Hetian, Xinjiang
Trip Start
Feb 01, 2004
1
19
29
Trip End
Feb 01, 2008
Hetian,
China
Sunday, August 19, 2007
by Tom Carter
Perhaps the foremost reason why so few travelers make the journey to northwest
China's Xinjiang province is quite simply its vastness. Aside from being located
on the exact opposite side of the country from Beijing, which itself is a long
journey even by plane, the arid autonomous region is the largest territory in
China, spanning over one-sixth of the second largest continent in the world.
It's also a long journey in terms of the cultural shift the traveler will
experience especially when one spends a whole day in its street markets. And
conversely, considering its proximity to central Asia, sharing borders with an
astonishing eight other nations, one wouldn't believe that Xinjiang is the
People's Republic's least touristed province. But it is this solitude in fact
that makes the provincial desert a distinct oasis in Asia.
Not far from
the scalding sands of the Tarim Basin is the region's political and commercial
center, Kashgar. What Marco Polo called Cascar and the Han now refer to as Kashi
the Asian outpost has fashioned itself over the centuries into one of the Silk
Road's most vital international crossroads linking China with northern Pakistan
and eastern Afghanistan by way of the Karakorum Highway. As such, Kashgar more
closely resembles the Mid-East than the Han culture we are familiar with; the
city is a veritable tapestry of central Asian cultures, as reflected in its
massive weekly bazaar. Located in the Kona Sheher old town, the famous Sunday
market is, like all things Xinjiang, China's largest.
Approaching the
market district, one is immediately beset by a commingled scent of smoke and
fruit. If China is famous for its cuisine, then Xinjiang is responsible for half
of its success. Lamb kabob roasted throughout the day over sizzling coals
against an undulating landscape of spicy lamian noodles topped with peppers,
tomatoes and garlic, goat's head soup, deep-fried fish and yellow mountains of
pilaf rice, all washed down with boiling vats of satiating cinnamon
tea.
There may not be as much bread in the whole of China as there is in
Kashgar and one is oft tempted by stacks of lightly seasoned nan or pyramids of
sesame seed bagels fresh out of the oven. Scarlet slices of watermelon,
Xinjiang's most abundant fruit and pink peaches blushing like a child's cheeks
are the perfect desert dessert, with market patrons walking away with comically
dripping chins.
If China is famous for its cuisine, then Xinjiang is
responsible for half its success
Gorged on the regional fare, one must
then dodge the merchant calls of "kilinglar!" (Turkish for "come!") while
browsing the endless displays of useful household wares, useless souvenirs
(genie lamp anyone?), outdated electronics, knockoff clothing and eye-catching
textiles, the latter being the most popular among the women of Kashgar. It's
quite a sight to see a Muslim lady shrouded in an hijab headscarf burrowing
through hills of shimmering silk and other fine fabrics to further veil herself
in.
Xinjiang's predominant nationality, the Uyghurs, flavor the region
with both their unique Turkish-influenced culture and devout religious faith.
With more then twelve million Muslims in China, Xinjiang naturally accounts for
over half the national total. Kashar's Id Kah is the largest mosque in the
People's Republic; the city literally comes to a halt five times a day when the
faithful respond to the calling of the adhan and rush to mosque for a
congregational series of Mecca-facing prostrations and Islamic prayer. Half an
hour later, the city is again screaming with activity and
commerce.
Despite the traditional lifestyle of the Uyghurs, Kashgar has
developed itself over the years into a white-tiled mercantile metropolis, where
even the famed weekly bazaar is now held in a modernized indoor facility of
thousands of identical stalls. Though still quite a spectacular site, this
refinement has left many enthusiasts desiring something a bit more...authentic.
Not to be discouraged, the answer to anyone dissatisfied by the comparatively
tamer and more contemporary Kashgar is Xinjiang's lesser known, yet arguably
more impressive souk in Hetian, a day's scenic drive south along the lethally
hot Taklamakan, the second largest desert in the world. The shaded, tree-lined
respite is renowned throughout China for its jade, silk and carpets - the three
treasures of Hotan (as the Uyghurs spell it), which translates into "place that
abounds in jade".
Beyond the medieval blacksmiths pounding on their
anvils asphalt turns to dust
Hetian- A souk beyond
Indeed the
first site anyone will happen upon at the Hetian marketplace is an entire street
of jade dealers, either from storefronts, on blankets spread out on the ground,
in the trunks of cars, or out of their pant pockets. The rabid riots of precious
stone peddlers and prospective buyers haggling in their Turkish tongue over
every size and color of jade imaginable add to the chaos that is only the
beginning of Hetian's bazaar. Extending countless kilometers in all four
directions, the traffic-stopping market literally takes over the city streets;
ass-drawn carriages contending with big bad buses and motorcycle taxis
navigating through scores of preoccupied people. An entire boulevard of fragrant
fruits and prismatic vegetables intersects an avenue lush with carpets and rugs,
which is then separated by the canals of the Hotan River.
Beyond the
medieval blacksmiths pounding on their anvils asphalt soon turns to dust.
Livestock both alive and freshly slaughtered trample the dirt or turn it into
crimson mud, and baying horses, camels, mules and bulls excrete freely onto the
ground while being industriously inspected by interested human parties. To a
pulsating background score of 200 beat per minute Arabic tabla drums and the
two-stringed dutar, the bizarre bazaar dramatically segues into heaps of faux
jewelry, henna hair dye and cheap cosmetics ravaged by young, olive-skinned
women wearing heavy black eyeliner who prefer neck and arm-revealing (gasp!)
western fashion to their more conservatively concealed counterparts. Meanwhile
the local men get a shave and their head scalped by an outdoor barber or go
browsing for a new knife or an embroidered dopi cap.
The blazing desert
climate begins to cool at sunset, which in the summer months is about 11pm, and
the mad market in Hetian winds down. Beggars seek those last few alms, exhausted
vendors relax with a few chapters of the Qur'an, and the rest of us return home
to look through our treasures.
###
Tom Carter
of San Francisco is an internationally published freelance
photographer and travel writer specializing in the People's Republic of China.
Tom has traveled extensively throughout all 33 Chinese provinces and autonomous
regions and currently resides in Beijing.
This article originally
appeared in a February 2007 edition of Escape
magazine.
