The day we arrived in Kashi, a Sunday, turned out to be bazaar day. We had been ttl many parts of Xinjiang and visited many bazaars, but the one in Kashi was by far the largest and most impressive.We were told that sometimes over 100,000 people congregate here.

The bazaar only reached its peak after 11:00 in the morning. Once in the bazaar, people lost their individuality and all became part of a huge mass of human beings. One's ears echoed with a continual buzzing sound.

There are small lanes in the bazaar where jackets,skirts, towels and socks in all colours and styles are hung on display, looking like national flags on ocean-going vessels. Uigur women wearing veils peddled square hats that they had embroidered.The most active salesmen were boys of seven or eight who squeezed thek way through the crowd,shouting out their wares. From time to time,they would pull in customers, persuading them to buy their goods.

The food stands at the bazaar; however, were by far the most popular. On thousands of stoves,a great variety of delicacies were being prepared.The sound of the copper ladles beating against the pots, together with the shouts of the food peddlers,formed a strange symphony, One of the most interesting activities was watching young men making hand-pulled noodles. The dough, which can weigh up to several kilogrammes, must first be rolled and kneaded to become the right texture.

Then the cook firmly grips the dough by both ends and swings it up high in tile air repeatedly until it is stretched into the shape of a long, thick noodle.

He then doubles the dough, swings it, pounds it,rolls it and then repeats the process a dozen times until the dough is of even thickness and as thin as wicker. The finishing touch is the most entertaining part, when the cook twirls the dough in the air in a

The Uigur Muslims in Kashi have their own particular customs.For example, the veil shown in this picture is rarely seen in northern Xinjiang.