Kashgar is an oasis city with an approximate population of 350,000. It is the westernmost city in China, located near the border with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Kashgar has a rich history of over 2,000 years and served as a trading post and strategically important city on the Silk Road between China, the Middle East, and Europe. Kashgar is part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.

 

Located historically at the convergence point of widely varying cultures and empires, Kashgar has been under the rule of the Chinese, Turkic, Mongol, and Tibetan empires. The city has also been the site of an extraordinary number of battles between various groups of people on the steppes.

 

Now administered as a county-level unit of the People's Republic of China, Kashgar is the administrative centre of its eponymous prefecture in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region which has an area of 162,000 square kilometres and a population of approximately 3.5 million. The city's urban area covers 15 km2, though its administrative area extends over 555 km2.

 

NAME

The modern Chinese name is 喀什 (Kāshí), a shortened form of the longer and less-frequently used (simplified Chinese: 喀什噶尔; traditional Chinese: 喀什噶爾; pinyin: Kāshígé’ěr; Uyghur: قەشقەر‎). Ptolemy (AD 90-168), in his Geography, Chapter 15.3A, refers to Kashgar as “Kasi”. Its western and probably indigenous name is the Kāš ("rock"), to which the East Iranian -γar ("mountain"); cf. Pashto and Middle Persian gar/ġar, from Old Persian/Pahlavi girīwa ("hill; ridge (of a mountain)") was attached. Alternative historical Romanizations for "Kashgar" include Cascar and Cashgar.

 

Non-native names for the city, such as the old Chinese name Shule 疏勒 and Tibetan Śu-lig may have originated as an attempts to transcribe the Sanskrit name for Kashgar, Śrīkrīrāti ("fortunate hospitality")

 

Variant transcriptions of the official Uyghur: يېڭىشەھەر‎ include: K̂äxk̂är or Kaxgar, as well as Jangi-schahr, Kashgar Yangi Shahr, K’o-shih-ka-erh, K’o-shih-ka-erh-hsin-ch’eng, Ko-shih-ka-erh-hui-ch’eng, K’o-shih-ko-erh-hsin-ch’eng, New Kashgar, Sheleh, Shuleh, Shulen, Shu-lo, Su-lo, Su-lo-chen, Su-lo-hsien, Yangi-shaar, Yangi-shahr, Yangishar, Yéngisheher, Yengixəh̨ər and Еңишәһәр.

 

HISTORY

HAN DYNASTY

The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han dynasty envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west.

 

Another early mention of Kashgar is during the Former Han (also known as the Western Han dynasty), when in 76 BC the Chinese conquered the Xiongnu, Yutian (Khotan), Sulei (Kashgar), and a group of states in the Tarim basin almost up to the foot of the Tian Shan range.

 

Ptolemy speaks of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a “Kasia Regio”, probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar and Kashgaria (often applied to the district) are formed. The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam.

 

In the Book of Han, which covers the period between 125 BC and 23 AD, it is recorded that there were 1,510 households, 18,647 people and 2,000 persons able to bear arms. By the time covered by the Book of the Later Han (roughly 25 to 170 AD), it had grown to 21,000 households and had 3,000 men able to bear arms.

 

The Book of the Later Han provides a wealth of detail on developments in the region:

 

"In the period of Emperor Wu [140-87 BC], the Western Regions1 were under the control of the Interior [China]. They numbered thirty-six kingdoms. The Imperial Government established a Colonel [in charge of] Envoys there to direct and protect these countries. Emperor Xuan [73-49 BC] changed this title [in 59 BC] to Protector-General.

 

Emperor Yuan [40-33 BC] installed two Wuji Colonels to take charge of the agricultural garrisons on the frontiers of the king of Nearer Jushi [Turpan].

 

During the time of Emperor Ai [6 BC-AD 1] and Emperor Ping [AD 1-5], the principalities of the Western Regions split up and formed fifty-five kingdoms. Wang Mang, after he usurped the Throne [in AD 9], demoted and changed their kings and marquises. Following this, the Western Regions became resentful, and rebelled. They, therefore, broke off all relations with the Interior [China] and, all together, submitted to the Xiongnu again.

 

The Xiongnu collected oppressively heavy taxes and the kingdoms were not able to support their demands. In the middle of the Jianwu period [AD 25-56], they each [Shanshan and Yarkand in 38, and 18 kingdoms in 45], sent envoys to ask if they could submit to the Interior [China], and to express their desire for a Protector-General. Emperor Guangwu, decided that because the Empire was not yet settled [after a long period of civil war], he had no time for outside affairs, and [therefore] finally refused his consent [in AD 45].

 

In the meantime, the Xiongnu became weaker. The king of Suoju [Yarkand], named Xian, wiped out several kingdoms. After Xian’s death [c. AD 62], they began to attack and fight each other. Xiao Yuan [Tura], Jingjue [Cadota], Ronglu [Niya], and Qiemo [Cherchen] were annexed by Shanshan [the Lop Nur region]. Qule [south of Keriya] and Pishan [modern Pishan or Guma] were conquered and fully occupied by Yutian [Khotan]. Yuli [Fukang], Danhuan, Guhu [Dawan Cheng], and Wutanzili were destroyed by Jushi [Turpan and Jimasa]. Later these kingdoms were re-established.

 

During the Yongping period [AD 58-75], the Northern Xiongnu forced several countries to help them plunder the commanderies and districts of Hexi. The gates of the towns stayed shut in broad daylight."

 

And, more particularly in reference to Kashgar itself, is the following record:

 

"In the sixteenth Yongping year of Emperor Ming 73, Jian, the king of Qiuci (Kucha), attacked and killed Cheng, the king of Shule (Kashgar). Then he appointed the Qiuci (Kucha) Marquis of the Left, Douti, King of Shule (Kashgar). ‹See TfD›

In winter 73, the Han sent the Major Ban Chao who captured and bound Douti. He appointed Zhong, the son of the elder brother of Cheng, to be king of Shule (Kashgar). Zhong later rebelled. (Ban) Chao attacked and beheaded him."

 

THE KUSHANS

The Book of the Later Han also gives the only extant historical record of Yuezhi or Kushan involvement in the Kashgar oasis:

 

"During the Yuanchu period (114-120) in the reign of Emperor, the king of Shule (Kashgar), exiled his maternal uncle Chenpan to the Yuezhi (Kushans) for some offence. The king of the Yuezhi became very fond of him. Later, Anguo died without leaving a son. His mother directed the government of the kingdom. She agreed with the people of the country to put Yifu (lit. “posthumous child”), who was the son of a full younger brother of Chenpan on the throne as king of Shule (Kashgar). Chenpan heard of this and appealed to the Yuezhi (Kushan) king, saying:

 

"Anguo had no son. His relative (Yifu) is weak. If one wants to put on the throne a member of (Anguo’s) mother’s family, I am Yifu’s paternal uncle, it is I who should be king."

 

The Yuezhi (Kushans) then sent soldiers to escort him back to Shule (Kashgar). The people had previously respected and been fond of Chenpan. Besides, they dreaded the Yuezhi (Kushans). They immediately took the seal and ribbon from Yifu and went to Chenpan, and made him king. Yifu was given the title of Marquis of the town of Pangao [90 li, or 37 km, from Shule].

 

‹See TfD›

Then Suoju (Yarkand) continued to resist Yutian (Khotan), and put themselves under Shule (Kashgar). Thus Shule (Kashgar), became powerful and a rival to Qiuci (Kucha) and Yutian (Khotan)."

 

However, it was not very long before the Chinese began to reassert their authority in the region:

 

“In the second Yongjian year (127), during Emperor Shun’s reign, Chenpan sent an envoy to respectfully present offerings. The Emperor bestowed on Chenpan the title of Great Commandant-in-Chief for the Han. Chenxun, who was the son of his elder brother, was appointed Temporary Major of the Kingdom. ‹See TfD›

In the fifth year (130), Chenpan sent his son to serve the Emperor and, along with envoys from Dayuan (Ferghana) and Suoju (Yarkand), brought tribute and offerings.”

 

From an earlier part of the same text comes the following addition:

 

“In the first Yangjia year (132), Xu You sent the king of Shule (Kashgar), Chenpan, who with 20,000 men, attacked and defeated Yutian (Khotan). He beheaded several hundred people, and released his soldiers to plunder freely. He replaced the king [of Jumi] by installing Chengguo from the family of [the previous king] Xing, and then he returned.”[38]

 

Then the first passage continues:

 

“In the second Yangjia year (133), Chenpan again made offerings (including) a lion and zebu cattle. ‹See TfD›

 

Then, during Emperor Ling’s reign, in the first Jianning year, the king of Shule (Kashgar) and Commandant-in-Chief for the Han (i.e. presumably Chenpan), was shot while hunting by the youngest of his paternal uncles, Hede. Hede named himself king.

‹See TfD›

In the third year (170), Meng Tuo, the Inspector of Liangzhou, sent the Provincial Officer Ren She, commanding five hundred soldiers from Dunhuang, with the Wuji Major Cao Kuan, and Chief Clerk of the Western Regions, Zhang Yan, brought troops from Yanqi (Karashahr), Qiuci (Kucha), and the Nearer and Further States of Jushi (Turpan and Jimasa), altogether numbering more than 30,000, to punish Shule (Kashgar). They attacked the town of Zhenzhong [Arach − near Maralbashi] but, having stayed for more than forty days without being able to subdue it, they withdrew. Following this, the kings of Shule (Kashgar) killed one another repeatedly while the Imperial Government was unable to prevent it.”

 

THREE KINGDOMS TO THE SUI

These centuries are marked by a general silence in sources on Kashgar and the Tarim Basin.

 

The Weilüe, composed in the second third of the 3rd century, mentions a number of states as dependencies of Kashgar: the kingdom of Zhenzhong (Arach?), the kingdom of Suoju (Yarkand), the kingdom of Jieshi, the kingdom of Qusha, the kingdom of Xiye (Khargalik), the kingdom of Yinai (Tashkurghan), the kingdom of Manli (modern Karasul), the kingdom of Yire (Mazar − also known as Tágh Nák and Tokanak), the kingdom of Yuling, the kingdom of Juandu (‘Tax Control’ − near modern Irkeshtam), the kingdom of Xiuxiu (‘Excellent Rest Stop’ − near Karakavak), and the kingdom of Qin.

 

However, much of the information on the Western Regions contained in the Weilüe seems to have ended roughly about (170), near the end of Han power. So, we can’t be sure that this is a reference to the state of affairs during the Cao Wei (220-265), or whether it refers to the situation before the civil war during the Later Han when China lost touch with most foreign countries and came to be divided into three separate kingdoms.

 

Chapter 30 of the Records of the Three Kingdoms says that after the beginning of the Wei Dynasty (220) the states of the Western Regions did not arrive as before, except for the larger ones such as Kucha, Khotan, Kangju, Wusun, Kashgar, Yuezhi, Shanshan and Turpan, who are said to have come to present tribute every year, as in Han times.

 

In 270, four states from the Western Regions were said to have presented tribute: Karashahr, Turpan, Shanshan, and Kucha. Some wooden documents from Niya seem to indicate that contacts were also maintained with Kashgar and Khotan around this time.

 

In 422, according to the Songshu, ch. 98, the king of Shanshan, Bilong, came to the court and "the thirty-six states in the Western Regions" all swore their allegiance and presented tribute. It must be assumed that these 36 states included Kashgar.

 

The "Songji" of the Zizhi Tongjian records that in the 5th month of 435, nine states: Kucha, Kashgar, Wusun, Yueban, Tashkurghan, Shanshan, Karashahr, Turpan and Sute all came to the Wei court.

 

In 439, according to the Weishu, ch. 4A, Shanshan, Kashgar and Karashahr sent envoys to present tribute.

 

According to the Weishu, ch. 102, Chapter on the Western Regions, the kingdoms of Kucha, Kashgar, Wusun, Yueban, Tashkurghan, Shanshan, Karashahr, Turpan and Sute all began sending envoys to present tribute in the Taiyuan reign period (435-440).

 

In 453 Kashgar sent envoys to present tribute (Weishu, ch. 5), and again in 455.

 

An embassy sent during the reign of Wencheng Di (452-466) from the king of Kashgar presented a supposed sacred relic of the Buddha; a dress which was incombustible.

 

In 507 Kashgar, is said to have sent envoys in both the 9th and 10th months (Weishu, ch. 8).

 

In 512, Kashgar sent envoys in the 1st and 5th months. (Weishu, ch. 8).

 

Early in the 6th century Kashgar is included among the many territories controlled by the Yeda or Hephthalite Huns, but their empire collapsed at the onslaught of the Western Turks between 563 and 567 who then probably gained control over Kashgar and most of the states in the Tarim Basin.

 

TANG DYNASTY

The founding of the Tang dynasty in 618 saw the beginning of a prolonged struggle between China and the Western Turks for control of the Tarim Basin. In 635, the Tang Annals reported an emissary from the king of Kashgar to the Tang capital. In 639 there was a second emissary bringing products of Kashgar as a token of submission to the Tang state.

 

Buddhist scholar Xuanzang passed through Kashgar (which he referred to as Ka-sha) in 644 on his return journey from India to China. The Buddhist religion, then beginning to decay in India, was active in Kashgar. Xuanzang recorded that they flattened their babies heads, tattooed their bodies and had green eyes. He reported that Kashgar had abundant crops, fruits and flowers, wove fine woolen stuffs and rugs. Their writing system had been adapted from Indian script but their language was different from that of other countries. The inhabitants were sincere Buddhist adherents and there were some hundreds of monasteries with more than 10,000 followers, all members of the Sarvastivadin School.

 

At around the same era, Nestorian Christians were establishing bishoprics at Herat, Merv and Samarkand, whence they subsequently proceeded to Kashgar, and finally to China proper itself.

 

In 646, the Turkic Kagan asked for the hand of a Tang Chinese princess, and in return the Emperor promised Kucha, Khotan, Kashgar, Karashahr and Sarikol as a marriage gift, but this did not happen as planned.

 

In a series of campaigns between 652 and 658, with the help of the Uyghurs, the Chinese finally defeated the Western Turk tribes and took control of all their domains, including the Tarim Basin kingdoms. Karakhoja was annexed in 640, Karashahr during campaigns in 644 and 648, and Kucha fell in 648.

 

In 662 a rebellion broke out in the Western Regions and a Chinese army sent to control it was defeated by the Tibetans south of Kashgar.

