CHINA-XINJIANG: KASHGAR'S CENTRAL GRAND BAZAAR RAZED TO THE GROUND
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Radio Free Asia (RFA-May 6) reported that the Chinese authorities have razed large parts of
the famous Grand Bazaar of Kashgar, once a noted tourist attraction and a centre of Uyghur
commercial culture. It said it is likely that the Grand Bazaar won’t be completely destroyed
but rather turned into an inauthentic version of itself designed as a tourist attraction for Han
Chinese. This fits with a trend across China: Major markets in the centre of Beijing have been
demolished or remade as corporate brands, with ordinary vendors pushed to the edge of the
city. Officials at the Market Supervision Bureau in Kashgar told RFA in March that the Grand
Bazaar was being torn down but declined to answer questions about why and how much of it
had already been bulldozed.
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