XINJIANG
Una encrucijada del bazar
De oscuridad' hasta que el amanecer en los mercados musulmanes de vertido de Xinjiang usted será sumergido en una mezcla antigua de culturas del este y occidentales

Quizás la primera razón por la que tan pocos viajeros hacen el viaje a la provincia de Xinjiang de China del noroeste es absolutamente simplemente su vastness. Aparte de ser situado en el exacto enfrente del lado del país de Beijing, que sí mismo está un viaje largo incluso en plano, la región autónoma árida es el territorio más grande de China, atravesando sobre one-sixth del segundo continente más grande del mundo. Es también un viaje largo en términos de cambio cultural que el viajero experimentará especialmente cuando uno pasa una jornada completa en sus mercados de calle. E inversamente, en vista de su proximidad a Asia central, compartiendo las fronteras con las ocho otras naciones asombrosas, una no creerían que Xinjiang es la república popular touristed lo más menos posible la provincia. Pero es esta soledad de hecho que hace el desierto provincial un oasis distinto en Asia.

No lejos de las arenas que escaldan de Tarim el lavabo es el centro político y comercial de la región, Kashgar. Qué Marco el polo llamó Cascar y el Han ahora se refieren pues Kashi el puesto avanzado asiático se ha formado sobre los siglos en uno de la encrucijada internacional más vital de seda del camino que ligaba China a Paquistán norteño y a Afganistán del este por la carretera de Karakorum. Como tal, Kashgar se asemeja más de cerca al Medio Oriente que la cultura de Han que estamos al corriente de; la ciudad es una tapicería verdadera de culturas asiáticas centrales, según lo reflejado en su bazar semanal masivo. Located in the Kona Sheher old town, the famous Sunday market is, like all things Xinjiang, China’s largest.

Approaching the market district, one is immediately beset by a commingled scent of smoke and fruit. If China is famous for its cuisine, then Xinjiang is responsible for half of its success. Lamb kabob roasted throughout the day over sizzling coals against an undulating landscape of spicy lamian noodles topped with peppers, tomatoes and garlic, goat’s head soup, deep-fried fish and yellow mountains of pilaf rice, all washed down with boiling vats of satiating cinnamon tea.
There may not be as much bread in the whole of China as there is in Kashgar and one is oft tempted by stacks of lightly seasoned nan or pyramids of sesame seed bagels fresh out of the oven. Scarlet slices of watermelon, Xinjiang’s most abundant fruit and pink peaches blushing like a child’s cheeks are the perfect desert dessert, with market patrons walking away with comically dripping chins.

If China is famous for its cuisine, then Xinjiang is responsible for half its success

Gorged on the regional fare, one must then dodge the merchant calls of "kilinglar!" (Turkish for "come!") while browsing the endless displays of useful household wares, useless souvenirs (genie lamp anyone?), outdated electronics, knockoff clothing and eye-catching textiles, the latter being the most popular among the women of Kashgar. It’s quite a sight to see a Muslim lady shrouded in an hijab headscarf burrowing through hills of shimmering silk and other fine fabrics to further veil herself in.

Xinjiang’s predominant nationality, the Uyghurs, flavor the region with both their unique Turkish-influenced culture and devout religious faith. With more then twelve million Muslims in China, Xinjiang naturally accounts for over half the national total. Kashar’s Id Kah is the largest mosque in the People’s Republic; the city literally comes to a halt five times a day when the faithful respond to the calling of the adhan and rush to mosque for a congregational series of Mecca-facing prostrations and Islamic prayer. Half an hour later, the city is again screaming with activity and commerce.

Despite the traditional lifestyle of the Uyghurs, Kashgar has developed itself over the years into a white-tiled mercantile metropolis, where even the famed weekly bazaar is now held in a modernized indoor facility of thousands of identical stalls. Though still quite a spectacular site, this refinement has left many enthusiasts desiring something a bit more…authentic. Not to be discouraged, the answer to anyone dissatisfied by the comparatively tamer and more contemporary Kashgar is Xinjiang’s lesser known, yet arguably more impressive souk in Hetian, a day’s scenic drive south along the lethally hot Taklamakan, the second largest desert in the world. The shaded, tree-lined respite is renowned throughout China for its jade, silk and carpets – the three treasures of Hotan (as the Uyghurs spell it), which translates into "place that abounds in jade".

Beyond the medieval blacksmiths pounding on their anvils asphalt turns to dust

Hetian- A souk beyond

Indeed the first site anyone will happen upon at the Hetian marketplace is an entire street of jade dealers, either from storefronts, on blankets spread out on the ground, in the trunks of cars, or out of their pant pockets. The rabid riots of precious stone peddlers and prospective buyers haggling in their Turkish tongue over every size and color of jade imaginable add to the chaos that is only the beginning of Hetian’s bazaar. Extending countless kilometers in all four directions, the traffic-stopping market literally takes over the city streets; ass-drawn carriages contending with big bad buses and motorcycle taxis navigating through scores of preoccupied people. An entire boulevard of fragrant fruits and prismatic vegetables intersects an avenue lush with carpets and rugs, which is then separated by the canals of the Hotan River.

Beyond the medieval blacksmiths pounding on their anvils asphalt soon turns to dust. Livestock both alive and freshly slaughtered trample the dirt or turn it into crimson mud, and baying horses, camels, mules and bulls excrete freely onto the ground while being industriously inspected by interested human parties. To a pulsating background score of 200 beat per minute Arabic tabla drums and the two-stringed dutar, the bizarre bazaar dramatically segues into heaps of faux jewelry, henna hair dye and cheap cosmetics ravaged by young, olive-skinned women wearing heavy black eyeliner who prefer neck and arm-revealing (gasp!) western fashion to their more conservatively concealed counterparts. Meanwhile the local men get a shave and their head scalped by an outdoor barber or go browsing for a new knife or an embroidered dopi cap.

The blazing desert climate begins to cool at sunset, which in the summer months is about 11pm, and the mad market in Hetian winds down. Beggars seek those last few alms, exhausted vendors relax with a few chapters of the Qur’an, and the rest of us return home to look through our treasures.

Tom Carter, http://www.tomcarter.org/