Kashgar (Kashi) is situated in the southwest of Xinjiang. From the west, this is the first point of arrival on land routes from Pakistan and Kirgyzistan.  For a long time a vital stop on the Silk Road, this remote city some 4,000 km from Beijing, used to take up to six months to reach from the capital! This all changed in the 1930s when Kashgar became a crucial meeting point for three empires- the Chinese, the British and the Soviet Union. A haven for spies and housing some fabulous consulate buildings, this city was used as a bastion by the Brits looking west towards India, and the Soviets, thought to be plotting to absorb Xinjiang. In 1935, the city was effectively run by the Soviets until WWII when it came back under Chinese control.

Climate:
Kashgar has a temperate continental climate, with large periods of sunshine and little rainfall. With a short warm winter and a long cool summer, temperatures in the city are pleasant most of the year. The four seasons in Kashgar are very clear. The average temperature for the year is 11.8 degree C, the average temperature of the coolest month of January is -6 degree C, and in the hottest month, July, the average temperature is 27 degree C. The average rainfall here is only 121mm, but the evaporation capacity amounts to 2162mm, and on average there are 224 days a year without frost here. The best time to travel is between August and September, when the sky is blue and there is blossom and fruit on the trees.