Two tales from a foreign land

October 8, 1999
Web posted at: 2:45 p.m. EDT (1845 GMT)

By Kyle and Kelly Westgard

Kashgar is a maze of traffic: donkeys, taxis, bicycles, trucks, tractors, and people fill the streets all day

Kelly and I are having a great time out here on China's western frontier. In the coming weeks we look forward to sharing our thoughts on various topics with you through our own, sometimes differing, points of view. Kelly sees things as a Chinese citizen from Taiwan, and I interpret my surroundings through the lens of an American China scholar.

We feel that when investigating the many fascinating aspects of today's China, it is extremely important to keep an open mind, and to try to refrain from being judgmental. Differences are what make us beautiful and interesting as a human race. And things couldn't be more different here in Kashgar, far from what we both call home!

The team enjoys a big breakfast

From Kelly's perspective: I guess in many ways China is a multi-cultured society, just like the United States. People with different appearances, religious beliefs, and customs all live together under the same flag. But still, Kashgar does not look like the China I had imagined while back in Taiwan! Yesterday I saw a big government poster on the side of the street, written in Chinese and Uigur which states, "In the foreign guest's eyes you are Chinese and in the Chinese people's eyes you are Uigurs." I really don't know about how the foreign guests feel, but for me this poster plants a big question mark in my heart. "How can these people be Chinese even though we don't speak the same language?" I realize we look different, eat different food, and dress differently but I feel funny when I have to use sign language to communicate with them. Although I'm Chinese, in fact I feel just like any other foreigner in Kashgar!

Transportation is also a lot different here. I think the best way to get around is to take a donkey cart. It is amazing to see so many donkeys in the streets, often competing for space with taxis, bicycles, trucks, tractors, and of course- even more people on foot!

From Kyle's perspective: Whoa! I feel like I'm in a time warp walking down the streets of Kashgar. For me, this is the biggest shock about our first stop on AsiaQuest. I feel like I am in the China of ten years ago, when I was here as a student in 1989 at Harbin Normal University.

The feeling starts with the hotel that we're staying in tonight, the Xinjiang Kashgar Hotel. It is one of only a handful of establishments that are allowed to receive foreign guests, and partially because of this purpose it is situated within a walled compound. The architecture is classic 1960's communist- concrete and tile. We sleep in a two-story, rectangular-shaped building with about 40 guest rooms. We take breakfast in a separate building that is a three-minute walk from our rooms. Inside there is a huge kitchen with many wood-fired woks and plenty of counter space for food preparation.

Breakfast reminds me of what I ate as a student ten years ago in Harbin- salted peanuts out of the shell, sliced cucumbers, rice porridge, white bread, mantou(steamed bread), jam, zha cai (pickled radish-like vegetable), salt preserved pork, and hard-boiled or wok-fried eggs. I was not at all expecting to find this very typical northern Chinese breakfast served in Muslim Kashgar- 2800 miles (4,600 km) from Harbin!

While China's coastal regions have been modernizing at an incredible pace, especially in its consumer goods sector, here again I feel that Kashgar has been left behind. With the exception of finding a few more foreign-branded foods, the department store that we visited today felt just like a department store that one would find in eastern China ten years ago. Bulk foods like nuts, candy, cookies and crackers are available next to jams, dried shrimp and powdered milk. All things considered, there is quite a selection. However the only brands that you are likely to recognize are Pringles and Tang. That's all for this week; there's so much more to say but we've got a camel to catch Zai jian.