Top 6 Kashgar Attractions | Things to Do in Kashgar 2023

Type: Old Cities, Culture & History

Best Seasons: All year round

Recommended Visiting Time: 2 hours

Opening Hours: All day

Tickets: Free

Address: No. 10 Yawage Road, Kashgar City 喀什地区喀什市亚瓦格路10号

Kashgar Old City is a block of tranditional houses, shops and streets which has a history of more than 2000 years. It is the best place to experience authetic custom and the lives of Kashgar people, thus a must-go for a Kashgar trip.

Here are many things to do in Kashgar Old City. You can wander in the crisscross lanes at will to appreciate the colorful buildings, walk into various handicraftes shops to see local potteries, hats, flowerpots, etc. try different special snacks such as grapes, Nang (staple food of the Uygur and Kazak nationalities), and goat milk ice cream. The famous Kashgar Century-old Teahouse, Id Kah Mosque, and Gaotai Ancient Homes are all in Kashgar Old City. You can take your time having a pot of tea and spending a leisure afternoon at Kashgar Century-old Teahouse, witnessing grand worship ceremony at Id Kah Mosque, and reliving the scene of The Kite Runner in Gaotai Ancient Homes.

☛ 4 Days In-depth Kashgar Tour
☛ 6 Days Urumqi to Kashgar Dream Tour

Type: Lakes, Nature & Landscape

Best Seasons: May ~ October

Recommended Visiting Time: 2 hours

Altitude: 3600m

Opening Hours: All day

Tickets: Free

Address: Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture 新疆喀什克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治州阿克陶县

Karakul Lake is located about 190 km from the Kashgar City, Xinjiang. It seats at the foot of the Muztagh Ata (7546m), and along the Karakoram Highway, which is reputed as the most beautiful border highway in the world. At an altitude of 3600m, Karakul Lake is the highest lake on the Pamirs Plateau. It features in the amazing combination of lake scenery and snow mountain views. At its surrounding, there are three giant mountains - Muztagh Ata (7546m), Kongur Tagh (7649m) and Kongur Tiube (7530m) which remain snow-covered throughout the year. The best seasons to visit Karakul Lake are summer and autumn when travelers come to see the unreal scenery and the clarity of its reflection in the water, whose color ranges from a dark green to azure and light blue.

Apart from the scenery of the lake itself, what you can enjoy on the way is also fabulous. Driving along the highway, seeing the mountains, lakes, valleys passing by, you are really away from the bustling world and a sense of freedom arises. If you have more time, keep driving to Tashkurgan and explore the mysterious Stone City that was built more than 1300 years ago.

☛ 4 Days In-depth Kashgar Tour to Karakul Lake
☛ 5 Days Legendary Pamirs Tour from Kashgar to Tashkurgan

Type: Religious Sites, Historical & Cultural Sites, Landmarks

Best Seasons: April ~ October

Recommended Visiting Time: 1 hour

Opening Hours: 10:30~19:30; closed between 14:00-16:30 during daily worship

Tickets: CNY 45 for Tourists; Free Admission for Muslims

Address: Kashgar Old Town, Kashgar City, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang 新疆喀什地区喀什老城

Id Kah Mosque, covering an area of 16,800 square meters, is the largest mousque in China, and one of three largest in Central Asia. It is located in the west of Id Kah Square in Kashgar Old City. Getting close to Id Kah Mosque, you will be impressed by the elegant blue gate of mosque. The mosque with classic religious elements and distinctive ethnic features is considered an outstanding example of Uygur’s ancient building and a spiritual symbol of Kashgar. In Kashgar, it’s the best place to experience strong Islamic culture and exotic architectural style.

Id Kah Mosque is the holy land for the Muslims. Everyday, there are thousands of muslims worshipping here. The worship is particularly grand on Fridays and Eid-al-Fitr (End of Ramadan) as well as Day of Arafah (Corban Festival). In the history, Id Kah Mosque used to be a school where Islam culture was taught. Many scholars and honored clergies graduated from here.