 

After another defeat of the Tang Chinese forces in 670, the Tibetans gained control of the whole region and completely subjugated Kashgar in 676-8 and retained possession of it until 692, when the Tang dynasty regained control of all their former territories, and retained it for the next fifty years.

 

In 722 Kashgar sent 4,000 troops to assist the Chinese to force the "Tibetans out of "Little Bolu" or Gilgit.

 

In 728, the king of Kashgar was awarded a brevet by the Chinese emperor.

 

In 739, the Tangshu relates that the governor of the Chinese garrison in Kashgar, with the help of Ferghana, was interfering in the affairs of the Turgesh tribes as far as Talas.

 

In 751 the Chinese were defeated by an Arab army in the Battle of Talas. The An Lushan Rebellion led to the decline of Tang influence in Central Asia due to the fact that the Tang dynasty was forced to withdraw its troops from the region to fight An Lushan. The Tibetans cut all communication between China and the West in 766.

 

Soon after the Chinese pilgrim monk Wukong passed through Kashgar in 753. He again reached Kashgar on his return trip from India in 786 and mentions a Chinese deputy governor as well as the local king.

 

BATTLES WITH ARAB CALIPHATE

In 711, the Arabs invaded Kashgar, but did not hold the city for any length of time. Kashgar and Turkestan lent assistance to the reigning queen of Bukhara, to enable her to repel the Arabs. Although the Muslim religion from the very commencement sustained checks, it nevertheless made its weight felt upon the independent states of Turkestan to the north and east, and thus acquired a steadily growing influence. It was not, however, till the 10th century that Islam was established at Kashgar, under the Kara-Khanid Khanate.

 

THE TURKIC RULE

According to the 10th-century text, Hudud al-'alam, "the chiefs of Kashghar in the days of old were from the Qarluq, or from the Yaghma." The Karluks, Yaghmas and other tribes such as the Chigils formed the Karakhanids. The Karakhanid Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam in the 10th century and captured Kashgar. Kashgar was the capital of the Karakhanid state for a time but later the capital was moved to Balasaghun. During the latter part of the 10th century, the Muslim Karakhanids began a struggle against the Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan, and the Khotanese defeated the Karakhanids and captured Kashgar in 970. Chinese sources recorded the king of Khotan offering to send them a dancing elephant captured from Kashgar. Later in 1006, the Karakhanids of Kashgar under Yusuf Kadr Khan conquered Khotan.

 

The Karakhanid Khanate however was beset with internal strife, and the khanate split into two, the Eastern and Western Karakhanid Khanates, with Kashgar falling within the domain of the Eastern Karakhanid state. In 1089, the Western Karakhanids fell under the control of the Seljuks, but the Eastern Karakhanids was for the most part independent.

 

Both the Karakhanid states were defeated in the 12th century by the Kara-Khitans who captured Balasaghun, however Karakhanid rule continued in Kashgar under the suzerainty of the Kara-Khitans. The Kara-Khitan rulers followed a policy of religious tolerance, Islamic religious life continued uninterrupted and Kashgar was also a Nestorian metropolitan see. The last Karakhanid of Kashgar was killed in a revolt in 1211 by the city's notables. Kuchlug, a usurper of the throne of the Kara-Khitans, then attacked Kashgar which finally surrendered in 1214.

 

THE MONGOLS

The Kara-Khitai in their turn were swept away in 1219 by Genghis Khan. After his death, Kashgar came under the rule of the Chagatai Khans. Marco Polo visited the city, which he calls Cascar, about 1273-4 and recorded the presence of numerous Nestorian Christians, who had their own churches. Later In the 14th century, a Chagataid khan Tughluq Timur converted to Islam, and Islamic tradition began to reassert its ascendancy.

 

In 1389−1390 Tamerlane ravaged Kashgar, Andijan and the intervening country. Kashgar endured a troubled time, and in 1514, on the invasion of the Khan Sultan Said, was destroyed by Mirza Ababakar, who with the aid of ten thousand men built a new fort with massive defences higher up on the banks of the Tuman river. The dynasty of the Chagatai Khans collapsed in 1572 with the division of the country among rival factions; soon after, two powerful Khoja factions, the White and Black Mountaineers (Ak Taghliq or Afaqi, and Kara Taghliq or Ishaqi), arose whose differences and war-making gestures, with the intermittent episode of the Oirats of Dzungaria, make up much of recorded history in Kashgar until 1759. The Dzungar Khanate conquered Kashgar and set up the Khoja as their puppet rulers.

 

QING CONQUEST

The Qing dynasty defeated the Dzungar Khanate during the Ten Great Campaigns and took control of Kashgar in 1759. The conquerors consolidated their authority by settling other ethnics emigrants in the vicinity of a Manchu garrison.

 

Rumours flew around Central Asia that the Qing planned to launch expeditions towards Transoxiana and Samarkand, the chiefs of which sought assistance from the Afghan king Ahmed Shah Abdali. The alleged expedition never happened so Ahmad Shah withdrew his forces from Kokand. He also dispatched an ambassador to Beijing to discuss the situation of the Afaqi Khojas, but the representative was not well received, and Ahmed Shah was too busy fighting off the Sikhs to attempt to enforce his demands through arms.

The Qing continued to hold Kashgar with occasional interruptions during the Afaqi Khoja revolts. One of the most serious of these occurred in 1827, when the city was taken by Jahanghir Khoja; Chang-lung, however, the Qing general of Ili, regained possession of Kashgar and the other rebellious cities in 1828.

 

The Kokand Khanate raided Kashgar several times. A revolt in 1829 under Mahommed Ali Khan and Yusuf, brother of Jahanghir resulted in the concession of several important trade privileges to the Muslims of the district of Altishahr (the "six cities"), as it was then called.

 

The area enjoyed relative calm until 1846 under the rule of Zahir-ud-din, the local Uyghur governor, but in that year a new Khoja revolt under Kath Tora led to his accession as the authoritarian ruler of the city. However, his reign was brief—at the end of seventy-five days, on the approach of the Chinese, he fled back to Khokand amid the jeers of the inhabitants. The last of the Khoja revolts (1857) was of about equal duration, and took place under Wali-Khan, who murdered the well-known traveler Adolf Schlagintweit.

 

1862 CHINESE HUI REVOLT

The great Dungan revolt (1862–1877) involved insurrection among various Muslim ethnic groups. It broke out in 1862 in Gansu then spread rapidly to Dzungaria and through the line of towns in the Tarim Basin.

 

Dungan troops based in Yarkand rose and in August 1864 massacred some seven thousand Chinese and their Manchu commander. The inhabitants of Kashgar, rising in their turn against their masters, invoked the aid of Sadik Beg, a Kyrgyz chief, who was reinforced by Buzurg Khan, the heir of Jahanghir Khoja, and his general Yakub Beg. The latter men were dispatched at Sadik’s request by the ruler of Khokand to raise what troops they could to aid his Muslim friends in Kashgar.

 

Sadik Beg soon repented of having asked for a Khoja, and eventually marched against Kashgar, which by this time had succumbed to Buzurg Khan and Yakub Beg, but was defeated and driven back to Khokand. Buzurg Khan delivered himself up to indolence and debauchery, but Yakub Beg, with singular energy and perseverance, made himself master of Yangi Shahr, Yangi-Hissar, Yarkand and other towns, and eventually became sole master of the country, Buzurg Khan proving himself totally unfit for the post of ruler.

 

With the overthrow of Chinese rule in 1865 by Yakub Beg (1820–1877), the manufacturing industries of Kashgar are supposed to have declined.

 

Yaqub Beg entered into relations and signed treaties with the Russian Empire and the British Empire, but when he tried to get their support against China, he failed.

 

Kashgar and the other cities of the Tarim Basin remained under Yakub Beg’s rule until May 1877, when he died at Korla. Thereafter Kashgaria was reconquered by the forces of the Qing general Zuo Zongtang during the Qing reconquest of Xinjiang.

 

QING RULE

There were eras in Xinjiang's history where intermarriage was common, "laxity" which set upon Uyghur women led them to marry Chinese men and not wear the veil in the period after Yaqub Beg's rule ended, it is also believed by Uyghurs that some Uyghurs have Han Chinese ancestry from historical intermarriage, such as those living in Turpan.

 

Even though Muslim women are forbidden to marry non-Muslims in Islamic law, from 1880-1949 it was frequently violated in Xinjiang since Chinese men married Muslim Turki (Uyghur) women, a reason suggested by foriengers that it was due to the women being poor, while the Turki women who married Chinese were labelled as whores by the Turki community, these marriages were illegitimate according to Islamic law but the women obtained benefits from marrying Chinese men since the Chinese defended them from Islamic authorities so the women were not subjected to the tax on prostitution and were able to save their income for themselves. Chinese men gave their Turki wives privileges which Turki men's wives did not have, since the wives of Chinese did not have to wear a veil and a Chinese man in Kashgar once beat a mullah who tried to force his Turki Kashgari wife to veil. The Turki women also benefited in that they were not subjected to any legal binding to their Chinese husbands so they could make their Chinese husbands provide them with as much their money as she wanted for her relatives and herself since otherwise the women could just leave, and the property of Chinese men was left to their Turki wives after they died. Turki women considered Turki men to be inferior husbands to Chinese and Hindus. Because they were viewed as "impure", Islamic cemeteries banned the Turki wives of Chinese men from being buried within them, the Turki women got around this problem by giving shrines donations and buying a grave in other towns. Besides Chinese men, other men such as Hindus, Armenians, Jews, Russians, and Badakhshanis intermarried with local Turki women. The local society accepted the Turki women and Chinese men's mixed offspring as their own people despite the marriages being in violation of Islamic law. Turki women also conducted temporary marriages with Chinese men such as Chinese soldiers temporarily stationed around them as soldiers for tours of duty, after which the Chinese men returned to their own cities, with the Chinese men selling their mixed daughters with the Turki women to his comrades, taking their sons with them if they could afford it but leaving them if they couldn't, and selling their temporary Turki wife to a comrade or leaving her behind.

 

An anti-Russian uproar broke out when Russian customs officials, 3 Cossacks and a Russian courier invited local Turki (Uyghur) prostitutes to a party in January 1902 in Kashgar, this caused a massive brawl by the inflamed local Turki Muslim populace against the Russians on the pretense of protecting Muslim women because there was anti-Russian sentiment being built up, even though morality was not strict in Kashgar, the local Turki Muslims violently clashed with the Russians before they were dispersed by guards, the Chinese sought to end to tensions to prevent the Russians from building up a pretext to invade.

 

After the riot, the Russians sent troops to Sarikol in Tashkurghan and demanded that the Sarikol postal services be placed under Russian supervision, the locals of Sarikol believed that the Russians would seize the entire district from the Chinese and send more soldiers even after the Russians tried to negotiate with the Begs of Sarikol and sway them to their side, they failed since the Sarikoli officials and authorities demanded in a petition to the Amban of Yarkand that they be evacuated to Yarkand to avoid being harassed by the Russians and objected to the Russian presence in Sarikol, the Sarikolis did not believe the Russian claim that they would leave them alone and only involved themselves in the mail service.

 

Many of the young Kashgari women were most attractive in appearance, and some of the little girls quite lovely, their plaits of long hair falling from under a jaunty little embroidered cap, their big dark eyes, flashing teeth and piquant olive faces reminding me of Italian or Spanish children. One most beautiful boy stands out in my memory. He was clad in a new shirt and trousers of flowered pink, his crimson velvet cap embroidered with gold, and as he smiled and salaamed to us I thought he looked like a fairy prince. The women wear their hair in two or five plaits much thickened and lengthened by the addition of yak's hair, but the children in several tiny plaits.

 

The peasants are fairly well off, as the soil is rich, the abundant water-supply free, and the taxation comparatively light. It was always interesting to meet them taking their live stock into market. Flocks of sheep with tiny lambs, black and white, pattered along the dusty road; here a goat followed its master like a dog, trotting behind the diminutive ass which the farmer bestrode; or boys, clad in the whity-brown native cloth, shouted incessantly at donkeys almost invisible under enormous loads of forage, or carried fowls and ducks in bunches head downwards, a sight that always made me long to come to the rescue of the luckless birds.

 

It was pleasant to see the women riding alone on horseback, managing their mounts to perfection. They formed a sharp contrast to their Persian sisters, who either sit behind their husbands or have their steeds led by the bridle; and instead of keeping silence in public, as is the rule for the shrouded women of Iran, these farmers' wives chaffered and haggled with the men in the bazar outside the city, transacting business with their veils thrown back.

 

Certainly the mullas do their best to keep the fair sex in their place, and are in the habit of beating those who show their faces in the Great Bazar. But I was told that poetic justice had lately been meted out to one of these upholders of the law of Islam, for by mistake he chastised a Kashgari woman married to a Chinaman, whereupon the irate husband set upon him with a big stick and castigated him soundly.

 

That a Muslim should take in marriage one of alien faith is not objected to; it is rather deemed a meritorious act thus to bring an unbeliever to the true religion. The Muslim woman, on the other hand, must not be given in marriage to a non-Muslim; such a union is regarded as the most heinous of sins. In this matter, however, compromises are sometimes made with heaven: the marriage of a Turki princess with the emperor Ch'ien-lung has already been referred to; and, when the present writer passed through Minjol (a day's journey west of Kashgar) in 1902, a Chinese with a Turki wife (? concubine) was presented to him.

 

FIRST EAST TURKESTAN REPUBLIC

Kashgar was the scene of continual battles from 1933 to 1934. Ma Shaowu, a Chinese Muslim, was the Tao-yin of Kashgar, and he fought against Uyghur rebels. He was joined by another Chinese Muslim general, Ma Zhancang.

 

BATTLE OF KASHGAR (1933)

Uighur and Kirghiz forces, led by the Bughra brothers and Tawfiq Bay, attempted to take the New City of Kashgar from Chinese Muslim troops under General Ma Zhancang. They were defeated.

 

Tawfiq Bey, a Syrian Arab traveler, who held the title Sayyid (descendent of prophet Muhammed) and arrived at Kashgar on August 26, 1933, was shot in the stomach by the Chinese Muslim troops in September. Previously Ma Zhancang arranged to have the Uighur leader Timur Beg killed and beheaded on August 9, 1933, displaying his head outside of Id Kah Mosque.

 

Han chinese troops commanded by Brigadier Yang were absorbed into Ma Zhancang's army. A number of Han chinese officers were spotted wearing the green uniforms of Ma Zhancang's unit of the 36th division, presumably they had converted to Islam.

