stevie

That's the best TR I have read in some time - thank you.

13901

Thank you Stevie.

allset2travel

What an amazing adventure!

The Hilton area is rather new in development, hence many high-rise buildings. That area is located north of the Outer Ring Road, even further north from the Xinshi (New City).

The Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar is in the Tianshan District. Here you will find some mosques, just inside the Outer Ring Road (South side of Urumqi). Around here, you will find Uyghur shops and markets, including many street food stalls. At some major road intersections, we saw army tanks. Cameras were common sights if you look.







The Xinjiang Intl Grand Bazaar

13901

Thanks Allset2travel! When did you go? In my ramblings in Ürümqi, when I passed through the bazaar it was mostly shut and frankly it was mostly Hans hanging around. The mosque was open to tourists only, much like in Kashgar where I saw no one praying. A sad sight to be honest.

allset2travel

I was there Q4, 2016.
Things in China move fast. Lots of changes could have taken place in a short few years.
That said, I also saw doors closed at the mosques, except one with a door ajar. It was dark inside without light.
Concur with your observation.

13901

Yes, I was speaking with some overlanders who'd cycled through Xinjiang in 2015 and it was a different place altogether. A contact I made in Sary-Tash was texting me earlier this summer that things have gotten even stricter since I went in 2019... A cemetery and neighbourhood I visited in Kashgar were flattened, for instance.

It's just unbelievably sad and, I think, don't know what "benefit" it'll bring in the long term.

strummerjones

Enjoyable trip report and photos, despite the unfortunate circumstances in Xinjiang. I’m reminded of my own travels in that region, as well as Tibet, and how I need to return and spend some time outside of the big(ger) cities.

13901

Thanks Strummerjones; Tibet was a serious contender for a trip in that region that I was meant to do in Easter 2020, but after the Xinjiang experience I opted for Ladakh. Then of course Covid decided to put quite the spanner in the works!

lakers6902

I was there in 2012 and after watching an aljazerra documentary from a few years back, it's amazing how fast Kashgar has changed. The old city was completely demolished and rebuilt. I'm not sure if the foreigner restriction was in place, but I stayed at a hostel across the street from the main mosque and every morning was awoken to the very loud prayers over the mosques PA system, which seemed loud enough for the entire city to hear. The area was bustling with uyghurs, something which seems nonexistent from this write up.
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13901

Thanks lakers6902... That hostel is gone, or at least wasn't trading/I couldn't find it when I went... And no adhan to be heard. There were still quite a few Uyghurs in Kashgar, but in Ürümqi I seldom, if ever, met one. I wish I'd come around the time when you visited.

shefgab

Great report! I love this oart of the world. My last summer holiday before Covid I did Almaty/Dushanbe/Uzbekistan for 3 weeks. I'm just missing Turkmenistan now.

I did a trip to Xinjiang in 2006, it looks like it's all changed so much. It's so sad how the local population has been criminalised just for exisiting. It's a shame you missed out on Turpan - I had a great night there sleeping outside in the desert.

My trip over the Irkestam Pass sounded quite arduous compared to my trip, altough I did just look over my photos, and it seems we broke down after crossing the border and the kashgar-Osh trip took about 2 days hahaha.

Oh, and good choice going with the Borjomi! Have you visited it's homeplace? There's some good hikes in the forests around there, and an outdoor pool full of Borjomi!

13901

Thanks shefgab... Yes, I visited Borjomi, it was great. Ah, now I miss both central Asia AND Georgia.

mpkz

I like the report. Brings back memories. One summer I did a similar trip just with less Xinjiang but starting from Iran (flew over Turkmenistan though to Tashkent). Back then there was no phone check or interrogation at the border, just a xray of your bags, though we did have to spend hours in a waiting room while the Chinese took their 3 hour lunch break despite me staying at a guest house for truckers at the border and leaving as early as I could to try to avoid that fate. Also I remember finding the marshrutka to the border (not just Sary Tash? Don't remember exactly) in Osh bazaar unlike you (I think I was one of the only passengers on it) Remember having to hitchhike between the border posts in a truck. Met an American guy there who I decide was CIA based on his ridiculous reason for being there and speaking almost fluent Chinese and Russian. Back then you could stay in a hostel in central Kashgar (probably the same one mentioned here already) and no one warned you about taking photos. Times change... Wish I had extended my trip south towards Pakistan instead of heading to Beijing after - heard the Pamir highway in that direction and smaller towns can be beautiful. Now, like Tibet, I think it's out of bounds or at least restricted.

They also seem to have a record of Xinjiang visits, when I entered China in 2019 on a TWOV they asked me had I been to Xinjiang when scanning my passport.

13901

Ah, that must've been something! So jealous. Yes, the Karakoram Highway is said to be supremely beautiful. I was toying with the idea of the Karakorams last year (only the Pakistani side) but then the allure of Tibetan Buddhism made me swerve towards Ladakh (and then of course Covid!). But I'll try it. I don't really fancy going into Xinjiang again, but I'd like to do the bit of the Karakoram highway up to the Pakistan/PRC border and then turn back again. Thanks for reading mpkz! And well done on your language skills!