This is the view outside of our hotel in Kashgar.

And this is one of the biggest statues of Chairman Mao in China.

And these soldiers were there across from it, just standing stiffly and looking sternly at everyone walking by. While waiting for our tour bus to arrive, I watched them for a while and they disgrouped a few minutes later.

Our first stop of the day was the Idigar Mosque. This was around 10am and as you can see, it’s still very hazy.

The place looked deceptively small from the outside but it is the largest mosque in China. Each Friday, it can hold about 10000 worshippers for afternoon prayers.

On our way to the next stop, Abakh Khoja’s Tomb, we passed by some old Uighur neighbourhoods.

Some of these were set to be demolished, ostensibly to build modern buildings with proper sewage, water and electrical services, and that can withstand earthquakes better. Only a small section were set to be preserved and I thought that was a shame. Still, they could have opted to demolish everything but they didn’t so I guess it’s a small consolation.

Abakh Khoja’s Tomb was very impressive up close. It is considered one of the holiest Muslim sites in China.

Within the compound was a mosque.

And a cemetery.

I’ll finish off this post with some pictures of the Uighur people that I saw during the day. This is a family riding on a donkey cart.

This is a shot of some motorists on the road. Notice how the woman is sitting sideways at the back of the scooter – they all sit like that balancing themselves.

These are Uighur carpet wovers. Depending on the fineness of the weaving, it can take 2 Uighur women (all wovers are exclusively women) 18 months to weave a super soft and smooth woolen carpet.

Next up, one huge bazaar in the centre of Kashgar.