 

BATTLE OF KASHGAR (1934)

The 36th division General Ma Fuyuan led a Chinese Muslim army to storm Kashgar on February 6, 1934, attacking the Uighur and Kirghiz rebels of the First East Turkestan Republic. He freed another 36th division general, Ma Zhancang, who was trapped with his Chinese Muslim and Han Chinese troops in Kashgar New City by the Uighurs and Kirghiz since May 22, 1933. In January, 1934, Ma Zhancang's Chinese Muslim troops repulsed six Uighur attacks, launched by Khoja Niyaz, who arrived at the city on January 13, 1934, inflicting massive casualties on the Uighur forces. From 2,000 to 8,000 Uighur civilians in Kashgar Old City were massacred by Tungans in February, 1934, in revenge for the Kizil massacre, after retreating of Uighur forces from the city to Yengi Hisar. The Chinese Muslim and 36th division Chief General Ma Zhongying, who arrived at Kashgar on April 7, 1934, gave a speech at Id Kah Mosque in April, reminding the Uighurs to be loyal to the Republic of China government at Nanjing. Several British citizens at the British consulate were killed or wounded by the 36th division on March 16, 1934.

 

PEOPLE´S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Kashgar was incorporated into the People's Republic of China in 1949. During the Cultural Revolution, one of the largest statues of Mao in China was built in Kashgar, near People's Square. In 1986, the Chinese government designated Kashgar a "city of historical and cultural significance". Kashgar and surrounding regions have been the site of Uyghur unrest since the 1990s. In 2008, two Uyghur men carried out a vehicular, IED and knife attack against police officers. In 2009, development of Kashgar's old town accelerated after the revelations of the deadly role of faulty architecture during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Many of the old houses in the old town were built without regulation, and as a result, officials found them to be overcrowded and non-compliant with fire and earthquake codes. When the plan started, 42% of the city's residents lived in the old town. With compensation, residents of faulty buildings are being counseled to move to newer, safer buildings that will replace the historic structures in the $448 million plan, including high-rise apartments, plazas, and reproductions of ancient Islamic architecture. The European Parliament issued a resolution in 2011 calling for "culture-sensitive methods of renovation." The International Scientific Committee on Earthen Architectural Heritage (ISCEAH) has expressed concern over the demolition and reconstruction of historic buildings. ISCEAH has, additionally, urged the implementation of techniques utilized elsewhere in the world to address earthquake vulnerability.

 

Following the July 2009 Urumqi riots, the government focused on local economic development in an attempt to ameliorate ethnic tensions in the greater Xinjiang region. Kashgar was made into a Special Economic Zone in 2010, the first such zone in China's far west. In 2011, a spate of violence over two days killed dozens of people. By May 2012 two-thirds of the old city had been demolished, fulfilling "political as well as economic goals." In July 2014 the Imam of the Id Kah Mosque, Juma Tayir, was assassinated in Kashgar.

 

CLIMATE

Kashgar features a desert climate (Köppen BWk) with hot summers and cold winters, with large temperature differences between those two seasons: The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −5.3 °C in January to 25.6 °C in July, while the annual mean is 11.84 °C. Spring is long and arrives quickly, while fall is somewhat brief in comparison. Kashgar is one of the driest cities on the planet, averaging only 64 millimetres of precipitation per year. The city’s wettest month, July, only sees on average 9.1 millimetres of rain. Because of the extremely arid conditions, snowfall is rare, despite the cold winters. Records have been as low as −24.4 °C in January and up to 40.1 °C in July. The frost-free period averages 215 days. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 50% in March to 70% in September, the city receives 2,726 hours of bright sunshine annually.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

Kashgar is predominately peopled by Muslim Uyghurs. Compared to Ürümqi, Xinjiang's capital and largest city, Kashgar is less industrial and has significantly fewer Han Chinese residents.

 

ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY

The city has a very important Sunday market. Thousands of farmers from the surrounding fertile lands come into the city to sell a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. Kashgar’s livestock market is also very lively. Silk and carpets made in Hotan are sold at bazaars, as well as local crafts, such as copper teapots and wooden jewellery boxes.

 

In order to boost the economy in Kashgar region, the government classified the area as the sixth Special Economic Zone of China in May 2010.

 

Mahmud al-Kashgari (Turkish: Kâşgarlı Mahmud) (Mahmut from Kashgar) wrote the first Turkic–Arabic Exemplary Dictionary called Divan-ı Lugat-it Türk[citation needed]

 

The movie The Kite Runner was filmed in Kashgar. Kashgar and the surrounding countryside stood in for Kabul and Afghanistan, since filming in Afghanistan was not possible due to safety and security reasons.

 

SIGHTS

Kashgar's Old City has been called "the best-preserved example of a traditional Islamic city to be found anywhere in Central Asia". It is estimated to attract more than one million tourists annually.

 

- Id Kah Mosque, the largest mosque in China, is located in the heart of the city.

- People's Park, the main public park in central Kashgar.

- An 18 m high statue of Mao Zedong in Kashgar is one of the few large-scale statues of Mao remaining in China.

- The tomb of Afaq Khoja in Kashgar is considered the holiest Muslim site in Xinjiang. Built in the 17th century, the tiled mausoleum 5 km northeast of the city centre also contains the tombs of five generations of his family. Abakh was a powerful ruler, controlling Khotan, Yarkand, Korla, Kucha and Aksu as well as Kashgar. Among some Uyghur Muslims, he was considered a great Saint (Aulia).

- Sunday Market in Kashgar is renowned as the biggest market in central Asia; a pivotal trading point along the Silk Road where goods have been traded for more than 2,000 years. The market is open every day but Sunday is the largest.

 

TRANSPORTATION

AIR

Kashgar Airport serves mainly domestic flights, the majority of them from Urumqi. The only scheduled international flights are passenger and cargo services with Pakistan's capital Islamabad.

 

RAIL

Kashgar has the westernmost railway station in China. It is connected to the rest of China's rail network via the Southern Xinjiang Railway, which was built in December 1999. Kashgar–Hotan Railway opened for passenger traffic in June 2011, and connected Kashgar with cities in the southern Tarim Basin including Shache (Yarkand), Yecheng (Kargilik) and Hotan. Travel time to Urumqi from Kashgar is approximately 25 hours, while travel time to Hotan is approximately ten hours.

 

The investigation work of a further extension of the railway line to Pakistan has begun. In November 2009, Pakistan and China agreed to set up a joint venture to do a feasibility study of the proposed rail link via the Khunjerab Pass.

 

Proposals for a rail connection to Osh in Kyrgyzstan have also been discussed at various levels since at least 1996.

 

In 2012, a standard gauge railway from Kashgar via Tajikistan and Afghanistan to Iran and beyond has been proposed.

 

ROAD

The Karakorum highway (KKH) links Islamabad, Pakistan with Kashgar over the Khunjerab Pass. The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor is a multibillion-dollar project was that will upgrade transport links between China and Pakistan, including the upgrades to the Karakorum highway. Bus routes exist for passenger travel south into Pakistan. Kyrgyzstan is also accessible from Kashgar, via the Torugart Pass and Irkeshtam Pass; as of summer 2007, daily bus service connects Kashgar with Bishkek’s Western Bus Terminal. Kashgar is also located on China National Highways G314 (which runs to Khunjerab Pass on the Sino−Pakistani border, and, in the opposite direction, towards Ürümqi), and G315, which runs to Xining, Qinghai from Kashgar.

 

WIKIPEDIA

TRANSACT 14 / TUES / SESSIONS

nrhp # 75001178- The First Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace took place in the town of Hamilton, June, 1798. At that time Chenango County included what later became Madison County.

 

First business transacted was the entry of an order that Thomas R. Gold, Joseph Kirkland, Nathan Williams, Stephen O. Runyon, Nathaniel King, Arthur Breese, Peter B. Garnsey and Medad Curtis be admitted to practice as attorneys and counselors of the court.

 

Second Court was held at Oxford in October of the same year. Subsequently court was held alternately at these two places three times each year.

 

The first Circuit Court was held July 10, 1798, at the Academy in Oxford.

 

March 6, 1807 the supervisors selected the site of court house and goal (jail) in the Norwich village, within one mile of the residence of Stephen Steere, (now site of Cole Muffler, 32 North Broad Street, Norwich, NY).

 

Josiah Dickinson and George Saxton where hired to erect the court house and jail. It was completed in 1809. “A wooden structure, two stories high and substantially built. It was square and well proportioned; but its interior dimensions proved inadequate to the accommodation of the large audiences which congregated when trials of interest took place. Its entire cost was sixty-five hundred dollars”. They were over budget by $1500.

  

March 24, 1837, an act was passed for erection of a new court house at Norwich (the current one). A tax was levied on the taxable property for $7000, not more than $400 of which was to be levied in any one year. The bond was authorized to draw the entire amount, at six per cent interest, due in 5 years. William Randall, of Norwich, and William Knowlton, of Smithville, were appointed to superintend the construction of the new building; subsequently David Griffing and Alfred Purdy, both of Norwich, were substituted in their place. The new building exceeded the amount originally allowed by $9000.

 

from co.chenango.ny.us

"The Society Italiana Di Mutuo Soccorso Guglielmo Marconi was founded on December 15, 1912. It was incorporated pursuant to the Ontario Insurance Act on August 22, 1917 as “a friendly Society transacting sick and funeral benefits,” and having its head office at the City of Sault Ste Marie, in the Province of Ontario. Since those dates the Society has evolved and expanded its objects while preserving the original objects." - from society website.

 

"Sault Ste. Marie (/ˈsuː seɪnt məˈriː/ SOO-seint-ma-REE) is a city on the St. Marys River in Ontario, Canada, close to the Canada–US border. It is the seat of the Algoma District and the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay.

 

The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants of the area, call this area Baawitigong, meaning "place of the rapids." They used this as a regional meeting place during whitefish season in the St. Mary's Rapids. (The anglicized form of this name, Bawating, is used in institutional and geographic names in the area.)

 

To the south, across the river, is the United States and the Michigan city of the same name. These two communities were one city until a new treaty after the War of 1812 established the border between Canada and the United States in this area at the St. Mary's River. In the 21st century, the two cities are joined by the International Bridge, which connects Interstate 75 on the Michigan side, and Huron Street (and former Ontario Secondary Highway 550B) on the Ontario side. Shipping traffic in the Great Lakes system bypasses the Saint Mary's Rapids via the American Soo Locks, the world's busiest canal in terms of tonnage that passes through it, while smaller recreational and tour boats use the Canadian Sault Ste. Marie Canal.

 

French colonists referred to the rapids on the river as Les Saults de Ste. Marie and the village name was derived from that. The rapids and cascades of the St. Mary's River descend more than 6 m (20 ft) from the level of Lake Superior to the level of the lower lakes. Hundreds of years ago, this slowed shipping traffic, requiring an overland portage of boats and cargo from one lake to the other. The entire name translates to "Saint Mary's Rapids" or "Saint Mary's Falls". The word sault is pronounced [so] in French, and /suː/ in the English pronunciation of the city name. Residents of the city are called Saultites.

 

Sault Ste. Marie is bordered to the east by the Rankin and Garden River First Nation reserves, and to the west by Prince Township. To the north, the city is bordered by an unincorporated portion of Algoma District, which includes the local services boards of Aweres, Batchawana Bay, Goulais and District, Peace Tree and Searchmont. The city's census agglomeration, including the townships of Laird, Prince and Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional and the First Nations reserves of Garden River and Rankin, had a total population of 79,800 in 2011.

 

Native American settlements, mostly of Ojibwe-speaking peoples, existed here for more than 500 years. In the late 17th century, French Jesuit missionaries established a mission at the First Nations village. This was followed by development of a fur trading post and larger settlement, as traders, trappers and Native Americans were attracted to the community. It was considered one community and part of Canada until after the War of 1812 and settlement of the border between Canada and the US at the Ste. Mary's River. At that time, the US prohibited British traders from any longer operating in its territory, and the areas separated by the river began to develop as two communities, both named Sault Ste. Marie." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

La tour Agbar, est un gratte-ciel de Barcelone en Catalogne, datant du début du xxie siècle. Elle a été dessinée par l'architecte français Jean Nouvel en collaboration avec la société b720 Fermin Vazquez Arquitectos. La tour a ouvert ses portes en juin 2005, et a été inaugurée officiellement par la famille royale d'Espagne le 16 septembre 2005.

 

Le 16 novembre 2013, il est annoncé que le gratte-ciel a été racheté par la chaîne hôtelière Hyatt et qu'il sera transformé en hotel de luxe. La transaction s'élève à 150 millions d'euros1,2.

 

Il offre 30 000 m2 de bureaux, 3 210 m2 pour les services techniques et 8 351 m2 destinés à des fonctions diverses, avec notamment un auditorium et des parkings, pour une superficie totale de 50 693 m2. La tour Agbar mesure 145 mètres de haut et comporte 38 étages, dont quatre en sous-sol.

 

Son design mêle différentes conceptions en matière d'architecture : une structure en béton armé, entièrement recouverte d'une façade de verre, créant plus de 4 400 fenêtres.

 

Cette tour est devenue l'un des bâtiments les plus remarquables de Barcelone, occupant désormais la troisième place en termes de hauteur, derrière l'Hôtel Arts et la Tour Mapfre, qui culminent tous deux à 154 mètres. Elle est située sur l'avenue Diagonale, près de la Place des Glòries Catalanes. Le bâtiment possède, intégrés à sa façade, plus de 4 000 dispositifs de types DEL qui permettent la création d'images sur les parois extérieures. De plus, des capteurs de température, placés à l'extérieur du gratte-ciel, permettent d'agir sur l'ouverture ou la fermeture des fenêtres, et par là même, de réduire la consommation d'énergie du dispositif d'air conditionné. Ce bâtiment abritera le siège du groupe Aigües de Barcelona, la Société des Eaux de Barcelone.

 

La tour s'éclaire différemment lors des équinoxes, d'ailleurs, son inauguration a eu lieu quelques jours avant l'équinoxe d'automne (21 septembre).

 

La Torre Agbar est appelée par les Barcelonais par le joli surnom de « suppositoire » (supositori). Un surnom en verdict populaire qui reste assez réducteur pour qualifier ce projet.

 

L'ambition délibérée fut de créer une icône pour la ville de Barcelone s'inscrit dans un contexte de profusion architecturale en Asie et dans les pays du Golfe a conduit à choisir l'architecte super-star Jean Nouvel. La Torre Agbar répond doublement à l'architecte super-star anglais Norman Foster, qui a fait sa marque de fabrique la production de "bâtiments symboliques" ("New Symbol...), comme l’exceptionnelle tour de communication de Barcelone justement, ou encore la tour londonienne en forme d'ogive conçue en 2004 appelée le Gherkin, le "cornichon" par les Londoniens. Mais ici pour insérer la Torre Agbar dans la ville de Barcelone, les architectes font appel à l’héritage architectural de Barcelone, et plus précisément à l’œuvre de l'architecte GAUDI selon deux références claires, la forme et la couleur.

