Sunday Market At Kashgar Editorial Image

Known in Chinese as the Zhongxiya Shichang (Western-Central Asia Market), or, in Uigur, as the Yekshenba Bazaar (Sunday Bazaar), this mother of all markets attracts up to thousands villagers and nomads, all riding their donkey carts from the surrounding area and gathering in a huge area to the east of town. For the sheer scale of the occasion, it's the number one sight in Kashgar, if not all Xinjiang. Considering the large numbers of minority peoples who come to trade here, all sporting their own particular headwear, it is also an anthropologist's delight. Traffic jams of thousands of donkey carts compete with horsemen and herds of sheep for space in the chaotic dusty alleys. At the animal market, horses are test-driven, sheep are picked over and cattle are paraded before potential buyers. Animals, knives, hats, pots, carpets, and pans, fresh fruit and vegetables, clothes and boots and every kind of domestic and agricultural appliance – often handmade in wood and tin – are all on sale. Some produce, such as Iranian saffron, has come a long way to be sold here. The market goes on all day and into the early evening, and food and drink are widely available on and around the site.