What the Sunday market actually is
There are markets in Kashgar every day, and there is the market on Sunday. It is not a tourist attraction that somebody built; it is a livestock, produce and household goods market that Uyghur farmers from across the Tarim basin have been coming to for centuries, and the food sections grew up around the people who needed lunch.
I arrived expecting a spectacle and got something better: a working market where a man on a donkey was negotiating over a saddle thirty metres from a row of men hammering dough into round flatbreads. The livestock trading is the oldest part, and it happens early. By the time the crowds of visitors get there, the serious animal business may already be finished and the noise belongs to the smokers, the grill men and the tea sellers.
Practical note before anything else: the market has been relocated and reorganised by the city more than once over the years. Confirm the current site and the current level of activity locally when you arrive, either through your hotel or a guide. What follows describes the food, the rhythm and how to behave, none of which depends much on the exact address.
The best time to arrive, and why it matters
Sunday is the day, obviously, but the hour changes everything.
- 7:00 to 9:00: the working market. Animals arriving, farmers unloading, bread being baked fresh, the tea houses doing their real business. Cold, quiet compared to later, and the most honest time to be there.
- 10:00 to 13:00: peak. Every food stall open, maximum crowds, and the easiest time to find a seat at a grill.
- 14:00 to 17:00: thinning out. Some sellers have packed up. Good light, fewer people, a second-best chance at lunch.
Remember that Xinjiang runs on Beijing time while effectively being two hours behind it in daily life. A local “morning” can start later on the clock than you expect, and if you set an alarm for 6am expecting a sunrise market, you may find yourself buying bread alone in the dark. Ask staff what time things actually liven up.
The bread: everything starts with naan
The first thing you should eat here is bread, specifically the round Xinjiang naan (nan) baked against the hot wall of a tandoor-style pit oven. Several distinct versions exist, and knowing them makes ordering far easier.
| Bread | What it is | How to eat it |
|---|---|---|
| Plain naan | Large round flatbread, sometimes scored and seeded with onion or nigella | Tear and tear again. Everything else gets wrapped in it |
| Girde | Thicker, denser, glossier ring, often sold whole and heavy | Best fresh and still warm, eaten with tea |
| Toghach | Small rounds made with fat or milk, richer and more crumbly | Travel food. Buy several for a long bus or train leg |
| Layered / oil naan | Flaky, layered with oil and sometimes scallion | Good dipped into soup or bouillon |
Prices for a plain naan were a few yuan when I was last there, which is the best value in Chinese food and possibly in food generally. Buy from a man with a queue, get it fresh from the oven wall, and do not ask for a knife. You tear it.
If you want the Turpan food take on the same staples, note that this whole region shares the bread grammar: what changes is the fruit, the altitude and how much mutton they can afford.
Grills, skewers and the meat counter
Follow the smoke. The kebab rows are the loudest part of the market and the reason most people come. Lamb is king here, cut into chunks with a piece of fat threaded between them, seasoned simply, and grilled over charcoal in a long open trough.
The key detail is how the spice is applied. Cumin comes out coarse and toasted, chili flake is not always added unless you ask, and salt goes on before or during cooking rather than after. A good stick should taste strongly of lamb rather than strongly of seasoning. Order six or ten rather than two; they are small and go cold fast.
Alongside the skewers you will find larger items: whole sections of lamb, stuffed baked items, and offal for the brave. The market also sells raw meat, and if you have access to a kitchen, buying lamb here and carrying it back is a genuinely excellent plan.
Naan and skewers are a natural pair, and locals will tear bread and wrap it round a skewer to pull the meat off. Do that. Nobody cares about your technique, but bread plus lamb plus cumin is the core flavour of the whole Xinjiang food tradition, and it costs very little.
The other dishes worth hunting down
Skewers get the attention but they are not the whole lunch. Here is what else I would spend money on:
Poluo (pilaf)
Xinjiang pilaf is cooked with lamb fat, carrot, onion and rice in a huge shallow pan, sometimes with raisins or apricots folded in. It is rich, slightly sweet and filling enough to end your appetite for hours. Made properly, the carrots turn almost orange-jammy and the grains stay separate.