 

1-Le profil de la tour est une parabole (x2) appelée chaine, catène ou caténa par les architectes : La simple suspension d'une chaine permet d'obtenir la courbe d'égale tension, en inversant nous déduisons la courbe d'égale compression, tel fut l’extraordinaire apport de Gaudi, à la pensée constructive et à l'esthétique de la ville ainsi qu'à l'architecture en général. Ici, seule l'enveloppe offre cette expression de catène, on peut regretter que la structure ne l'ai pas suivie (si ici le dogme fonctionnaliste s'applique à cette tour « form follows functions », disait Louis Sullivan, on peut regretter que la forme ne suive pas la structure comme le prônait Gaudi et bien d'autres architectes, on peut se demander quelle fut la part d'innovation structurelle ici? Il semble que ce ne fut pas l'ambition du projet.

 

2-Les couleurs miroitantes modulables sont aussi une belle interprétation contemporaine des revêtements en céramiques multicolore des façades et cheminées de l’œuvre de Gaudi.

 

Mais au delà des références symboliques relatives à la ville ou à la concurrence entre architectes ou entre les métropoles, on retrouve dans ce projet une constance de l’œuvre de Jean Nouvel : vouloir rendre les bâtiments vivants, cette ambition poétique est atteinte dans le projet de double peau et elle trouve son apogée quand la ville est plongée dans la nuit ; les jalousies de verre oscillent pour faire passer l'air et les couleurs chatoient.

 

WIKIPEDIA

TRANSACT 14 / WED / SESSIONS

The Grade II Listed Transact House in the city of Manchester in Greater Manchester.

 

Originally a packing and shipping warehouse built in 1880, has now been converted into offices.

 

Before the Industrial Revolution took hold in Britain Manchester was nothing more than a market town, but has since has since become one the UK’s leading and most innovative cities. It all began with the importation of cotton which was brought to Manchester from Liverpool via the Mersey and Irwell Navigation. This transformed the textile industry as well as Manchester.

 

Manchester is a pioneering city when it comes to transport. The Duke’s Canal, also known as the Bridgewater Canal, built in 1761 was the first ever canal. In 1824 the Northwest city had one of the first bus services that ran between Market Street, Manchester and Pendleton, Salford. Finally, in 1830 the first ever steam passenger railway began operating between Liverpool and Manchester.

 

The population began to grow as Manchester offered more and more opportunities for people. People began to move into the city from the surrounding countryside and also from Ireland, particularly during the Irish potato famine in the 1840s. Manchester also welcomed Jewish immigrants from Central and Eastern Europe and later, Levantines, Germans and Italians.

 

Information Sources:

www.simplymanchester.co.uk/blog/history-of-manchester

britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101247386-transact-house-cit...

 

Un des plus grands marchés d'Ethiopie situé en contre bas des plateaux d'Ethiopie à la limite du désert du Danakil. De nombreuses ethnies s'y rencontrent tous les lundis: Afars, Oromos....

 

La transaction se termine...On compte les birrs...monnaie locale

Paris 3eme

TRANSACT 14 / TUES / SESSIONS

TRANSACT 14 / WED / SESSIONS

130518 Susies Sevens v Transact Pro, Amsterdam Sevens 2013

TRANSACT 14 / WED / SESSIONS

TRANSACT 14 / TUES / SESSIONS

130518 Susies Sevens v Transact Pro, Amsterdam Sevens 2013

130518 Susies Sevens v Transact Pro, Amsterdam Sevens 2013

130518 Susies Sevens v Transact Pro, Amsterdam Sevens 2013

TRANSACT 14 / WED / SESSIONS

Ce qui fait que nous autres Français on doit payer des frais bancaires sur les transactions internationales.

TRANSACT 14 / TUES / SESSIONS

TRANSACT 14 / WED / SESSIONS

130518 Susies Sevens v Transact Pro, Amsterdam Sevens 2013

110521 Transact Pro v Ramblin Jesters, Amsterdam 7s 2011

BARTHOLOMEW & McCLELLAND

DRY GOODS BOOTS SHOES

&C

IND.

VALPARISO.

 

UNITED STATES

CAPITAL

1863

 

Date: 1863

Source Type: Civil War token

Publisher, Printer, Photographer: Bartholomew & McClelland; token manufactured by Henry Darius Higgins of Mishawaka, Indiana

Postmark: Not applicable

Collection: Steven R. Shook

Remark: Note that Valparaiso is incorrectly spelled as Valpariso on this token. An attempt has also been made to "punch" the token, likely in order to remove it from circulation.

 

During the American Civil War, coins issued by the government began to experience a severe decrease in circulation as citizens hoarded coins containing gold, silver, and copper. As a result, transacting business became increasingly difficult as the war progressed. Many merchants therefore contracted to have private minters produce tokens as a proxy for government issued coinage. Today, these tokens are referred to as "store cards."

 

H. A. Ratterman, of Cincinnati, Ohio, was the first merchant to circulate privately minted tokens during the fall of 1862. The United States Congress, however, banned the usage of non-government issued coins on June 8, 1864, when it enacted 18 U.S.C. § 486; this law made the minting and usage of privately minted coins illegal and punishable by a prison term of up to five years, a fine of up to $2,000, or both.

 

In Valparaiso, the dry goods merchants Bartholomew & McClelland issued two types of copper tokens. Both types have one side that is nearly identical, reading "BARTHOLOMEW & McCLELLAND - DRY GOODS - VALPARAISO, IND. - BOOTS SHOES &c." One version of the token has a reverse side reading "UNITED STATES CAPITAL 1863" and includes an image of the capitol building in Washington, D.C. and eight stars; note that this misspells Valparaiso as Valpariso.

 

The other version of the token, which is the rarer of the two, has a reverse side reading "THE FLAG OF OUR UNION 1863" and includes an image of the American flag with a Liberty cap atop the flag pole and thirteen stars.

 

The capital and flag designs are attributed to Henry Darius Higgins, an optician from Mishawaka, St. Joseph County, Indiana. Higgins was apparently a craftsman. Besides eyeglasses, he produced sinking dies for tokens, barometers, false teeth, and guns. Due to his tokens' homemade appearance, they are commonly referred to today as "Indiana Primitives." Higgins produced tokens for merchants located in northern Indiana and southern Michigan, and they were produced in very limited quantities. As a result, most of Higgins' token are quite scarce.

 

Artillus V. Bartholomew and Marquis L. McClelland formed a partnership in the dry goods business in Valparaiso in 1862, a partnership that continued for four years when McClelland left the partnership to become the cashier of the First National Bank of Valparaiso. Bartholomew continued in the dry goods business for many years after the dissolution of the partnership, forming a business partnership with Valparaiso residents Stephen Finney and Claus Specht.

 

This token appears in tokencatalog.com, the premier source for token information.

 

⦿ Fuld No. IN915A-2a; rarity R6 (20 to 75 examples known to exist)

⦿ Unlisted in Wagaman

⦿ Token Catalog No. 390064

 

Sources:

Blickensderfer, Scott. 2008. Bartholomew & McClelland, Valparaiso, Indiana. The Civil War Token Journal 42(1):11-33.

 

Fuld, George, and Melvin Fuld. 1975. U.S. Civil War Store Card. Second Edition. Lawrence, Massachusetts: Quarterman Publications, Inc. 615 p.

 

Wagaman, Lloyd E. 1981. Indiana Trade Tokens. Fairfield, Ohio: Indiana-Kentucky-Ohio Token and Medal Society. 302 p.

 

TokenCatalog.com

 

Copyright 2023. Some rights reserved. The associated text may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Steven R. Shook.

110521 Transact Pro v Ramblin Jesters, Amsterdam 7s 2011

170527 Scavengers 7S v Transact Pro, Amsterdam Sevens 2017

Wedensday.

 

And still on the Island.

 

Through the night, yet more rain fell, and into the morning so I woke to the sound of yet another cloudburst. But it should be clearing soon.

 

So, I leap out of bed, do 50 press-ups, have a cold shower and am ready for the rigours of the day ahead, and in this I would be helped by a pot of black coffee and the finest sausage and bacon sandwich known to man.

 

And a man in the kitchen makes it for me, so all I have to do is eat it.

 

Non nom nom.

 

I drink the last dregs off the coffee, and I'm away to work.

 

It was supposed to be a slow and easy start, but I was summoned to an emergency department meeting, and needed to be at the factory to get internet access.

 

Our soon-to-be-ex-boss is now officially our ex-boss, and we have a new interim manager.

 

That's it.

 

So on with the audit.

 

Outside, the clouds did clear and the sun did shine, and did shine into the meeting room where even in November was so warm the air conditioning could not cope and we got very warm indeed.

 

We broke for lunch, and talked about the struggles we face, and how jolly nice the Island is.

 

Well, it is.

 

We were done by half three, so I drove back to the hotel, but saw the sign I had passed dozens of times, pointing to the 11th century church of St John the Baptist. Today would be the day to visit.

 

Light was fading fast, but with a warm light, and only with my compact camera, my shots won't win many prizes, but the best camera is the one you have.

 

From the outside, it seems to be a very Victorian church, but there is a Norman arch in the porch, and many more details inside, among the Victorian fixtures and fittings.

 

Inside there is a very tall and narrow Jacobian pulpit, some fine monuments from before the 19th century work, and some what I think is medieval glass, or at least fragements reset.

 

Back at the hotel I wrote a little then decided I really should go an exercise my fat little legs, so should walk into Cowes for a pint at the Ale House, where there was a fine firkin of porter on.

 

But, before then, as I walked along the promenade, over the other side of the Solent, the just past full moon rose over the Pompy skyline. It was pretty breath-taking, I leaned on railings to watch it rise and get brighter and its yellow colour fade to pure white.

 

Dozens of other people were doing the same thing too.

 

And it was a free show.

 

My favourite price.

 

I walk into town and up the Ale House, a group of sailing types were talking over pints of fizzy Eurolager, so I order porter just because I can.

 

There was a wide range of places to eat, most with lots of free tables.

 

I wasn't in a seafood mood, curry perhaps, but then at a restaurant I saw they had a dish called "sambal chicken". Sambal is a spicy chili sauce from Indonesia, that I sued to eat lots of when I was on the survey boats.

 

I asked, do you make your own sambal?

 

They did.

 

And cocktails were two for £15.

 

I order the sambal chicken and a marshmallow martini.

 

Very fuckin sophisticated.

 

The sambal was hot, just about bearable, but not not leave any doubt, it came with sliced fresh chilli, as did the Thai spiced cheesy chips.

 

I eat most of it all, then finish up with a "rhubarb and custard cocktail, which did mix quite poorly with the sambal on the walk back to the hotel.

 

Back to the hotel, I settle the bill and so all ready to leave in the morning, as I have to catch the six o'clock ferry.

 

--------------------------------------------

 

The Church of St. John the Baptist is a parish church located in Northwood, Isle of Wight. The church dates from the 12th century. The mid-19th century saw extensive restoration work carried out on the church. In 1864 the wooden tower and dormer window were both swept away. The restoration was completed in 1874. Despite this restoration work, the church still retains many of its original features including a Norman arch over the south doorway and a Jacobean pulpit.

 

www.spottinghistory.com/view/12080/church-of-st-john-the-...

 

----------------------------------------------

 

NORTHWOOD

Northewode (xiii cent.).

 

Northwood is a parish and village midway between Newport and Cowes, and now includes Pallance Gate. In 1894 the parish was extended to include a part of the parish of St. Nicholas. (fn. 1) The soil is for the most part loam, while the subsoil is of clay and gravel. The parish contains 4,333 acres, of which 878 acres are arable, 2,612 acres are permanent grass and 419 acres woodlands. There are also 292 acres of foreshore, 2 of land covered by water and 78 by tidal water. Cowes contains 576 acres, of which 2 acres are arable and 166 permanent grass. There are also 35 acres of foreshore and 5 acres of land covered by water. (fn. 2) There is a station on the Isle of Wight Central railway at the cement works, available for Northwood, and the pumping station of the Cowes Waterworks is situated at Broadfields within the parish. The Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers have large works on the Medina at the West Medina Mills, and there are brickworks at Hillis belonging to Messrs. Pritchett. There existed a confraternity of Brothers and Sisters of St. John Baptist (fn. 3) in a building, later called the Church House, which was standing in 1690. It was founded c. 1500 and dissolved in 1536. An old glebe barn, with a date stone 'Restored 1742,' was pulled down in 1901. There is a Council school (mixed), built in 1855 and enlarged in 1906. The rectory-house lies to the east of the church and dates from the 18th century. (fn. 4)

 

The parish has a long seaboard as the north-west boundary, which includes the bays of Thorness and Gurnard, the latter the landing-place of Charles II in 1671. Gurnard (fn. 5) is a small village, mostly consisting of villas with a number of artisans' dwellings. There are a coastguard station here and a Council school, erected in 1863.

 

Northwood Park, the property of Mr. E. Granville Ward, was occupied from 1902 to 1906 by a community of Benedictine nuns, who have since moved to Appley, near Ryde (q.v.). The house, which is properly in Cowes, was built in 1837, on the site of a former residence called Belle View, by Mr. George H. Ward, uncle to the present owner, and is a somewhat stately stone building of classic detail, to which a wing has been since added.

 

At Hurstake on the Medina there was in the 18th century a flourishing shipyard, but by the end of the century it had fallen to decay. (fn. 6)

 

Cowes was taken out of Northwood and constituted a separate parish under the Local Government Act of 1894. (fn. 7) It is a thriving seaport town, daily increasing inland to the south, and is a terminus of the Isle of Wight Central railway and the main entrance to the Isle of Wight from Southampton. A steam ferry and launch service connect it with East Cowes. The town affairs are regulated under the Local Government Act of 1894 by an urban district council, who have acquired control of the water supply and gasworks. There is a steamboat pier and landingstage, and the Victoria Promenade Pier was built by the urban district council in 1901. There are wharves and storehouses along the Medina. The principal industries are the shipbuilding business of John Samuel White & Co., Ltd., the brass and iron foundry of Messrs. William White, the ropery of Messrs. Henry Bannister & Co. and the well-known sail-making establishment of Messrs. Ratsey & Lapthorn. A recreation ground of 9 acres was presented to the town by Mr. W. G. Ward in 1859.

