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Central Asia, Here I Am
Monday, August 22, 2005-10:00 PM
It's after ten in the evening, and cars here in Kashgar in China's far west have just begun to use their headlights.
This isn't a cafe of "white nights" like they experience in St. Petersburg, Russia. We're too far south for that. This is the effect of China placing itself entirely in one time zone despite the vast distance it spans from east to west.
But some people here tell time in Xinjiang time, in which case, it's only seven or eight.
Kashgar, in terms of history and culture, is more closely related to its nearby Central Asian neighbors than it is to China.
I met William, a recent college graduate doing translation work in Tianjin, and his mother on the 23 hour train ride from Urumqi.
William and his parents were born in Kashgar. William's grandparents were born in Eastern China.
Out of Kashgar's nearly three million residents (including the surrounding areas) perhaps a fifth are "Han" Chinese. Han immigration to the area didn't pick up steam until after 1949.
The rest of the people are Uighur. The Uighur people have maintained their cultural identity.
After being here a few hours, I wonder how the Uighur and Han people communicate. Many Uighurs can't speak Chinese, and I imagine only a handful of Chinese speak Uighur. William's Uighur vocabulary doesn't go beyond "good morning" and a few swear words.
In Kashgar there are Han and Uighur schools. The Han schools have some Uighur students. The Uighur schools have don't have any Han students.
One reason I haven't left China to travel in other Asian countries is because I'm afraid of the language barrier. Though my Chinese isn't perfect, here in China I know it can always get me out of a jam.
But Kashgar might be the exception. Even when I do meet Uighurs who speak Chinese, they usually have a stronger command of English than they do of Chinese.
Moreover, my Chinese might be steering me towards Kashgar's Han population and away from the Uighurs, even though it's the Uighur culture I came to see.
I'm close to about half a dozen countries that end in "stan" including Afghanistan. So far, people have asked if I'm Pakistani or Tajikstani. No one's asked if I'm American.
Train tickets to Urumqi are sold out, mostly going to students on their way back to school for the Fall semester. It looks like when I leave Kashgar, I'll be on a long bus ride to Urumqi.
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