Kashgar and the Taklimakan–Tarim Basin

The Taklimakan Desert and Tarim Basin in southern Xinjiang — a vast, largely uninhabited depression ringed by ancient oasis cities including Kashgar, Hotan and Kuqa that sustained Silk Road trade for over 1,500 years.

The Tarim Basin is the largest enclosed basin in the world, ringed by the Tianshan Mountains to the north, the Kunlun Mountains to the south and the Pamir Plateau to the west. At its heart lies the Taklimakan Desert — approximately 337,000 km² of shifting sand dunes — one of the world's largest and most geographically isolated deserts. Ancient oasis cities developed at the desert margins where meltwater streams from the surrounding mountains created habitable, irrigable land.

Kashgar (Kashi) at the western end of the Tarim Basin is the most accessible of these oasis cities for modern visitors. Its Sunday bazaar — historically one of Central Asia's largest weekly markets — remains an important trading point, though much of the traditional old city was demolished and rebuilt in concrete in the 2000s. The Id Kah Mosque, seating 20,000 worshippers, is the largest mosque in China. The Abakh Khoja Mausoleum, a 17th-century Sufi shrine complex with tile-encrusted domes in Central Asian style, is the most significant architectural monument.

Hotan (Hetian) further east along the southern Silk Road is famous for jade deposits in the Yurungkash and Karakash rivers and for its carpet, silk and mulberry-paper crafts. Kuqa (Kuche) preserves the ruins of the ancient Kushan and Kizil Caves — Buddhist rock-art sanctuaries predating the Mogao Caves in style and representing an early eastward transmission of Gandharan art.

The Tarim Basin's heritage corridor is associated with the UNESCO Silk Roads inscription (2014) through its constituent sites, though the basin as a whole has not received UNESCO status.