Do I need to book Kashgar Old City (Ancient City of Kashi) (喀什噶尔老城) (Kashgar) in advance?
No — walk-up works. Passport accepted.
Full booking rules →Do I need to book Id Kah Mosque (艾提尕尔清真寺) (Kashgar) in advance?
No — walk-up works. Passport accepted.
Full booking rules →Do I need to book Sunday Bazaar & Livestock Market (Kashgar) in advance?
No — walk-up works. Passport accepted.
Full booking rules →Do I need to book Karakoram Highway day trip (Karakul Lake / Tashkurgan) (Kashgar) in advance?
Yes — advance booking is required. A border-area permit must be arranged ahead through a Kashgar agency; allow 1-2 business days.
Full booking rules →Can I pay with a foreign card (Visa/Mastercard) in Kashgar?
Yes — foreign Visa/Mastercard work in Kashgar, typically linked to Alipay or WeChat Pay for everyday spending. Carry a little cash as a backup.
Do hotels in Kashgar accept foreign passports?
It varies in Kashgar — mid-range and chain hotels usually register foreigners, while cheaper local guesthouses may not. Confirm foreign registration when booking.
What should foreigners know about hotels and registration in Kashgar?
This is the thing that breaks Kashgar trips: most hotels here are NOT licensed to register foreign guests, and a hotel that takes foreigners in any other Chinese city may turn you away at the desk in Kashgar. Only designated 'foreigner-receiving' (接待外宾) properties can legally check you in. Confirm a hotel holds that status before you pay - ask the property directly, or book on Trip.com filtered for foreigner-friendly hotels, which screens most of them out for you. Book 30+ days ahead in summer; the foreigner-licensed pool is small and fills up. The booked hotel still registers you with the local police on arrival, as everywhere in China. One more catch: Xinjiang is NOT covered by China's 240-hour visa-free transit — coming here requires a full Chinese visa.
What's the main thing to know before visiting Kashgar?
The hotel problem is the real trip-planner. In most of China you book whatever's cheap and cheerful. Not in Kashgar. Many hotels simply can't legally check in a foreigner - only designated foreigner-receiving properties can - and people show up with a 'confirmed' booking and get turned away at the desk. Sort your bed before anything else: book a property you've confirmed takes foreign passports (Trip.com's foreigner filter is the easiest screen), well ahead in summer. Get this wrong and you're stranded at 10pm calling around a closed city.
Any tourist traps or surprises to watch for in Kashgar?
Checkpoints are routine - treat them as normal. Expect security checks: at the train station, the airport, entering bazaars and malls, around the Old City gates, and on the roads. You'll show your passport a lot - some days many times over. It's the standard rhythm here, not a sign anything is wrong. Keep your actual passport on you (not a photo), build in extra time, and stay relaxed and polite. The single best move is just to have the document ready before you're asked.
What should I eat in Kashgar?
Polo (pilaf) is the Sunday lunch. Kashgar polo - rice cooked with carrot, onion and lamb, often a chunk of fatty mutton on top - is the regional anchor dish, ladled from huge cast pots. It's heavy, savory and cheap, best at a busy local place that sells out by early afternoon. A bowl with tea is a full meal for well under ¥20. The pot that's empty by 2pm is the one to chase.
Where do locals eat in Kashgar, and what else is worth trying?
Laghman and the bread are the everyday staples. Laghman - hand-pulled noodles topped with stir-fried lamb, peppers and tomato - is the workhorse meal, fresh-pulled to order. Pair it with naan (nan), the big chewy bread baked stuck to the side of a tandoor oven; it's sold everywhere fresh and warm for a couple of yuan and travels well for the road. Watch the bread ovens in the Old City - the baking itself is half the experience.
Can foreigners visit Kashgar independently, and do I need a special permit?
Yes - Kashgar city, the Old City, Id Kah Mosque and the Sunday markets are open to foreign visitors on a normal China visa, no special regional permit needed just to be in town. The permit issue is specific: heading up the Karakoram Highway toward Tashkurgan and the Pamirs is a border zone that needs a separate border-area permit, arranged in Kashgar through an agency. The city itself you can do on your own.
Why do hotels keep refusing to check me in?
Because most Kashgar hotels aren't licensed to register foreign guests - only designated 'foreigner-receiving' properties can legally check you in, and that pool is small. Confirm a hotel takes foreign passports before you pay (ask directly, or use Trip.com's foreigner filter), and book well ahead in summer. This is the most common way a Kashgar trip goes wrong, so settle accommodation first.
What's the deal with all the checkpoints and photography?
Security checks at stations, bazaars, malls and the Old City gates are routine - carry your actual passport, expect to show it often, and allow extra time; it's the normal rhythm here. On photos: never shoot checkpoints, police or military, and ask people before photographing them. Street life, food and architecture are all fine. Treat both as practical habits, not drama.
Does the Sunday livestock market still run?
Yes, as of 2025 it still runs on Sundays, out on the city's outskirts (a short taxi ride from the center), separate from the covered town bazaar that runs daily. It's more managed than its wild reputation but locals still trade animals, eat and shop there, so it's worth the early Sunday morning trip. A driver or guide makes getting out to it much easier.
Rules change. We re-check these facts on a schedule and date-stamp every page — but always confirm on the official channel before relying on a time.