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A China–Pakistan border crossing at over 4,700 m—one of the highest border crossings in the world—where the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor links to Pakistan's Sost port of entry

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Yengisar knives are Uyghur handmade blades famed nationwide, with crescent-shaped blades and colorfully inlaid handles; the knife-making workshop street lets you watch the whole forging and inlaying process

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Former seat of the Yarkand Khanate capital: Queen Amannisa Khan oversaw the compilation of the Uyghur musical epic 'Twelve Muqam'; her memorial tomb shares a garden with the royal tombs of the Yarkand Khanate

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A national forest park of desert poplars on the banks of the Yarkand River: in mid-to-late October tens of thousands of poplars turn pure gold and reflect in the river bends—a golden-season retreat hailed as the 'King of Desert Poplars'

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The "hometown of Dolan culture" on the southwestern edge of the Taklamakan Desert: Dolan farmer paintings capture oasis life in bold, vivid colors, painting academies and long mural walls are scattered across town and countryside, and the Dolan Meshrep (song-and-dance gathering) is a national-level intangible cultural heritage