Uyghur

On Uyghurs, their culture, language, and traditions. Affiliated with the Uighur Language School of South Australia - check out our Facebook page for more information

[1987kashgar]

Turpan Jiaohe Ruins 吐鲁番　交河古城

[mioritic]

Kashgar, Xinjiang, China by Ben Howe, 1989

[enwer-uyghur]

[qimangul]

look down at kashgar

[everythingcentralasia]

Kashgar

China’s Western Doorway (November/December 2001)

Today, over 77 percent of Kashgar city’s 325,000 citizens are Uighur Muslims. The surrounding Kashgar prefecture, with an area of 141,000 square kilometers (54,500 sq mi), has more than three million Uighurs in a total population of 3.3 million. Most of them claim descent from Karabalghasan, the early Uighur kingdom in what is now Mongolia, which was conquered by Kyrgyz tribesmen in AD 840. The Uighur fled south and dispersed in the oasis towns surrounding the Taklamakan Desert, where they had maintained trading relations along the ancient Silk Road. They established Turpan as their new capital and Kashgar as one of their most important trading centers. The regularity of the caravan trade between the oases of Marv, Balkh, Bukhara, Samarkand, Kashgar, Turpan, and Khotan with the distant European and Asian capitals placed Kashgar in a central role as economic broker and cultural mediator, and the Uighurs’ far-flung kingdom flourished until the coming of the Mongols in the 12th century.

Islam had arrived in Kashgar by the 10th century, and the city became a center of Islamic learning, producing among others one of the greatest Muslim scholars and lexicographers of the 11th century, Mahmud al-Kashgari, who wrote “Diwan Lughat al-Turk” (Compendium of the Turkic Dialects), since translated into 26 languages. He was buried just outside the city, in the village of Upar.

…

Vast energy and mineral resources in the region have made the oasis city an important part of China’s “Great Western Development” campaign, launched two years ago, and increased its importance to China’s modernization goals. But in spite of the country’s official policy of religious freedom and the cultural-preservation programs enshrined in Chinese law, the Uighurs’ main challenge in the 21st century will be to maintain cultural and religious continuity with those vibrant institutions and traditions of the past that made Kashgar a diverse and welcoming stopping-place for the weary traveler on the Silk Road. Increasing Han Chinese migration to the region, developing cross-border trade with the new Central Asian states and growing international tourism—the modern continuation of the themes of Kashgar’s 2000-year history—have once again opened the city to an array of international influences. One can only hope that Uighur and other local cultures will continue to flourish and develop in this new period of globalization.

Read More

See the article and more photos

[skukhamsbzang]

For some reasons I think this very short documents about three Han Chinese from Hong Kong travelling to Xinjiang/East Turkistan is an objective and respectful document worth a watch.

Keep reading

[skukhamsbzang]

wow, so amazing! such diverse clothings! can see so many influences from all the cultures surrounding there yet still distinctly Uyghur~

[casimir0]

Xinjiang, China - Carolyn Drake

Uyghur disco that has since been shut down. Uyghur and Chinese social spaces are mostly segregated in Xinjiang, and lots Uyghur venues have been closed by government mandates.

[reyhanblog-deactivated20231002]

[davidstanleytravel]

Uyghur cooks at work at the Sunday livestock market in a suburb northwest of Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.

[modestoddest-blog]

One of the most incredible trip, one that I’ve always wanted to visit since a teen. And finally, J prompted and revived the curiosity to this place, went on this trip for a Final year project. 

Really easy to travel, but you need to be adventurous for this and expect the unexpected. If there’s a way to get there by public transport (Use C trip app) do that. Really easy to get hostels, and cheap stays. It’s a miracle trip and plenty of help along the way, make friends and make friends from your previous trip! ( From Bali trip, met and helped someone with translation, little did I know she’s from Xi’an.)

Unique route, dated back to Silk Road. Mostly Chinese speaking, otherwise use sign languages! Or drawing. 

[thenib]

From Olivia Walch.

[diaryofanangryasianguy]

Hey, I've heard a lot of conflicting things about China, Muslims, and "camps." Could you clarify what's true and what isn't?

Hey.

The camps are definitely true. I saw a post not too long ago about someone saying that the camps in China are fake and was made up by someone from the UN or something.

But uh if people from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and even Pakistan are giving personal accounts of their relatives, loved ones, and whatnot being detained in China, then I seriously doubt it’s fake. Not to mention, many Uyghur folks that escaped have told and written of their own personal experiences. Here is a personal account of the situation where they say it’s been happening for decades. It’s not something that just happened recently.

China is a huge, diverse country with all kinds of cultures, languages, and people so I’ve defended many things about China myself because people in the US and elsewhere are Sinophobic (anti-Chinese) as hell. But at the same time, there are many inhumane things coming from there that cannot be defended. And I’m not saying it’s all Chinese people’s faults because it isn’t. It’s the state of China.

Angry Asian Guy

[turkuasia-blog]

Uyghur girl (1981) - Jin Shangyi Уйгурка (1981) - Художник Цзинь Шани

[aymilleti]

Personal pronouns of some turkic languages. They look so similar.

[zyin]

Kroran - Uyghur Cusine

Toronto, Canada

[sartorialadventure]

Uyghur dancers

The Uyghurs (/ˈwiːɡʊərz/, /uːiˈɡʊərz/; Uyghur: ئۇيغۇرلار‎, уйғурлар, IPA: [ujɣurˈlɑr]; Chinese: 維吾爾; pinyin: Wéiwú'ěr, [wěiǔàɚ]), alternately Uygurs, Uighurs or Uigurs, are a minority Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia.

The Uyghurs have traditionally inhabited a series of oases scattered across the Taklamakan Desert comprising the Tarim Basin, a territory which has historically been controlled by many civilizations including China, the Mongols, the Tibetans and the Turkic world. The Uyghurs started to become Islamised in the tenth century and became largely Muslim by the 16th century, and Islam has since played an important role in Uyghur culture and identity.

Sanam is a popular folk dance among the Uyghur people. It is commonly danced by people at weddings, festive occasions, and parties. The dance may be performed with singing and musical accompaniment. Sama is a form of group dance for Newruz (New Year) and other festivals. Other dances include the Dolan dances, Shadiyane, and Nazirkom. Some dances may be alternate between singing and dancing, and Uyghur hand-drums called dap are commonly used as accompaniment for Uyghur dances.