 

The main or High Street of Cowes is a narrow, winding, old-fashioned road, widening as it approaches the shore at the north end, and finally terminating in the Parade, the principal sea-front of the town. At the end of the Parade is the Royal Yacht Squadron (fn. 8) Club House, converted to its present use in 1858, and beyond is the 'Green,' made over to the town authorities in 1864 by Mr. George R. Stephenson. The well-known annual regatta is held here the first week in August. (fn. 9) The oldest inn is the 'Fountain,' by the landing-pier, dating from the 18th century. The Gloucester Hotel, by the Parade, was the former home of the Royal Yacht Squadron, and probably owes its name to the visit of the Duke of Gloucester and his sister the Princess Sophia in 1811. The Royal Marine Hotel, also on the Parade, was certainly in existence at the beginning of the 19th century. (fn. 10) A public cemetery, about half a mile south of the town, was opened in 1855, and is under a joint burial board composed of members from Cowes and Northwood.

 

Besides Northwood Park, the principal residences are Egypt House, (fn. 11) the property of Mr. E. Granville Ward, and Nubia House, the home of Sir Godfrey Baring, late M.P. for the Island.

 

The name Cowes dates from the beginning of the 16th century, before which time the port—if port it could be called—was higher up the river at Shamblers. (fn. 12) In 1512 the fleet under Sir Edward Haward victualled at Cowes (the Cowe) on its way to Guienne, (fn. 13) so it is evident the place did not take its name from the defensive work, which was certainly not built before 1539. (fn. 14) Leland speaks of forts both at East and West Cowes, (fn. 15) but the former had become a ruin by the 17th century. (fn. 16) The latter, however, was kept up and added to, and had, in addition to the gun platform and magazine, apartments for the captain and gunners, and at the end of the 18th century mounted eleven nine-pounders. (fn. 17)

 

The inhabitants of this part of Northwood parish seem to have been seafarers and traders, or at any rate smugglers, as early as the 14th century. In July 1395 Thomas Shepherd received a 'pardon of the forfeitures and imprisonment incurred by him because he and two of the ferrymen sold two sacks of wool to men of a skiff from Harflete, carried the said wool as far as le Soland and there delivered the same, taking money.' (fn. 18) At another time he 'sold wool without custom . . . with the clerks of the chapel of the Earl of Salisbury, and at another time with a skiff from Harflete belonging to Janin Boset of Harflue.' (fn. 19)

 

The merchants' houses and stores were principally at East Cowes, where most of the business was transacted; but West Cowes in the 18th century became a shipbuilding centre, contributing many first-class battleships to the English navy. (fn. 20) By the year 1780 it was 'the place of greatest consideration in the parish of Northwood,' (fn. 21) and though the town was indifferently built, with very narrow streets, the inhabitants managed to be 'in general, genteel and polite although not troublesomely ceremonious.' (fn. 22)

 

In 1795 there were 2,000 inhabitants and the town had a good trade in provisions to the fleets riding in the roads waiting for a wind or a convoy. While the lower part of Cowes was crowded with seamen's cottages and business premises, the upper part on the hill slope was occupied by villas, chiefly of retired naval men. (fn. 23)

 

By the 19th century the tide of prosperity began to flow from East to West Cowe, which became a favourite bathing and boating resort, patronized by Royalty. The town now grew rapidly, and in 1816 an Act was passed for 'lighting, cleansing and otherwise improving the town of West Cowes . . . and for establishing a market within the said town.' (fn. 24)

 

The advent of the Royal Yacht Squadron, and the consequent popularity of racing, put a seal on West Cowes. It became fashionable and has remained so ever since—the hub of the yachting world.

 

There are two halls for entertainments—the Foresters' Hall in Sun Hill and another in Bridge Road, each capable of seating over 500 people.

 

There are Council schools in Cross Street (infants), and a mixed school has been lately erected in the same street; boys' and infants' in York Street; non-provided (boys and girls) in Cross Street.

 

MANORS

There is no mention of a manor of NORTHWOOD in Domesday Book, and it seems probable that then, as in the 13th century, the greater part of the land in the parish formed a member of the manor of Bowcombe in Carisbrooke (fn. 25) (q.v.). In the 17th century this land came to be regarded as a separate manor, but it continued to follow the descent of Bowcombe (fn. 26) until the latter half of the 18th century, when it was presumably sold to the Wards, whose representative, Mr. Edmund Granville Ward, is the present lord of the manor.

 

There was a small holding in Northwood possibly, as Mr. Stone suggests from research he has made, to be identified with Shamlord (q.v.). It was held, together with other property, under the manor of Bowcombe by a branch of the Trenchard family at least as early as 1338. (fn. 27) In 1560 Richard Trenchard, who seems to have been the grandson of John Trenchard of Chessell in Shalfleet, died seised of this property, which he had held 'in socage by fealty and rent of 25s. yearly, suit at court and finding one man and one woman yearly to mow the corn of the farmer of Bowcombe for one day.' He was succeeded by his son William. (fn. 28)

 

There were also lands in Northwood which formed a member of the manor of Alvington in Carisbrooke and were held in the reign of Henry III by William de St. Martin. (fn. 29) They afterwards belonged to Sir Stephen Popham (fn. 30) and descended to Sir Nicholas Wadham in the early part of the 16th century, at which time they were regarded as a separate manor; they continued, however, to follow the descent of Alvington (q.v.).

 

In the reign of Henry VIII there was in the parish much woodland which belonged before the Dissolution to the Prior and convent of Christchurch Twyneham, (fn. 31) who had perhaps bought it from the abbey of St. Mary, Romsey, to which it belonged in the 13th century. (fn. 32) In 1280 this abbey had received from Edward I a confirmation of a charter of Henry II granting them 'all their wood of Northwood, as King Edward gave it to them.' (fn. 33) There is, however, no mention of any property in Northwood among the possessions of Romsey Abbey at its dissolution. In 1544 the wood was granted to Thomas Hopson (fn. 34) and subsequently followed the descent of Ningwood in Shalfleet (q.v.). It was described as 'the manor of Northwood' in 1626, at which time it was in the possession of John Hopson. (fn. 35)

 

The manor of WERROR (Werore, xii cent.; Werole, xiii cent.; Warror, xvi cent.) was granted to God's House, Southampton, immediately after its foundation about 1197, for it was confirmed to the hospital by Richard I in 1199. (fn. 36) It had been given to the hospital by a certain Mark, and his gift was confirmed in 1209 by his son Roger, of whom the manor was to be held at a yearly rent of 6d. (fn. 37) William de Redvers Earl of Devon (1184–1216) granted to the hospital rights of pasturage and fuel, except for six weeks each year, over the whole land of Werror which belonged to his fee, and which is described as lying within Parkhurst, Northwood, Carisbrooke and the Medina. (fn. 38)

 

The estate remained in the hands of successive priors until the Dissolution (fn. 39) and passed with God's House to Queen's College, Oxford, (fn. 40) by whom the manor is still owned. (fn. 41)

 

CHURCHES

The church of ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST lies to the east of the road from Newport to Cowes. It was built as a chapel for the northern portion of the parish of Carisbrooke in the middle of the 12th century, and consists of a chancel, a nave with north and south aisles and a modern tower with spire added at the west end in 1864. The south door is a good specimen of 12th-century work, to be classed with those of Yaverland and Wootton. Both aisles are very narrow and are of four bays, with columns having the characteristic splay-cornered capitals found elsewhere in the Isle of Wight, (fn. 42) and must have been added towards the end of the century, the south being the later. (fn. 43) There are curious flying arches across these, evidently inserted later, to withstand the thrust of the roof and carry the flat above. In the 15th century windows of the period were inserted in the walls and the chancel reroofed, (fn. 44) if not rebuilt, and a small door inserted in the north wall of the nave. There is a good canopied Jacobean pulpit, somewhat similar in detail to that at Wootton. The chancel arch is a plain splay springing direct from the wall without an impost, and looks as though the earlier one had been destroyed and the opening widened in the 15th century. The memorials of interest are a painted wooden tablet to the children of Samuel and Grace Smith, who died in 1668 and 1670, and a curious memorial to Thomas Smith, rector, who died in 1681. (fn. 45)

 

The one bell, founded by Mears, was hung in 1875.

 

The plate consists of a chalice inscribed 'T.H. E.L.'; a paten inscribed 'Thomas Troughear, D.D. istius Ecclĩae Rector,' dated 1732; a flagon (plated) inscribed 'Northwood Church, 1831'; an oval paten inscribed '1813.'

 

The registers date from 1539, and are in seven books (fn. 46) : (i) 1539 to 1593; (ii) 1594 to 1598; (iii) 1599 to 1605; (iv) 1606 to 1618; (v) 1621 to 1660; (vi) 1653 to 1759; (vii) 1743 to 1812.

 

There is a mission church in Pallance Road with a Sunday school attached.

 

The church of ST. MARY, WEST COWES, built in 1867 on the site of an earlier church erected in 1657, is a stone structure consisting of chancel, nave of four bays and aisles, with a tower containing one bell and a clock. It has a handsome reredos and a fine organ. There is a brass memorial tablet to Dr. Arnold of Rugby. The living is a vicarage in the gift of the vicar of Carisbrooke. The register dates from 1679.

 

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, built of brick in 1832 at the sole expense of the late Mrs. S. Goodwin, was enlarged by the addition of a chancel in 1862. It has a western tower with embattled cornice and angle pinnacles. The register dates from 1833. The living is in the gift of Mr. Ll. Loyd.

 

The Roman Catholic church of St. Thomas of Canterbury in Terminus Road is a white brick building erected in 1796. There is a large altar-piece by Cau representing the Descent from the Cross, and another of the Death of the Virgin, on the north wall.

 

At Gurnard is the church of ALL SAINTS, attached to Holy Trinity, Cowes. It is of brick with Bath stone dressings, and has nave, chancel, north and south transepts and a turret with one bell.

 

ADVOWSONS

The church of Northwood was a chapel of ease to Carisbrooke, and belonged in early times to the priory there, (fn. 47) to which it had been granted by William de Redvers Earl of Devon. When the prior and convent obtained the rectory and endowed the vicarage of Carisbrooke, the tithes of Northwood, both great and small, were assigned to the vicar. (fn. 48) In the reign of Henry VIII Northwood obtained parochial privileges and was exempted from contribution to the repairs of Carisbrooke Church. (fn. 49) The living is still attached to Carisbrooke, and the patrons at the present day are the Provost and Fellows of Queen's College, Oxford.

 

Cowes is ecclesiastically divided into two districts. The church of St. Mary was built in 1657, and further endowed in 1679 by George Morley Bishop of Winchester, 'provided that the inhabitants should pay the minister (who is always of their own choosing) £40 a year.' (fn. 50) The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £130, in the gift of the vicar of Carisbrooke.

 

The Roman Catholic church of St. Thomas of Canterbury was served at the beginning of the 19th century by two chaplains of Napoleon's Foreign Legion. The earliest register contains the names of several of the officers and men.

 

¶There are several large Nonconformist chapels in the town. The oldest of these is the Congregational chapel, which was built in 1804. The Wesleyan chapel was built in 1831, the Baptist chapel in 1877 and the Primitive Methodist and United Methodist Free Churches in 1889.

 

www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol5/pp268-271

130518 Susies Sevens v Transact Pro, Amsterdam Sevens 2013

Grade II listed historic packing and shipping warehouse constructed c. 1880's.

 

"Manchester (/ˈmæntʃɪstər, -tʃɛs-/) is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 547,627 as of 2018 (making it the fifth most populous English district). It lies within the United Kingdom's second-most populous urban area, with a population of 2.5 million and third most populous metropolitan area, with a population of 3.3 million. It is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority for the city is Manchester City Council.

 

The recorded history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium or Mancunium, which was established in about AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. It is historically a part of Lancashire, although areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated in the 20th century. The first to be included, Wythenshawe, was added to the city in 1931. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchester's unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, and resulted in it becoming the world's first industrialised city. Manchester achieved city status in 1853. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, creating the Port of Manchester and directly linking the city to the Irish Sea, 36 miles (58 km) to the west. Its fortune declined after the Second World War, owing to deindustrialisation, but the IRA bombing in 1996 led to extensive investment and regeneration. Following successful redevelopment after the IRA bombing, Manchester was the host city for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

 

Manchester is the third most visited city in the UK, after London and Edinburgh. It is notable for its architecture, culture, musical exports, media links, scientific and engineering output, social impact, sports clubs and transport connections.

 

Manchester is a city of notable firsts. Manchester Liverpool Road railway station was the world's first inter-city passenger railway station and the oldest remaining railway station. The city has also excelled in scientific advancement, as it was at The University of Manchester, in 1917, that scientist Ernest Rutherford first split the atom. The university's further achievements include Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn and Geoff Tootill who developed and built the world's first stored-program computer in 1948; and, in 2004, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov successfully isolated and characterised the first graphene." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

Grade II listed historic shipping and packaging warehouses. The Rhodesia House is to the left and further down the street is the Transact House. Both were constructed around the 1880's.

 

"Manchester (/ˈmæntʃɪstər, -tʃɛs-/) is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 547,627 as of 2018 (making it the fifth most populous English district). It lies within the United Kingdom's second-most populous urban area, with a population of 2.5 million and third most populous metropolitan area, with a population of 3.3 million. It is fringed by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and an arc of towns with which it forms a continuous conurbation. The local authority for the city is Manchester City Council.

 

The recorded history of Manchester began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Mamucium or Mancunium, which was established in about AD 79 on a sandstone bluff near the confluence of the rivers Medlock and Irwell. It is historically a part of Lancashire, although areas of Cheshire south of the River Mersey were incorporated in the 20th century. The first to be included, Wythenshawe, was added to the city in 1931. Throughout the Middle Ages Manchester remained a manorial township, but began to expand "at an astonishing rate" around the turn of the 19th century. Manchester's unplanned urbanisation was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, and resulted in it becoming the world's first industrialised city. Manchester achieved city status in 1853. The Manchester Ship Canal opened in 1894, creating the Port of Manchester and directly linking the city to the Irish Sea, 36 miles (58 km) to the west. Its fortune declined after the Second World War, owing to deindustrialisation, but the IRA bombing in 1996 led to extensive investment and regeneration. Following successful redevelopment after the IRA bombing, Manchester was the host city for the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

 

Manchester is the third most visited city in the UK, after London and Edinburgh. It is notable for its architecture, culture, musical exports, media links, scientific and engineering output, social impact, sports clubs and transport connections.

