Kashgar Street Food: Eating Your Way Through the Old Town Night Market
Kashgar is the food capital of southern Xinjiang, and its night market is the single best place to prove it. As the sun drops, the lanes around the Old Town fill with smoke, steam, and the clang of skewer sellers — a crawl that costs almost nothing and tastes like the whole Silk Road converged on one block. If you do one food thing in Xinjiang, do this.
The market around Id Kah Mosque and the nearby food streets is the core. Go on an empty stomach and a loose schedule.
What to Order
Kawap (lamb skewers). Heavier cumin, sharper chili than the north. Eat a dozen standing up.
Polo. The southern version leans on carrot and raisin; a plate is a meal for a few yuan.
Naan fresh from the tandir. Still warm, slightly smoky, perfect with tea.
Dova (samsa) and pakhlava. Baked buns and a local take on baklava at the sweet stalls.
Fruit you don’t recognize. Kashgar’s markets trade in melons, apricots, and grapes that rarely leave the region. Ask the seller to cut you a slice.
A Walking Route
Start at the Id Kah square, loop the surrounding streets clockwise, and let your nose lead. The skewer rows are near the mosque; the naan ovens are a block into the Old Town; the fruit and sweet stalls cluster toward the bazaar entrance. Budget two hours and several small buys rather than one big sit-down — the market is meant to be grazed.
How to Eat Like a Local
Order by pointing and holding up fingers for the count. Carry small cash or have Alipay ready — most stalls are QR-only. Sit on the low benches where offered; sharing a plate with strangers is normal and friendly. And don’t rush the tea — the sweet milk tea stall is where the real conversations happen.
Safety and Stomach
The food is freshly cooked and generally safe; the risk is richness, not germs. Pace yourself, drink tea between rounds, and save room for the grapes. Kashgar’s market is loud, crowded, and completely worth it — the most delicious hour or two in southern Xinjiang.
