Travel to China, Xinjiang, Kashgar.

I spent a couple of hours wandering around from the area where they discuss the price of cows, to the next where Uyghur men check out the sheep’s ears, backs and buttholes… and then there is the donkey area… While the Uyghur were looking at the animals, I must admit I was people watching. As you can see I took more pictures of the people selling and buying livestock than of the animals. There is something fascinating about these men’s faces, the beards, the hats, the wrinkles and the body gestures. When I look at them, I realize how far I am from home. Funny how a simple hat changes everything…

Men negotiate the prices and they shake hands in order to make an offer. As their hands meet, the buyer will hold a few fingers inside the seller’s hand to indicate how much he’s ready to offer for the animals. Apparently they do this so that no one around can find out how much they agreed on and the bargaining
Kashgar July 2013can go on with many other buyers. When they reach a final agreement, they shake hands very loudly. And then they get the banknotes out… I hadn’t seen this much money in a long time!

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Travel to China, Xinjiang, Kashgar.

Kashgar can be seen as several distinct areas, there is some of the Old Town left, There's the New Old Town, then the larger high rise city and the New City of Kashgar under construction. Several years ago the Government started making a concerted effort to knock down the Old Town, as unsafe buildings and where high rise apartments would be a much more efficient use of city space, which brought some strong resistance into the streets. A compromise of sorts was reached and a New Old Town area was designated, two and three story buildings leaving areas for street markets etc and leaving a small area of the Old Town standing. The pace of change did not stop just became refocused on the New City. China is committed to bringing millions of its citizens into the middle classes every year, a program that will continue for the very success of Chinas Rebuilding, they have let the Uyghur people move along at a slower pace.

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