 

Manchester is a city of notable firsts. Manchester Liverpool Road railway station was the world's first inter-city passenger railway station and the oldest remaining railway station. The city has also excelled in scientific advancement, as it was at The University of Manchester, in 1917, that scientist Ernest Rutherford first split the atom. The university's further achievements include Frederic C. Williams, Tom Kilburn and Geoff Tootill who developed and built the world's first stored-program computer in 1948; and, in 2004, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov successfully isolated and characterised the first graphene." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

130518 Susies Sevens v Transact Pro, Amsterdam Sevens 2013

130518 Susies Sevens v Transact Pro, Amsterdam Sevens 2013

Kid Kicking Pile of Dried Leaves | Turn Intentions Into Action. Photo by ROMMEL BANGIT

 

Model Release Available

 

Follow to know more Children growing weaker as computers replace outdoor activities.

  

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110521 Transact Pro v Ramblin Jesters, Amsterdam 7s 2011

Kashgar is an oasis city with an approximate population of 350,000. It is the westernmost city in China, located near the border with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Kashgar has a rich history of over 2,000 years and served as a trading post and strategically important city on the Silk Road between China, the Middle East, and Europe. Kashgar is part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.

 

Located historically at the convergence point of widely varying cultures and empires, Kashgar has been under the rule of the Chinese, Turkic, Mongol, and Tibetan empires. The city has also been the site of an extraordinary number of battles between various groups of people on the steppes.

 

Now administered as a county-level unit of the People's Republic of China, Kashgar is the administrative centre of its eponymous prefecture in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region which has an area of 162,000 square kilometres and a population of approximately 3.5 million. The city's urban area covers 15 km2, though its administrative area extends over 555 km2.

 

NAME

The modern Chinese name is 喀什 (Kāshí), a shortened form of the longer and less-frequently used (simplified Chinese: 喀什噶尔; traditional Chinese: 喀什噶爾; pinyin: Kāshígé’ěr; Uyghur: قەشقەر‎). Ptolemy (AD 90-168), in his Geography, Chapter 15.3A, refers to Kashgar as “Kasi”. Its western and probably indigenous name is the Kāš ("rock"), to which the East Iranian -γar ("mountain"); cf. Pashto and Middle Persian gar/ġar, from Old Persian/Pahlavi girīwa ("hill; ridge (of a mountain)") was attached. Alternative historical Romanizations for "Kashgar" include Cascar and Cashgar.

 

Non-native names for the city, such as the old Chinese name Shule 疏勒 and Tibetan Śu-lig may have originated as an attempts to transcribe the Sanskrit name for Kashgar, Śrīkrīrāti ("fortunate hospitality")

 

Variant transcriptions of the official Uyghur: يېڭىشەھەر‎ include: K̂äxk̂är or Kaxgar, as well as Jangi-schahr, Kashgar Yangi Shahr, K’o-shih-ka-erh, K’o-shih-ka-erh-hsin-ch’eng, Ko-shih-ka-erh-hui-ch’eng, K’o-shih-ko-erh-hsin-ch’eng, New Kashgar, Sheleh, Shuleh, Shulen, Shu-lo, Su-lo, Su-lo-chen, Su-lo-hsien, Yangi-shaar, Yangi-shahr, Yangishar, Yéngisheher, Yengixəh̨ər and Еңишәһәр.

 

HISTORY

HAN DYNASTY

The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han dynasty envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west.

 

Another early mention of Kashgar is during the Former Han (also known as the Western Han dynasty), when in 76 BC the Chinese conquered the Xiongnu, Yutian (Khotan), Sulei (Kashgar), and a group of states in the Tarim basin almost up to the foot of the Tian Shan range.

 

Ptolemy speaks of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a “Kasia Regio”, probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar and Kashgaria (often applied to the district) are formed. The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam.

 

In the Book of Han, which covers the period between 125 BC and 23 AD, it is recorded that there were 1,510 households, 18,647 people and 2,000 persons able to bear arms. By the time covered by the Book of the Later Han (roughly 25 to 170 AD), it had grown to 21,000 households and had 3,000 men able to bear arms.

 

The Book of the Later Han provides a wealth of detail on developments in the region:

 

"In the period of Emperor Wu [140-87 BC], the Western Regions1 were under the control of the Interior [China]. They numbered thirty-six kingdoms. The Imperial Government established a Colonel [in charge of] Envoys there to direct and protect these countries. Emperor Xuan [73-49 BC] changed this title [in 59 BC] to Protector-General.

 

Emperor Yuan [40-33 BC] installed two Wuji Colonels to take charge of the agricultural garrisons on the frontiers of the king of Nearer Jushi [Turpan].

 

During the time of Emperor Ai [6 BC-AD 1] and Emperor Ping [AD 1-5], the principalities of the Western Regions split up and formed fifty-five kingdoms. Wang Mang, after he usurped the Throne [in AD 9], demoted and changed their kings and marquises. Following this, the Western Regions became resentful, and rebelled. They, therefore, broke off all relations with the Interior [China] and, all together, submitted to the Xiongnu again.

 

The Xiongnu collected oppressively heavy taxes and the kingdoms were not able to support their demands. In the middle of the Jianwu period [AD 25-56], they each [Shanshan and Yarkand in 38, and 18 kingdoms in 45], sent envoys to ask if they could submit to the Interior [China], and to express their desire for a Protector-General. Emperor Guangwu, decided that because the Empire was not yet settled [after a long period of civil war], he had no time for outside affairs, and [therefore] finally refused his consent [in AD 45].

 

In the meantime, the Xiongnu became weaker. The king of Suoju [Yarkand], named Xian, wiped out several kingdoms. After Xian’s death [c. AD 62], they began to attack and fight each other. Xiao Yuan [Tura], Jingjue [Cadota], Ronglu [Niya], and Qiemo [Cherchen] were annexed by Shanshan [the Lop Nur region]. Qule [south of Keriya] and Pishan [modern Pishan or Guma] were conquered and fully occupied by Yutian [Khotan]. Yuli [Fukang], Danhuan, Guhu [Dawan Cheng], and Wutanzili were destroyed by Jushi [Turpan and Jimasa]. Later these kingdoms were re-established.

 

During the Yongping period [AD 58-75], the Northern Xiongnu forced several countries to help them plunder the commanderies and districts of Hexi. The gates of the towns stayed shut in broad daylight."

 

And, more particularly in reference to Kashgar itself, is the following record:

 

"In the sixteenth Yongping year of Emperor Ming 73, Jian, the king of Qiuci (Kucha), attacked and killed Cheng, the king of Shule (Kashgar). Then he appointed the Qiuci (Kucha) Marquis of the Left, Douti, King of Shule (Kashgar). ‹See TfD›

In winter 73, the Han sent the Major Ban Chao who captured and bound Douti. He appointed Zhong, the son of the elder brother of Cheng, to be king of Shule (Kashgar). Zhong later rebelled. (Ban) Chao attacked and beheaded him."

 

THE KUSHANS

The Book of the Later Han also gives the only extant historical record of Yuezhi or Kushan involvement in the Kashgar oasis:

 

"During the Yuanchu period (114-120) in the reign of Emperor, the king of Shule (Kashgar), exiled his maternal uncle Chenpan to the Yuezhi (Kushans) for some offence. The king of the Yuezhi became very fond of him. Later, Anguo died without leaving a son. His mother directed the government of the kingdom. She agreed with the people of the country to put Yifu (lit. “posthumous child”), who was the son of a full younger brother of Chenpan on the throne as king of Shule (Kashgar). Chenpan heard of this and appealed to the Yuezhi (Kushan) king, saying:

 

"Anguo had no son. His relative (Yifu) is weak. If one wants to put on the throne a member of (Anguo’s) mother’s family, I am Yifu’s paternal uncle, it is I who should be king."

 

The Yuezhi (Kushans) then sent soldiers to escort him back to Shule (Kashgar). The people had previously respected and been fond of Chenpan. Besides, they dreaded the Yuezhi (Kushans). They immediately took the seal and ribbon from Yifu and went to Chenpan, and made him king. Yifu was given the title of Marquis of the town of Pangao [90 li, or 37 km, from Shule].

 

‹See TfD›

Then Suoju (Yarkand) continued to resist Yutian (Khotan), and put themselves under Shule (Kashgar). Thus Shule (Kashgar), became powerful and a rival to Qiuci (Kucha) and Yutian (Khotan)."

 

However, it was not very long before the Chinese began to reassert their authority in the region:

 

“In the second Yongjian year (127), during Emperor Shun’s reign, Chenpan sent an envoy to respectfully present offerings. The Emperor bestowed on Chenpan the title of Great Commandant-in-Chief for the Han. Chenxun, who was the son of his elder brother, was appointed Temporary Major of the Kingdom. ‹See TfD›

In the fifth year (130), Chenpan sent his son to serve the Emperor and, along with envoys from Dayuan (Ferghana) and Suoju (Yarkand), brought tribute and offerings.”

 

From an earlier part of the same text comes the following addition:

 

“In the first Yangjia year (132), Xu You sent the king of Shule (Kashgar), Chenpan, who with 20,000 men, attacked and defeated Yutian (Khotan). He beheaded several hundred people, and released his soldiers to plunder freely. He replaced the king [of Jumi] by installing Chengguo from the family of [the previous king] Xing, and then he returned.”[38]

 

Then the first passage continues:

 

“In the second Yangjia year (133), Chenpan again made offerings (including) a lion and zebu cattle. ‹See TfD›

 

Then, during Emperor Ling’s reign, in the first Jianning year, the king of Shule (Kashgar) and Commandant-in-Chief for the Han (i.e. presumably Chenpan), was shot while hunting by the youngest of his paternal uncles, Hede. Hede named himself king.

‹See TfD›

In the third year (170), Meng Tuo, the Inspector of Liangzhou, sent the Provincial Officer Ren She, commanding five hundred soldiers from Dunhuang, with the Wuji Major Cao Kuan, and Chief Clerk of the Western Regions, Zhang Yan, brought troops from Yanqi (Karashahr), Qiuci (Kucha), and the Nearer and Further States of Jushi (Turpan and Jimasa), altogether numbering more than 30,000, to punish Shule (Kashgar). They attacked the town of Zhenzhong [Arach − near Maralbashi] but, having stayed for more than forty days without being able to subdue it, they withdrew. Following this, the kings of Shule (Kashgar) killed one another repeatedly while the Imperial Government was unable to prevent it.”

 

THREE KINGDOMS TO THE SUI

These centuries are marked by a general silence in sources on Kashgar and the Tarim Basin.

 

The Weilüe, composed in the second third of the 3rd century, mentions a number of states as dependencies of Kashgar: the kingdom of Zhenzhong (Arach?), the kingdom of Suoju (Yarkand), the kingdom of Jieshi, the kingdom of Qusha, the kingdom of Xiye (Khargalik), the kingdom of Yinai (Tashkurghan), the kingdom of Manli (modern Karasul), the kingdom of Yire (Mazar − also known as Tágh Nák and Tokanak), the kingdom of Yuling, the kingdom of Juandu (‘Tax Control’ − near modern Irkeshtam), the kingdom of Xiuxiu (‘Excellent Rest Stop’ − near Karakavak), and the kingdom of Qin.

 

However, much of the information on the Western Regions contained in the Weilüe seems to have ended roughly about (170), near the end of Han power. So, we can’t be sure that this is a reference to the state of affairs during the Cao Wei (220-265), or whether it refers to the situation before the civil war during the Later Han when China lost touch with most foreign countries and came to be divided into three separate kingdoms.

 

Chapter 30 of the Records of the Three Kingdoms says that after the beginning of the Wei Dynasty (220) the states of the Western Regions did not arrive as before, except for the larger ones such as Kucha, Khotan, Kangju, Wusun, Kashgar, Yuezhi, Shanshan and Turpan, who are said to have come to present tribute every year, as in Han times.

 

In 270, four states from the Western Regions were said to have presented tribute: Karashahr, Turpan, Shanshan, and Kucha. Some wooden documents from Niya seem to indicate that contacts were also maintained with Kashgar and Khotan around this time.

 

In 422, according to the Songshu, ch. 98, the king of Shanshan, Bilong, came to the court and "the thirty-six states in the Western Regions" all swore their allegiance and presented tribute. It must be assumed that these 36 states included Kashgar.

 

The "Songji" of the Zizhi Tongjian records that in the 5th month of 435, nine states: Kucha, Kashgar, Wusun, Yueban, Tashkurghan, Shanshan, Karashahr, Turpan and Sute all came to the Wei court.

 

In 439, according to the Weishu, ch. 4A, Shanshan, Kashgar and Karashahr sent envoys to present tribute.

 

According to the Weishu, ch. 102, Chapter on the Western Regions, the kingdoms of Kucha, Kashgar, Wusun, Yueban, Tashkurghan, Shanshan, Karashahr, Turpan and Sute all began sending envoys to present tribute in the Taiyuan reign period (435-440).

 

In 453 Kashgar sent envoys to present tribute (Weishu, ch. 5), and again in 455.

 

An embassy sent during the reign of Wencheng Di (452-466) from the king of Kashgar presented a supposed sacred relic of the Buddha; a dress which was incombustible.

 

In 507 Kashgar, is said to have sent envoys in both the 9th and 10th months (Weishu, ch. 8).

 

In 512, Kashgar sent envoys in the 1st and 5th months. (Weishu, ch. 8).

 

Early in the 6th century Kashgar is included among the many territories controlled by the Yeda or Hephthalite Huns, but their empire collapsed at the onslaught of the Western Turks between 563 and 567 who then probably gained control over Kashgar and most of the states in the Tarim Basin.

 

TANG DYNASTY

The founding of the Tang dynasty in 618 saw the beginning of a prolonged struggle between China and the Western Turks for control of the Tarim Basin. In 635, the Tang Annals reported an emissary from the king of Kashgar to the Tang capital. In 639 there was a second emissary bringing products of Kashgar as a token of submission to the Tang state.

 

Buddhist scholar Xuanzang passed through Kashgar (which he referred to as Ka-sha) in 644 on his return journey from India to China. The Buddhist religion, then beginning to decay in India, was active in Kashgar. Xuanzang recorded that they flattened their babies heads, tattooed their bodies and had green eyes. He reported that Kashgar had abundant crops, fruits and flowers, wove fine woolen stuffs and rugs. Their writing system had been adapted from Indian script but their language was different from that of other countries. The inhabitants were sincere Buddhist adherents and there were some hundreds of monasteries with more than 10,000 followers, all members of the Sarvastivadin School.

