Travelogue 2010-04-14 History & Culture Series 8 - Tang Dynasty

Breathtaking scenery, amazing culture, and unique minority peoples-that is what Kashgar is all about. Kashgar in the 7th century, the Tang Dynasty, was one of the most important cities along the Silk Road. It was where the exchange of goods and the exchange of ideas between East and West occurred.

The Silk Road was a 4000 mile-long caravan tract path, starting in Changan or Xi’an, and the major highway for transporting goods and knowledge between Europe, the Near East, India, and China. Its history goes back to the Han Dynasty over 2000 years ago, but it reached its height during the Tang Dynasty from 618 to 907.

 Kashgar is situated in the far northwest corner of China in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The location is remote, and borders the Taklamakan Desert to the east, the Pamir mountains to the west, and is closer to both New Delhi and Moscow than Beijing. Endowed by nature with desert, glacier and mountains, Kashgar attracts tons of tourists with its breathtaking scenery.

 However, its fame also stems from its position at the junction of the southern and northern routes of the Old Silk Road. It served as an important trading city and is sometimes known as a bright pearl of the Old Silk Road.