Kachgar

Kachgar ( Kashgar , Kashi ) (喀什; Pinyin: Kāshí; ouïgour: قەشقەر/Keşker) is a city of the Chinese autonomous region of the Xinjiang (or Turkestan Chinese). Its name means “cave ( ghar in arabo - Persan) of Jade ( qash in Ouïgour)”.

Geography

The town of Kachgar is located between the Désert of Taklamakan and the Kirghizstan.

Climate

The climate is of continental type dry. The average temperatures go from approximately -6°C for the coldest month to +26°C for the hottest month, with an annual average of 11,6°C, and the Pluviométrie is there of 58 Misters.

History and culture

Kachgar was the point of meeting of the silk routes of the South and North during two thousand years, and its population with 90% continuous ouïghoure to exert its vocation principale : trade. With the difference of Ürümqi, the official capital of Xinjiang, completely Chinese, Kachgar knew to remain a city with the identity strongly marked ouïgoure. This one is in particular famous in the area for its market of Sunday, which is known to be the largest market of Central Asia, and where has a presentiment of tradesmen of all the countries neighborhood (Kazakhstan, Tadjikistan, Kirghizstan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India).

The Chinese government currently modernizes the city. The city ouïgoure is systematically destroyed and replaced by modern streets.

It is the place of origin of the linguist Mahmoud de Kachgar who composed towards 1075 Arab in remarkable a Recueil of the Turkish languages ( dîwân lughât 'At-turk ) which is an invaluable source of knowledge of various dialects medieval Turkish.

A tale of the Thousand and One Nights ( the Tale of the tailor, the uneven one, of the Jew, the Intendant and the Christian ) proceeds in Kachgar.

Demography

The population of the county was of: 318890 inhabitants in 1999, and that of the town of Kachgar was estimated at: 295065 inhabitants in 2007.

The population is with strong majority ouïghoure, although the proportion of Hans is in constant progression.

One speaks there the Ouïghour and the Chinese dialect about Kachgar of the Mandarin Zhongyuan.

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