Laghman and stir-fried noodles
Hand-pulled noodles served either in a brothy soup or stir-fried with lamb, peppers, tomato and onion. The stir-fried version is thicker, chewier and more likely to be the locals’ choice for lunch. It reads to Chinese travellers as a distant cousin of Lanzhou-style noodle work, and the technique shows.
Samsa
Baked parcels of minced lamb and onion, sealed and stuck to the oven wall until the outside blisters. Smaller than a samosa, richer than you expect. Eat them standing up while they burn your fingers.
Offal, soups and bouillon
There are always pots. Sheep head, tripe, lung, and various anonymous cuts, usually served with a bowl of broth and the standard gesture of tearing naan into it. This is honest food and I would order it, but if the idea is unappealing, the plainer lamb soup with noodles does the same job.
Yogurt, ice cream and fruit
The cooling stations matter more than visitors expect, because you are eating rich grilled meat in a dry climate. There will be strained yogurt, sometimes sold by the bowl with sugar, and there is usually ice cream made the traditional stretchy way, pulled and worked until it has a chew to it.
Melon and grapes depend completely on season, and Xinjiang fruit at its best is the reason people rave about the region. Late summer through autumn gives you melon, figs and grapes at prices that make European visitors wince.
Tea, seating and how a meal here works
Do not expect table service. Kashgar market eating is mostly done at low counters or shared benches, tea arrives in small bowls, and nobody rushes you out. Tea houses near the market serve pots of black or green tea, generally refilled for free, and sitting for an hour with a pot is normal behaviour for old men who have been doing it every week for fifty years.
Payment is worth preparing for. Small vendors may take cash, many others use Alipay or WeChat Pay, and having both set up before you leave China’s big cities will save real aggravation. Small notes help. This is one of the few places in China where carrying some small change genuinely improves your day.
Getting to Kashgar and using it well
Kashgar sits at the far western end of the country, farther from Beijing than it is from several national capitals. Two practical routes:
- Fly in from Urumqi, which is fast and the usual option. Kashgar airport is close to town.
- Travel overland from Urumqi along the northern or southern Tarim rim, which takes far longer and rewards you with the geography. The southern route through Korla, Aksu and Artux is where the oasis towns actually teach you something.
There is also a rail connection across the desert. If the autumn colours interest you, people pair this area with the run to see the Tarim poplar forest along the Tarim River, which turns gold for a short window in October. Ask about access and transport locally before assuming you can reach it and get back in one day.
Altitude here is around 1,300 metres, so the city itself is easy. The dry air and the sun are the real hazards, and both are worse than most visitors plan for. Carry water, use sunscreen, and expect to feel dehydrated long before you feel hot.
Etiquette that will make the day better
This is a Muslim city and a conservative one, and the market is full of people going about normal life rather than performing it. A little attention goes a long way.
- Ask before photographing anyone, especially women, especially near mosques and prayer.
- Do not photograph someone eating closely without asking. It is the equivalent of someone leaning over your plate.
- Keep Friday midday free of camera work anywhere near religious buildings.
- Buy something from whoever you photographed for a long time.
- Halal eating is the default here. This region is the natural continuation of any halal route built from Xi’an westward, and pork is simply not on offer in most places.
- Dress modestly. Shoulders and knees covered on both men and women is respectful in a working market.
What it costs
Kashgar remains cheap by any measure. In 2024 the following felt representative, though always confirm on the day.
| Item | Approximate price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Naan (plain round) | A few yuan | Best value in Chinese food. Buy from a queue |
| Skewer of lamb | 5 to 10 yuan | Small. Order more than you think |
| Plate of poluo | 20 to 35 yuan | Large enough to share |
| Bowl of laghman | 20 to 30 yuan | Soup version is cheaper than stir-fried |
| Samsa | 3 to 6 yuan each | Two makes a snack, four makes lunch |
| Pot of tea | Usually very low, often refilled | The best value seat in the market |
| Full market lunch for one | 40 to 70 yuan | Including bread, skewers and tea |
How it compares to the other big food markets
People ask me whether Kashgar beats Urumqi. My answer is that they are doing different jobs. Urumqi’s night markets are a modern city version of Silk Road eating, with enormous variety and a lot of Han Chinese influence folded in. Kashgar is older, more conservative, more Uyghur in character, and less edited for visitors. If you want the widest selection, go to Urumqi food quarters. If you want the sense that the market existed before anyone thought to visit it, come here.