☛ 8 Days Urumqi Turpan Kashgar Xinjiang Tour

Type: Teahouses, Culture & Custom

Best Seasons: All year round

Recommended Visiting Time: 1-2 hours

Opening Hours: 10:00-22:00

Tickets: Free (a pot of tea is about CNY 30-40)

Address: Ostangboyi Street, Kashgar Old City, Kashgar 喀什地区喀什老城吾斯塘博依老街

Kashgar Century-old Teahouse is a teahouse passed down from generation to generation of the Mamat family for over a hundred years. It conserves the good memory of Kashgar people, which gains it many routine customers, who are usually elderly people and have been drinking tea here every afternoon for decades.

Kashgar Century-old Teahouse gains increasing popularity among tourists as it is one of the settings of the movie The Kite Runner. After that, tourists come in flood from home and abroad. It is very relaxing to have a cup of tea here in the afternoon, talking to the locals and enjoying the occasional singing and dancing. It used to provide local tea only. But after adjustment, it now also offers Uygur medicinal tea flavored with cloves, ginger, white pepper and cardamom, coffee, flower tea, fruit tea and snacks such as Nang, bean jelly, yogurt, roast mutton, and noodles to satisfy different needs of customers.

☛ 6 Days Urumqi to Kashgar Dream Tour

Type: Historic Sites, Religious Sites

Best Seasons: May ~ October

Recommended Visiting Time: 1-2 hours

Opening Hours: 9:30-21:30

Tickets: CNY 30

Address: Haohan County, about 5 km to the northeast of Kashgar downtown 喀什市主城区东北大约5公里的浩罕乡

Abakh Hoja Tomb is a typical Islamic architectural complex, as well as a famous tomb groups of a large Islamic family of five generations. It was known as Abakh Hoja Tomb because a local Islam master named Abakh Hoja was buried here. He had enhanced the spread of Islam in Kashgar area, which later earned a great reputation for him and his family.

This site is also famous for the lengend that one of the imperial concubines of Emperor Qianlong (Qing dynasty) - Xiang Fei who married Qinglong for national unity. Qianlong was attracted to Xiang Fei because she smelled fragrantly. Later Xiang Fei passed away in Beijing and it is said that she was transfered back to Kashgar and buried there. Every day at 10:30, 12:00 and 18:00, there will be opening performances with actors dressed in gorgeous costumes sing and dance.

☛ 9 Days Taklamakan Desert Ancient Silk Road Tour from Kashgar

Type: Bazaars, Markets

Best Seasons: All year round

Recommended Visiting Time: about 2 hours

Tickets: Free

Address: Kashgar Live Stock Market is about 12 km to the northwest of Kashgar Downtown; Kashgar Western and Central Asian Bazaar for International Trade is opposite the eastern gate of Kashgar Old City.

Bazaar means “market” in Uygur. It is the busiest place in Kashgar. There are many bazaars in different scales. The most popular two are Kashgar Live Stock Market (喀什牛羊大巴扎) and Kashgar Western and Central Asian Bazaar for International Trade (喀什中西亚国际贸易市场).

Kashgar Live Stock Market is held on Sunday only. Therefore, if you are in Kashgar on a Sunday, don't miss this grand scene. From dawn, carts of cattle, sheep, horses, donkeys, camels and so on, are transported to the market from the surrounding villages. The buyers are negotiating with the owners for an acceptable price and then bring the animals home. Vendors also come early to sell noodles, pancake, roast mutton, ice tea... There are also many villagers that come here just to watch the scene of bustle.

Kashgar Western and Central Asian Bazaar for International Trade, also called Kashgar Grand Bazaar, opens from 11:00-20:00. It has a history of more than 2000 years. In ancient times, the market was renowned as the largest market in Asia. Merchants on the Silk Road who came from China, Europe and other countries gathered here to exchanged needed goods with each other. There are now more than 5000 stalls with nearly 10000 kinds of goods. If you want to buy some interesting stuffs, go to the northern side of the market where you can find everything of interest to foreign visitors, including the spice market, musical instruments, fur caps, souvenirs and carpets.

☛ 4 Days In-depth Kashgar Tour to Karakul Lake