KASHGAR, kiish'glie. The former capital of tho Chinese dependency of East Turkestan, situated on the river Kashgar, in latitude 39° 27' N. and longitude 76° 2' E., about 100 miles northwest of Ylirkand (Slap: Asia, G 5). It consists of the chi town, lying on an elevation overlooking the river. and the new town, lying about miles south of the former. They are both surrounded by mud walls and moats, and the new town is also defended by a citadel. With the exception of the Chinese quarter in the new town, dating from 1838, and more or less mod ern in appearance, Kashgar is poorly built, and consists largely of mud huts. It contains a large number of native schools, and manufactures gold and silver articles, cotton and woolen goods, and carpets. The rivalry of Yarkand has had a detrimental effect on the commerce of Kashgar. The chief articles of commerce are textiles. The civil government of the region is in charge of a Chinese official, with the rank of Taotai, who resides in the old town. The General and his
troops live in the new town. A Russian consulate is maintained here. The population, estimated at 60,000 to 70,000, is very heterogeneous. Kash gar is a city of great antiquity, and is supposed to have been mentioned as early as B.C. 76. It was ruled .successively by its own princes, the Mongols, and the Chinese. During the Dungan revolt of the Chinese Mohammedans, Kashgar. following the example of the other cities of East Turkestan, rose against its Chinese rulers, and became in 1865 the capital of the State or ganized by Yakub Beg. The town was regained by the Chinese in 1877. Consult: Younghusband, The Heart of a Continent (New York. 1896), and Lansdell, Chinese Central Asia (2 vols., New York, 1894).