Old town of Kashgar

The old town of Kashgar is precipitated history, like a maze, one is likely to get lost when wandering in the town. The clever Uighurs would add a layer or two on their original houses with the increasing population of their family. Some even added to seven layers of more than a dozen rooms by extending upward along the side of the high platform. Year in and year out, those houses made full advantage of the terrain and space, forming the well-arranged landscape of “arcade”, “building on upstairs”, and “building within a building”, like many pyramids.

This unique architectural form is called”High platform dwellings”, and “Kuoziqiyabeixi lane” named by the local Uighur residents, which means “earthenware on high Cliff”. There big safety risks with this creative design, which rationally uses space; but old earth and wooden structure, narrow alleys, and crowded living conditions are not earthquake proof, and have no fire evacuation channels.

qingquang

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