Business as Usual on the Silk Road

October 29, 2008 | Pulitzer Center

A Uyghur elder watches young man load firewood onto donkey carts to sell at the Sunday Bazaar in Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.

Men unload sheep and cows from flatbed trucks to sell at Kashgar's Sunday Animal Market.Kashgar was settled 2000 years ago and is still a major trading point on the ancient Silk Road. A Turkic ethnic minority, Uyghurs make up close to half of Xinjiang's population of 20 million people and are scattered throughout China's northwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Business as Usual on the Silk Road

Uyghur farmers and traders herd cows into the Animal Market. Uyghurs sell sheep, goats, donkeys, horses, and cows every Sunday at the Animal Market in Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.

Business as Usual on the Silk Road

Uyghur men examine horses for sale at Kashgar's Animal Market.

Business as Usual on the Silk Road

A Uyghur test rides a horse before committing to a purchase at Kasghar's Animal Market. Uyghurs sell sheep, goats, donkeys, horses, and cows every Sunday at the Animal Market in Kashgar, Xinjiang, China. Kashgar was settled 2000 years ago and is still a major trading point on the ancient Silk Road. A Turkic ethnic minority, Uyghurs make up close to half of Xinjiang's population of 20 million people and are scattered throughout China's northwest Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Kashgar's claim to fame is its spot on the Silk Road. These days, textiles, jade, camels and cows still get bought and sold all over Xinjiang's bustling bazaars, though it's the province's abundant natural gas, oil, and coal deposits that make it truly rich in the eyes of foreign investors and the Chinese government. For locals, however, it's still about the basic consumer items. I went to one of Kashgar's most important historical marketplaces, the Sunday Bazaar and Animal Market-, today to see the bedrock of the local economy in action.