The Art Street probably the most interesting street in Kashgar with
colorful local features. The street is close to the Idgar Mosque
and it runs around 1 kilometer. On the street are hundreds of old
workshops and stalls selling a great variety of art crafts and
other seemingly alien items.
As an important point of interchange between China and the Central
Asia, Kashgar served as a flourishing trade position in ancient
time. Since the Tang Dynasty, the city's cultural and economical
dominance gradually declined and finally abandoned in the Qing
Dynasty. But till today, this ancient trading hub still retains
vestiges of its outpost ambience, which is reflected in the Art
Street.
The bustling street is squeezed full of Muslim vendors, veiled
Muslim women and smart Central-Asian merchant, selling a huge
variety of local items to travelers. The wide variety of items sold
here include flowers-fringed caps, ancient ethnical embroiders,
dazzling golden and silver jewelry, delicate wooden carvings,
simple and unsophisticated pottery, skillfully-made red bronze
ware, well-made melodious folk instruments, brilliant silk
products, exquisite folk knives and much more. Walking along the
street, you are looking history of Kashgar's colorful and
remarkable local culture.