Uygur – Kashgar

Uygur, (pronounced “we-gar”), is an ethnic group of western Asia with a homeland in the areas of Kashgar, Urumqi and Turfan, in Xinjiang province and in the neighboring Central Asian republics. The Uygurs’ ancestors were the nomadic Turkic Gaoche people and the Tocharian peoples of the Tarim Basin. Gaoche, meaning high cart, was a reference to the distinct ox-drawn carts used to move yurts. Uygur farmers today still sue these ox carts. Kashgar, the hub city of the Silk Road, is west of the Taklamakan desert at the feet of the Tian Shan mountain range.