The other comparison worth making is with Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter, which is much easier to reach and much more crowded. Xi’an gives you the eastern version of northwest halal cooking with a bigger Iramian infrastructure. Kashgar gives you the source.
Quick facts
- Sunday is market day; arrive between 7 and 9 for the real working market, or mid-morning for the food stalls
- Buy bread first, from a man with a queue, and eat it warm
- Lamb skewers are the centre of the meal. Order six minimum
- Order poluo, laghman and samsa alongside the skewers
- Tea houses will seat you for an hour for very little money
- Carry small cash and have Alipay working before you arrive
- Halal is the default; pork is rarely on offer
- Ask before photographing people; keep cameras away from mosques during prayer
- Altitude around 1,300 metres; the sun and dry air are the bigger challenge
- Confirm the market’s current location locally, since it has been relocated before
Frequently asked questions
Is the Kashgar Sunday market still real, or is it staged for tourists?
It is a working market. The livestock trade, the saddlers, the hardware sellers and the mountain of household goods are there because local people need them, not because visitors want photographs. The food stalls serve everyone equally. What is not real is any promise that the market sits in the same place it did ten years ago, so check locally.
Can I photograph the livestock trading?
Usually yes, but it is the single most delicate part of the market. Traders are busy doing business with real money on the line. Ask first, do not step between animals, and be prepared for a refusal without taking offence. Long lens from a distance is the polite approach.
Do I need a guide?
For eating, no. You can point, gesture and eat very well without one. A guide helps for translation with older sellers, for arranging transport deeper into the region, and for knowing which religious sites welcome visitors at all. Some travellers value that; some prefer to wander.
Is the food safe to eat?
Grilled food cooked to order in front of you is among the safest things you can eat anywhere. Apply the usual rule of choosing busy stalls with high turnover. Drink bottled or boiled water rather than tap, be careful with anything served cold and sitting out, and you will almost certainly be fine.
What if I am vegetarian?
It is hard here. There is bread, fruit, tea, yogurt, pilaf cooked in meat fat, and various fried doughs and jams. You will not starve but you will not thrive, and you should plan your eating around the few vegetable-based stalls rather than expecting mainstream dishes to adapt. The Kashgar region is somewhat friendlier because of the fruit, but plan your eating deliberately rather than assuming every stall can adapt.
How long should I stay in Kashgar?
Two full days lets you do the Sunday market properly plus the old city, the Id Kah mosque area and a walk through the pottery and instrument workshops. Add days if you are heading toward the Karakoram Highway or the Pamir plateau, which is where the real landscape is.
Can I buy things to take home?
Yes, and you should. Dried fruit and nuts, particularly walnuts, almonds, figs and apricots, are excellent value and travel well. Spices, cumin above all, are worth buying whole. A proper naan travels better than you would think, though it is best eaten the same day.
When should I visit?
Late summer through autumn brings the best fruit and tolerable temperatures. Everything outside July and August is easier to walk around. Winters are genuinely cold in the Tarim basin, and while the market still runs, you will spend the day in a coat and appreciate the tea houses more.
Worth building into a Silk Road route
Kashgar makes most sense as either the terminus or the starting point of a Silk Road trip rather than a standalone flight in and out. A well-shaped route runs from Xi’an along the Hexi Corridor through the desert oases to here, picking up the full sequence of oasis towns as you go, which is exactly what the Silk Road food mapping does.
If you want that trip arranged around market days, distance and how much mutton you are prepared to eat, reach out through our contact page with your dates.
Written by the ChinaTravelFood editorial team.