 

At around the same era, Nestorian Christians were establishing bishoprics at Herat, Merv and Samarkand, whence they subsequently proceeded to Kashgar, and finally to China proper itself.

 

In 646, the Turkic Kagan asked for the hand of a Tang Chinese princess, and in return the Emperor promised Kucha, Khotan, Kashgar, Karashahr and Sarikol as a marriage gift, but this did not happen as planned.

 

In a series of campaigns between 652 and 658, with the help of the Uyghurs, the Chinese finally defeated the Western Turk tribes and took control of all their domains, including the Tarim Basin kingdoms. Karakhoja was annexed in 640, Karashahr during campaigns in 644 and 648, and Kucha fell in 648.

 

In 662 a rebellion broke out in the Western Regions and a Chinese army sent to control it was defeated by the Tibetans south of Kashgar.

 

After another defeat of the Tang Chinese forces in 670, the Tibetans gained control of the whole region and completely subjugated Kashgar in 676-8 and retained possession of it until 692, when the Tang dynasty regained control of all their former territories, and retained it for the next fifty years.

 

In 722 Kashgar sent 4,000 troops to assist the Chinese to force the "Tibetans out of "Little Bolu" or Gilgit.

 

In 728, the king of Kashgar was awarded a brevet by the Chinese emperor.

 

In 739, the Tangshu relates that the governor of the Chinese garrison in Kashgar, with the help of Ferghana, was interfering in the affairs of the Turgesh tribes as far as Talas.

 

In 751 the Chinese were defeated by an Arab army in the Battle of Talas. The An Lushan Rebellion led to the decline of Tang influence in Central Asia due to the fact that the Tang dynasty was forced to withdraw its troops from the region to fight An Lushan. The Tibetans cut all communication between China and the West in 766.

 

Soon after the Chinese pilgrim monk Wukong passed through Kashgar in 753. He again reached Kashgar on his return trip from India in 786 and mentions a Chinese deputy governor as well as the local king.

 

BATTLES WITH ARAB CALIPHATE

In 711, the Arabs invaded Kashgar, but did not hold the city for any length of time. Kashgar and Turkestan lent assistance to the reigning queen of Bukhara, to enable her to repel the Arabs. Although the Muslim religion from the very commencement sustained checks, it nevertheless made its weight felt upon the independent states of Turkestan to the north and east, and thus acquired a steadily growing influence. It was not, however, till the 10th century that Islam was established at Kashgar, under the Kara-Khanid Khanate.

 

THE TURKIC RULE

According to the 10th-century text, Hudud al-'alam, "the chiefs of Kashghar in the days of old were from the Qarluq, or from the Yaghma." The Karluks, Yaghmas and other tribes such as the Chigils formed the Karakhanids. The Karakhanid Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam in the 10th century and captured Kashgar. Kashgar was the capital of the Karakhanid state for a time but later the capital was moved to Balasaghun. During the latter part of the 10th century, the Muslim Karakhanids began a struggle against the Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan, and the Khotanese defeated the Karakhanids and captured Kashgar in 970. Chinese sources recorded the king of Khotan offering to send them a dancing elephant captured from Kashgar. Later in 1006, the Karakhanids of Kashgar under Yusuf Kadr Khan conquered Khotan.

 

The Karakhanid Khanate however was beset with internal strife, and the khanate split into two, the Eastern and Western Karakhanid Khanates, with Kashgar falling within the domain of the Eastern Karakhanid state. In 1089, the Western Karakhanids fell under the control of the Seljuks, but the Eastern Karakhanids was for the most part independent.

 

Both the Karakhanid states were defeated in the 12th century by the Kara-Khitans who captured Balasaghun, however Karakhanid rule continued in Kashgar under the suzerainty of the Kara-Khitans. The Kara-Khitan rulers followed a policy of religious tolerance, Islamic religious life continued uninterrupted and Kashgar was also a Nestorian metropolitan see. The last Karakhanid of Kashgar was killed in a revolt in 1211 by the city's notables. Kuchlug, a usurper of the throne of the Kara-Khitans, then attacked Kashgar which finally surrendered in 1214.

 

THE MONGOLS

The Kara-Khitai in their turn were swept away in 1219 by Genghis Khan. After his death, Kashgar came under the rule of the Chagatai Khans. Marco Polo visited the city, which he calls Cascar, about 1273-4 and recorded the presence of numerous Nestorian Christians, who had their own churches. Later In the 14th century, a Chagataid khan Tughluq Timur converted to Islam, and Islamic tradition began to reassert its ascendancy.

 

In 1389−1390 Tamerlane ravaged Kashgar, Andijan and the intervening country. Kashgar endured a troubled time, and in 1514, on the invasion of the Khan Sultan Said, was destroyed by Mirza Ababakar, who with the aid of ten thousand men built a new fort with massive defences higher up on the banks of the Tuman river. The dynasty of the Chagatai Khans collapsed in 1572 with the division of the country among rival factions; soon after, two powerful Khoja factions, the White and Black Mountaineers (Ak Taghliq or Afaqi, and Kara Taghliq or Ishaqi), arose whose differences and war-making gestures, with the intermittent episode of the Oirats of Dzungaria, make up much of recorded history in Kashgar until 1759. The Dzungar Khanate conquered Kashgar and set up the Khoja as their puppet rulers.

 

QING CONQUEST

The Qing dynasty defeated the Dzungar Khanate during the Ten Great Campaigns and took control of Kashgar in 1759. The conquerors consolidated their authority by settling other ethnics emigrants in the vicinity of a Manchu garrison.

 

Rumours flew around Central Asia that the Qing planned to launch expeditions towards Transoxiana and Samarkand, the chiefs of which sought assistance from the Afghan king Ahmed Shah Abdali. The alleged expedition never happened so Ahmad Shah withdrew his forces from Kokand. He also dispatched an ambassador to Beijing to discuss the situation of the Afaqi Khojas, but the representative was not well received, and Ahmed Shah was too busy fighting off the Sikhs to attempt to enforce his demands through arms.

The Qing continued to hold Kashgar with occasional interruptions during the Afaqi Khoja revolts. One of the most serious of these occurred in 1827, when the city was taken by Jahanghir Khoja; Chang-lung, however, the Qing general of Ili, regained possession of Kashgar and the other rebellious cities in 1828.

 

The Kokand Khanate raided Kashgar several times. A revolt in 1829 under Mahommed Ali Khan and Yusuf, brother of Jahanghir resulted in the concession of several important trade privileges to the Muslims of the district of Altishahr (the "six cities"), as it was then called.

 

The area enjoyed relative calm until 1846 under the rule of Zahir-ud-din, the local Uyghur governor, but in that year a new Khoja revolt under Kath Tora led to his accession as the authoritarian ruler of the city. However, his reign was brief—at the end of seventy-five days, on the approach of the Chinese, he fled back to Khokand amid the jeers of the inhabitants. The last of the Khoja revolts (1857) was of about equal duration, and took place under Wali-Khan, who murdered the well-known traveler Adolf Schlagintweit.

 

1862 CHINESE HUI REVOLT

The great Dungan revolt (1862–1877) involved insurrection among various Muslim ethnic groups. It broke out in 1862 in Gansu then spread rapidly to Dzungaria and through the line of towns in the Tarim Basin.

 

Dungan troops based in Yarkand rose and in August 1864 massacred some seven thousand Chinese and their Manchu commander. The inhabitants of Kashgar, rising in their turn against their masters, invoked the aid of Sadik Beg, a Kyrgyz chief, who was reinforced by Buzurg Khan, the heir of Jahanghir Khoja, and his general Yakub Beg. The latter men were dispatched at Sadik’s request by the ruler of Khokand to raise what troops they could to aid his Muslim friends in Kashgar.

 

Sadik Beg soon repented of having asked for a Khoja, and eventually marched against Kashgar, which by this time had succumbed to Buzurg Khan and Yakub Beg, but was defeated and driven back to Khokand. Buzurg Khan delivered himself up to indolence and debauchery, but Yakub Beg, with singular energy and perseverance, made himself master of Yangi Shahr, Yangi-Hissar, Yarkand and other towns, and eventually became sole master of the country, Buzurg Khan proving himself totally unfit for the post of ruler.

 

With the overthrow of Chinese rule in 1865 by Yakub Beg (1820–1877), the manufacturing industries of Kashgar are supposed to have declined.

 

Yaqub Beg entered into relations and signed treaties with the Russian Empire and the British Empire, but when he tried to get their support against China, he failed.

 

Kashgar and the other cities of the Tarim Basin remained under Yakub Beg’s rule until May 1877, when he died at Korla. Thereafter Kashgaria was reconquered by the forces of the Qing general Zuo Zongtang during the Qing reconquest of Xinjiang.

 

QING RULE

There were eras in Xinjiang's history where intermarriage was common, "laxity" which set upon Uyghur women led them to marry Chinese men and not wear the veil in the period after Yaqub Beg's rule ended, it is also believed by Uyghurs that some Uyghurs have Han Chinese ancestry from historical intermarriage, such as those living in Turpan.

 

Even though Muslim women are forbidden to marry non-Muslims in Islamic law, from 1880-1949 it was frequently violated in Xinjiang since Chinese men married Muslim Turki (Uyghur) women, a reason suggested by foriengers that it was due to the women being poor, while the Turki women who married Chinese were labelled as whores by the Turki community, these marriages were illegitimate according to Islamic law but the women obtained benefits from marrying Chinese men since the Chinese defended them from Islamic authorities so the women were not subjected to the tax on prostitution and were able to save their income for themselves. Chinese men gave their Turki wives privileges which Turki men's wives did not have, since the wives of Chinese did not have to wear a veil and a Chinese man in Kashgar once beat a mullah who tried to force his Turki Kashgari wife to veil. The Turki women also benefited in that they were not subjected to any legal binding to their Chinese husbands so they could make their Chinese husbands provide them with as much their money as she wanted for her relatives and herself since otherwise the women could just leave, and the property of Chinese men was left to their Turki wives after they died. Turki women considered Turki men to be inferior husbands to Chinese and Hindus. Because they were viewed as "impure", Islamic cemeteries banned the Turki wives of Chinese men from being buried within them, the Turki women got around this problem by giving shrines donations and buying a grave in other towns. Besides Chinese men, other men such as Hindus, Armenians, Jews, Russians, and Badakhshanis intermarried with local Turki women. The local society accepted the Turki women and Chinese men's mixed offspring as their own people despite the marriages being in violation of Islamic law. Turki women also conducted temporary marriages with Chinese men such as Chinese soldiers temporarily stationed around them as soldiers for tours of duty, after which the Chinese men returned to their own cities, with the Chinese men selling their mixed daughters with the Turki women to his comrades, taking their sons with them if they could afford it but leaving them if they couldn't, and selling their temporary Turki wife to a comrade or leaving her behind.

 

An anti-Russian uproar broke out when Russian customs officials, 3 Cossacks and a Russian courier invited local Turki (Uyghur) prostitutes to a party in January 1902 in Kashgar, this caused a massive brawl by the inflamed local Turki Muslim populace against the Russians on the pretense of protecting Muslim women because there was anti-Russian sentiment being built up, even though morality was not strict in Kashgar, the local Turki Muslims violently clashed with the Russians before they were dispersed by guards, the Chinese sought to end to tensions to prevent the Russians from building up a pretext to invade.

 

After the riot, the Russians sent troops to Sarikol in Tashkurghan and demanded that the Sarikol postal services be placed under Russian supervision, the locals of Sarikol believed that the Russians would seize the entire district from the Chinese and send more soldiers even after the Russians tried to negotiate with the Begs of Sarikol and sway them to their side, they failed since the Sarikoli officials and authorities demanded in a petition to the Amban of Yarkand that they be evacuated to Yarkand to avoid being harassed by the Russians and objected to the Russian presence in Sarikol, the Sarikolis did not believe the Russian claim that they would leave them alone and only involved themselves in the mail service.

 

Many of the young Kashgari women were most attractive in appearance, and some of the little girls quite lovely, their plaits of long hair falling from under a jaunty little embroidered cap, their big dark eyes, flashing teeth and piquant olive faces reminding me of Italian or Spanish children. One most beautiful boy stands out in my memory. He was clad in a new shirt and trousers of flowered pink, his crimson velvet cap embroidered with gold, and as he smiled and salaamed to us I thought he looked like a fairy prince. The women wear their hair in two or five plaits much thickened and lengthened by the addition of yak's hair, but the children in several tiny plaits.

 

The peasants are fairly well off, as the soil is rich, the abundant water-supply free, and the taxation comparatively light. It was always interesting to meet them taking their live stock into market. Flocks of sheep with tiny lambs, black and white, pattered along the dusty road; here a goat followed its master like a dog, trotting behind the diminutive ass which the farmer bestrode; or boys, clad in the whity-brown native cloth, shouted incessantly at donkeys almost invisible under enormous loads of forage, or carried fowls and ducks in bunches head downwards, a sight that always made me long to come to the rescue of the luckless birds.

 

It was pleasant to see the women riding alone on horseback, managing their mounts to perfection. They formed a sharp contrast to their Persian sisters, who either sit behind their husbands or have their steeds led by the bridle; and instead of keeping silence in public, as is the rule for the shrouded women of Iran, these farmers' wives chaffered and haggled with the men in the bazar outside the city, transacting business with their veils thrown back.

 

Certainly the mullas do their best to keep the fair sex in their place, and are in the habit of beating those who show their faces in the Great Bazar. But I was told that poetic justice had lately been meted out to one of these upholders of the law of Islam, for by mistake he chastised a Kashgari woman married to a Chinaman, whereupon the irate husband set upon him with a big stick and castigated him soundly.

 

That a Muslim should take in marriage one of alien faith is not objected to; it is rather deemed a meritorious act thus to bring an unbeliever to the true religion. The Muslim woman, on the other hand, must not be given in marriage to a non-Muslim; such a union is regarded as the most heinous of sins. In this matter, however, compromises are sometimes made with heaven: the marriage of a Turki princess with the emperor Ch'ien-lung has already been referred to; and, when the present writer passed through Minjol (a day's journey west of Kashgar) in 1902, a Chinese with a Turki wife (? concubine) was presented to him.

 

FIRST EAST TURKESTAN REPUBLIC

Kashgar was the scene of continual battles from 1933 to 1934. Ma Shaowu, a Chinese Muslim, was the Tao-yin of Kashgar, and he fought against Uyghur rebels. He was joined by another Chinese Muslim general, Ma Zhancang.

