Xinjiang · China
Kashgar travel guide
Kashgar is a city in Xinjiang, China, home to about 783,000 people.
- Best months
- April, May, September and October
- Nearest airport
- KHG11 km · Kashgar Laining International Airport
- Currency
- CNYrenminbi
- Time zone
- Asia/Urumqi
- Language
- Chinese, Putonghua, Standard Chinese
About
About Kashgar
Kashgar (Uyghur: قەشقەر, romanised: Qeshqer), also known as Kashi (Chinese: 喀什; pinyin: Kāshí), is a city in the Tarim Basin region of southern Xinjiang, China. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, located near the country's border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
The Silk Road route from Eastern and Central China branches after Dunhuang; one route runs along the north edge of the Taklamakan Desert, the other along the south. Kashgar is where the two branches meet again in the western part of the desert. From there, the main route continues west into toward the Ferghana Valley and Samarkand. Another former caravan trail has now become the Karakorum Highway leading south into Pakistan; Kashgar is its northern terminus.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Kashgar
See
- Mor Buddhist Pagoda
- Mal Bazaar
- Old Town
- Gaotai Ancient Homes
- Id Kah Mosque
- Tomb of Apak Hoja
- Tomb of Yusup Khass Hajip
- Tomb of Mahmud Kashgari
- Davakul Lake
Do
- Visit the Karakoram Highway
- Kashgar Silk Road Expeditions tour company
- Kashgar Guide tour company's Shipton's Arch Trekking
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
When to go
The best time to visit Kashgar
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Kashgar are April, May, September and October. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; May is the wettest, with about 20 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Kashgar: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kashgar Laining International Airport (KHG), about 11 km from the city centre in a straight line.
Getting in
Travelling in this area has several options, with a direct relationship between how much you are willing to pay and how fast you want to get to your destination. Trains are the slowest and only leave a few times a day, but are also almost always the cheapest option.
Getting around
Most of Kashgar including the bus station, bazaar, main square, downtown (with the notable exception of the animal market) can be reached on foot within 15–20 minutes of each other if you are not carrying huge amounts of baggage. The railway station is too far to walk but is reachable with public bus 28 which, among other places, stops at Renmin Square (人民广场; Rénmín Guángchǎng), the main square. The international bus station is near the city and walkable. The old town and narrow alleyways are pretty much only explorable on foot.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
KHG · Kashgar Laining International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Kashgar
Drink
There are not as many places serving alcohol in Kashgar as in other areas of China.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Kashgar: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Kashgar?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Kashgar are April, May, September and October. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; May is the wettest, with about 20 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Kashgar?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kashgar Laining International Airport (KHG), about 11 km from the city centre in a straight line.
What currency is used in Kashgar?
renminbi (CNY).
Nearby
Destinations near Kashgar
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.