in east Turkestan

Kashgar, west China, Nov. 1999 - scan of the old print of a slide - my scanner does not work very well (

(NB : that day was very hazy with a blinding light).

Description of the scene : in the old weekly livestock market of Kashgar (on the Silk Road, extreme west China, an area called « east Turkestan » by the Uyghurs living there, « Xinjiang » by the Chinese), which used to be directly in the outskirts of that great city, a man demonstrates the quality of a horse for sale, galloping over a very short distance down a narrow path between a crowd of onlookers.

There were also other animals for sale, Bactrian camels, goats and sheep etc.

Since then, the market has been relocated far away from the city ; more practical and much larger, but not as colourful and atmospherical.

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NB : my heart goes to these people... I travelled 3 different years to that area, learnt a bit the language, heard the many complaints about for instance, the lack of job opportunities from many angry young Uyghurs as the Han Chinese settlers get always preferential treatment : the plight of the Uyghurs and other minorities in west China, like in Tibet, is terrible, their culture being slowly erradicated : minority languages are only taught at primary school level !

(Unfortunately, difficult to get an objective account on the recent riots in Urumqi, we can only hear the version from the Chinese govt).

I'd love to return there one day...