Kashgar is an oasis city located in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The city covers an area of 15 square kilometers, with an average altitude of 1,289m above the sea level. Despite its isolation, Kashgar has seen plenty of traffic over the last 2000 years, as a major Silk Road town and a crossroad.
Despite the highways have come with modernization and the influx of Han Chinese from the distant east, Kashgar remains a predominantly Muslim and Turkic city. Compared to Urumqi, Xinjiang’s largest city, Kashgar is less industrial and has fewer Han residents. The cultural prestige of the enormous Id Kah Mosque easily overshadows that of the giant Mao Zedong statue in Kashgar's People's Square, and the scent of Uighur lamb kebabs wafts through the city's colorful bazaars as it has for centuries.
In addition, Kashgar is featured by its unique natural views. The city is located in the middle of the Taklamakan Desert, with the Tianshan Mountain to the east and the high mountain passes into Pakistan, Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan to the west. The natural surroundings - including spectacular Lake Karakul - make Kashgar not only a great city to visit, but also a great base for exploration of astonishingly beautiful landscapes.