Riots in Yarkant

We were traveling in Xinjiang during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month which is usually marked by fasting from sunrise to sunset by the devout. However, students and government bureaucrats were not allowed to follow their religious traditions, some of them being forced to eat during Ramadan. Not surprisingly, many Uighurs resented this treatment.   The …

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The Disappearance of Newspapers

In China’s east, newspapers are ubiquitous. Living in Nanjing in 2009, I was spoiled for choices. In the ten minute walk to school, I would pass two or three news stands, each of them overflowing with newspapers from everywhere, including five to ten local papers like the Yangtse Evening Post, Beijing official broadsides like the …

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Renewed Violence in Xinjiang

On our way from Turpan to Kashgar, we passed through a county where violence recently broke out again, in mid October. Violence there has become so regular that it is not being widely reported, and I did not hear about it until now. At least 22 People are Reported Killed in Attack at a Market in …

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The Gray Lady at the Afaq Khoja Mausoleum

Yesterday I did a post on our visit to the Afaq Khoja Mausoleum. A few months ago, the New York Times did a story on the same Mausoleum. Their story did not completely jive with what we saw, though, I would still recommend reading it there. The author of the Times story suggested that bus …

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Fragrant Concubine…Or Iprahan

In Chinese, it is called the Fragrant Concubine’s Tomb. In Uighur, it is called the Afaq Khoja Mausoleum. The difference says a lot about the problems in Xinjiang. Afaq Khoja was a political and religious leader based in Kashgar in the 1600’s. His teachings started a brand of Islam, and his family remained influential in …

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Kashgar from Above

Here are some photos Galen took while we were in a ferris wheel that oddly has been constructed above the old city of Kashgar, along with a small amusement park. Interestingly, the ferris wheel was largely empty. Apparently, only a few people use it each day, even though it is open from 12 pm to …

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Police State in Kashgar

Like in Urumqi and Turpan, Kashgar is blanketed in the omnipresent sound of police sirens. This is not so much because of the prevalence of crime. Instead, it is because ethnic tension has been racheted up. The police want to have boots on the ground, to discourage any large-scale violence.   But I have been …

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Tomb of Yussuf Khass Hajib

The Tomb of Yussof Khass Hajip was in a quiet, leafy part of town, south of the city center. The entrance to the tomb was lined with grape vines, with shaded arbors on either side of the main passageway. At the entrance, there was a hulking block of carved chalk looming, for some reason, behind …

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