A favorite destination among tourists and a symbol for infuriated activists, the Old City that has survived multiple centuries is now being demolished. In May of 2009 an article was published on FarWestChina debating the pros and cons of the destruction of Kashgar’s Old City, and an update on the situation is long overdue.

You won’t find any dedicated Uyghur phrasebooks at your local bookstore and nobody produces a “UyghurPod” podcast for students. Basically if you want to learn Uyghur outside of Xinjiang you will need to attend one of the few universities that offer Uyghur classes…or you’ll have to teach yourself.

It’s amazing to me that the crumbling mud walls of this ancient town outside Turpan was once a vibrant city along the Silk Road. Gaochang, also known as “Kharakhoja”, was once a capital of the region for both Han and Uyghur kingdoms.

Xinjiang’s Gobi March, part of a series of four desert races, has been named by Time Magazine as one of the Top 10 Endurance Competitions in the world. The following is a photo essay of the June 2010 race including quotes from those who both participated and volunteered.

For those who are sweating out the summer even with the air conditioning on full-blast, imagine yourself running 250 kilometers across one of the hottest deserts in the world right now…voluntarily.

It wasn’t until I moved to Xinjiang, China that I realized how little I understood about Islam. My time in the province revealed some of the terrible misconceptions I have about the religion…

This series of “Top 5″ destinations in Xinjiang highlights the best of the best that this region has to offer! This month Graham Woodring offers his favorite spots from his visit here late last year…

While oil continues to spew into the Gulf, on the other side of the world a different crack is leaking crude. Strangely, the black oil running jagged down the sides of this mountain have the look of dried blood. It’s only fitting…

Billiards near Kashgar’s Old City by Mipo
If I didn’t know any better, I would be tempted to say that billiards is as much a part of Uyghur culture as eating lamb kebabs.  Many of the pool halls are indoors, but as the weather begins to warm up there are also a few that take advantage of the cool outdoors.

If you’re going to be flying in to Urumqi this summer, chances are you’ll be arriving in the newly-built Terminal 3. With a price tag of 1.3 billion yuan, this international hub for China Southern Airlines should go into full operation this Saturday, March 27th, 2010…