 

BATTLE OF KASHGAR (1933)

Uighur and Kirghiz forces, led by the Bughra brothers and Tawfiq Bay, attempted to take the New City of Kashgar from Chinese Muslim troops under General Ma Zhancang. They were defeated.

 

Tawfiq Bey, a Syrian Arab traveler, who held the title Sayyid (descendent of prophet Muhammed) and arrived at Kashgar on August 26, 1933, was shot in the stomach by the Chinese Muslim troops in September. Previously Ma Zhancang arranged to have the Uighur leader Timur Beg killed and beheaded on August 9, 1933, displaying his head outside of Id Kah Mosque.

 

Han chinese troops commanded by Brigadier Yang were absorbed into Ma Zhancang's army. A number of Han chinese officers were spotted wearing the green uniforms of Ma Zhancang's unit of the 36th division, presumably they had converted to Islam.

 

BATTLE OF KASHGAR (1934)

The 36th division General Ma Fuyuan led a Chinese Muslim army to storm Kashgar on February 6, 1934, attacking the Uighur and Kirghiz rebels of the First East Turkestan Republic. He freed another 36th division general, Ma Zhancang, who was trapped with his Chinese Muslim and Han Chinese troops in Kashgar New City by the Uighurs and Kirghiz since May 22, 1933. In January, 1934, Ma Zhancang's Chinese Muslim troops repulsed six Uighur attacks, launched by Khoja Niyaz, who arrived at the city on January 13, 1934, inflicting massive casualties on the Uighur forces. From 2,000 to 8,000 Uighur civilians in Kashgar Old City were massacred by Tungans in February, 1934, in revenge for the Kizil massacre, after retreating of Uighur forces from the city to Yengi Hisar. The Chinese Muslim and 36th division Chief General Ma Zhongying, who arrived at Kashgar on April 7, 1934, gave a speech at Id Kah Mosque in April, reminding the Uighurs to be loyal to the Republic of China government at Nanjing. Several British citizens at the British consulate were killed or wounded by the 36th division on March 16, 1934.

 

PEOPLE´S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Kashgar was incorporated into the People's Republic of China in 1949. During the Cultural Revolution, one of the largest statues of Mao in China was built in Kashgar, near People's Square. In 1986, the Chinese government designated Kashgar a "city of historical and cultural significance". Kashgar and surrounding regions have been the site of Uyghur unrest since the 1990s. In 2008, two Uyghur men carried out a vehicular, IED and knife attack against police officers. In 2009, development of Kashgar's old town accelerated after the revelations of the deadly role of faulty architecture during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Many of the old houses in the old town were built without regulation, and as a result, officials found them to be overcrowded and non-compliant with fire and earthquake codes. When the plan started, 42% of the city's residents lived in the old town. With compensation, residents of faulty buildings are being counseled to move to newer, safer buildings that will replace the historic structures in the $448 million plan, including high-rise apartments, plazas, and reproductions of ancient Islamic architecture. The European Parliament issued a resolution in 2011 calling for "culture-sensitive methods of renovation." The International Scientific Committee on Earthen Architectural Heritage (ISCEAH) has expressed concern over the demolition and reconstruction of historic buildings. ISCEAH has, additionally, urged the implementation of techniques utilized elsewhere in the world to address earthquake vulnerability.

 

Following the July 2009 Urumqi riots, the government focused on local economic development in an attempt to ameliorate ethnic tensions in the greater Xinjiang region. Kashgar was made into a Special Economic Zone in 2010, the first such zone in China's far west. In 2011, a spate of violence over two days killed dozens of people. By May 2012 two-thirds of the old city had been demolished, fulfilling "political as well as economic goals." In July 2014 the Imam of the Id Kah Mosque, Juma Tayir, was assassinated in Kashgar.

 

CLIMATE

Kashgar features a desert climate (Köppen BWk) with hot summers and cold winters, with large temperature differences between those two seasons: The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −5.3 °C in January to 25.6 °C in July, while the annual mean is 11.84 °C. Spring is long and arrives quickly, while fall is somewhat brief in comparison. Kashgar is one of the driest cities on the planet, averaging only 64 millimetres of precipitation per year. The city’s wettest month, July, only sees on average 9.1 millimetres of rain. Because of the extremely arid conditions, snowfall is rare, despite the cold winters. Records have been as low as −24.4 °C in January and up to 40.1 °C in July. The frost-free period averages 215 days. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 50% in March to 70% in September, the city receives 2,726 hours of bright sunshine annually.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

Kashgar is predominately peopled by Muslim Uyghurs. Compared to Ürümqi, Xinjiang's capital and largest city, Kashgar is less industrial and has significantly fewer Han Chinese residents.

 

ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY

The city has a very important Sunday market. Thousands of farmers from the surrounding fertile lands come into the city to sell a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. Kashgar’s livestock market is also very lively. Silk and carpets made in Hotan are sold at bazaars, as well as local crafts, such as copper teapots and wooden jewellery boxes.

 

In order to boost the economy in Kashgar region, the government classified the area as the sixth Special Economic Zone of China in May 2010.

 

Mahmud al-Kashgari (Turkish: Kâşgarlı Mahmud) (Mahmut from Kashgar) wrote the first Turkic–Arabic Exemplary Dictionary called Divan-ı Lugat-it Türk[citation needed]

 

The movie The Kite Runner was filmed in Kashgar. Kashgar and the surrounding countryside stood in for Kabul and Afghanistan, since filming in Afghanistan was not possible due to safety and security reasons.

 

SIGHTS

Kashgar's Old City has been called "the best-preserved example of a traditional Islamic city to be found anywhere in Central Asia". It is estimated to attract more than one million tourists annually.

 

- Id Kah Mosque, the largest mosque in China, is located in the heart of the city.

- People's Park, the main public park in central Kashgar.

- An 18 m high statue of Mao Zedong in Kashgar is one of the few large-scale statues of Mao remaining in China.

- The tomb of Afaq Khoja in Kashgar is considered the holiest Muslim site in Xinjiang. Built in the 17th century, the tiled mausoleum 5 km northeast of the city centre also contains the tombs of five generations of his family. Abakh was a powerful ruler, controlling Khotan, Yarkand, Korla, Kucha and Aksu as well as Kashgar. Among some Uyghur Muslims, he was considered a great Saint (Aulia).

- Sunday Market in Kashgar is renowned as the biggest market in central Asia; a pivotal trading point along the Silk Road where goods have been traded for more than 2,000 years. The market is open every day but Sunday is the largest.

 

TRANSPORTATION

AIR

Kashgar Airport serves mainly domestic flights, the majority of them from Urumqi. The only scheduled international flights are passenger and cargo services with Pakistan's capital Islamabad.

 

RAIL

Kashgar has the westernmost railway station in China. It is connected to the rest of China's rail network via the Southern Xinjiang Railway, which was built in December 1999. Kashgar–Hotan Railway opened for passenger traffic in June 2011, and connected Kashgar with cities in the southern Tarim Basin including Shache (Yarkand), Yecheng (Kargilik) and Hotan. Travel time to Urumqi from Kashgar is approximately 25 hours, while travel time to Hotan is approximately ten hours.

 

The investigation work of a further extension of the railway line to Pakistan has begun. In November 2009, Pakistan and China agreed to set up a joint venture to do a feasibility study of the proposed rail link via the Khunjerab Pass.

 

Proposals for a rail connection to Osh in Kyrgyzstan have also been discussed at various levels since at least 1996.

 

In 2012, a standard gauge railway from Kashgar via Tajikistan and Afghanistan to Iran and beyond has been proposed.

 

ROAD

The Karakorum highway (KKH) links Islamabad, Pakistan with Kashgar over the Khunjerab Pass. The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor is a multibillion-dollar project was that will upgrade transport links between China and Pakistan, including the upgrades to the Karakorum highway. Bus routes exist for passenger travel south into Pakistan. Kyrgyzstan is also accessible from Kashgar, via the Torugart Pass and Irkeshtam Pass; as of summer 2007, daily bus service connects Kashgar with Bishkek’s Western Bus Terminal. Kashgar is also located on China National Highways G314 (which runs to Khunjerab Pass on the Sino−Pakistani border, and, in the opposite direction, towards Ürümqi), and G315, which runs to Xining, Qinghai from Kashgar.

 

WIKIPEDIA

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TRANSACT 14 / TUES / SESSIONS

IMG_1661

A25

Speech given by Mr. Alain Simard

President and CEO of Équipe Spectra

(as delivered)

   

December 10, 2002

   

LA CULTURE ET LES COMMUNICATIONS COMME AXE DE DÉVELOPPEMENT POUR MONTRÉAL

    

Oui, le monde a changé depuis 25 ans, et il va continuer de changer, pour le meilleur ou pour le pire…

 

Chez Spectra, même si ça peut sembler naïf, nous avons toujours eu comme motivation première, le désir de partager notre passion pour la culture, d'élargir les horizons du monde, de leur faire découvrir de nouveaux artistes venus de partout, en offrant au grand public des contenus culturels novateurs et de grande qualité. Et on croit encore que ça vaut la peine de faire notre petite part pour faire évoluer le monde.

 

Vous savez, il y a 25 ans, quand j'organisais des spectacles «underground» depuis ma «commune hippie», j'étais loin de me douter que je développais de nouvelles approches marketing pour rejoindre une clientèle qui deviendrait bientôt très convoitée : «les babyboomers». Puis quand nous nous sommes diversifiés, un peu instinctivement, dans le disque, la télévision, les produits dérivés et les salles de spectacles, c'était d'abord et avant tout pour contrôler la qualité artistique de nos projets et leur distribution... on n'avait jamais entendu le mot «convergence» ! Mais ce dont je suis le plus fier, c'est d'avoir contribué à bâtir une nouvelle industrie du divertissement et de l'événementiel en développant de nouveaux créneaux inexploités, en inventant souvent de nouvelles formules, plutôt que de concurrencer ce qui existait déjà, et en partageant le fruit de nos succès avec nos partenaires et employés.

 

Il faut savoir que L'Équipe Spectra amène de l'eau au moulin à toute l'industrie culturelle avec qui elle fonctionne en complémentarité avec une éthique irréprochable : nous louons nos salles aux autres producteurs qui seraient normalement nos compétiteurs; nous engageons leurs artistes dans nos festivals ou nos émissions télé, et jamais, en 25 ans nous n'avons été accusés de maraudage, de favoritisme ou de conflit d'intérêt. Nous avons d'ailleurs depuis nos débuts un code d'éthique rigoureux, dont l'application est vérifiée par la SODEC, et qui régit toutes les transactions de l'Équipe Spectra avec les festivals qui sont des organismes à but non lucratif. Et j'aimerais en profiter pour remercier aujourd'hui tous les partenaires qui nous ont appuyés depuis 25 ans car on n'aurait pas pu bâtir ça tout seul : on avait peut être la foi qui transporte les montagnes, mais pas le porte-monnaie…C'est sans doute grâce à cette passion authentique que nous avons pu développer une vision et une crédibilité qui nous ont mérité l'appui des médias, des pouvoirs publics et des commanditaires sans qui nous n'aurions jamais pu réaliser nos rêves les plus fous.

 

Je dois dire qu'on n'était quand même pas les seuls à rêver il y a 25 ans ! Combien d'autres lançaient à cette époque soit une troupe de danse ou une troupe de théâtre, (ou même un cirque !), soit une compagnie de production télévisuelle ou de cinéma, soit un magazine, une nouvelle station FM, une maison de disques ou d'édition, un projet multimédia, un atelier de décors, une galerie d'art, un studio de son, une petite agence de publicité, un cinéma parallèle, un café d'artistes ou un restaurant nouvelle cuisine.

 

Il y a 25 ans, alors que tous ces jeunes profitaient des loyers modiques d'un centre-ville au marché immobilier à tout le moins morose, qui aurait pu imaginer que l'effervescence culturelle qui en découlerait deviendrait un jour un avantage stratégique dans le positionnement international de Montréal et que sa personnalité festive deviendrait le symbole de sa qualité de vie, à tel point que d'autres grandes villes, comme Toronto, deviendraient jalouses de son «indice bohémien» !

 

Depuis trois ans, presque tous les grands magazines internationaux, de National Geographic Traveler à Wallpaper Magazine en passant par Condé Nast et Travel & Leisure, ont classé Montréal dans leur palmarès des villes les plus «trendy» de la planète, à cause de sa qualité de vie, de ses festivals et de son activité culturelle. On compare son dynamisme à celui de Barcelone ou de San Francisco…

 

C'est un fait que le centre-ville de Montréal bouillonne aujourd'hui d'activités diverses, démultipliées grâce à son bilinguisme et son multiculturalisme : nous avons ainsi accès à un choix inouï de productions aussi bien locales qu'américaines ou européennes de même qu'à une foule de lieux et d'activités pour agrémenter nos sorties.

 

Lors d'un récent sondage auprès de ses clients, Destination Centre-Ville, l'association des marchands de l'artère commerciale la plus achalandée au Canada, la rue Sainte-Catherine, découvrait que le divertissement est la motivation première de cet achalandage, et ce, dans 51 % des cas. Ce sont donc les spectacles, les cinémas, les festivals, les restaurants et les bars qui attirent la majorité des gens qui en profitent pour magasiner…

 

Si l'on veut préserver et maintenir cette effervescence propre à l'expérience montréalaise, il faut aujourd'hui prendre des mesures pour protéger et stimuler le milieu de la création culturelle qui est à l'origine de cette personnalité distinctive. Pour ce faire, il faut bien sûr augmenter significativement le budget du Conseil des arts de Montréal, tel que promis par l'administration municipale, ce qui lui permettrait de s'impliquer davantage dans la création d'œuvres originales dans les institutions du centre-ville, notamment dans le cadre des grands festivals qui doivent constamment offrir des contenus culturels crédibles pour conserver leur couverture de presse internationale et ce n'est pas le rôle des subventions de développement économique ou des commandites privées de leur donner la marge de manœuvre pour le faire.

 

Il faudra aussi trouver la façon de compenser pour la «gentrification» croissante de l'arrondissement Ville Marie et la hausse de sa valeur locative, histoire de ne pas évincer les artistes et créateurs qui auront contribué à son succès… Il importe donc de prévoir des mesures incitatives pour favoriser l'accueil ou la relocalisation des petits organismes culturels et des créateurs pour retenir et favoriser leur concentration dans le secteur.

 

C'est pour cette raison que je proposais, lors du récent Sommet de Montréal, de prioriser le domaine de la culture et des communications comme axe de développement pour l'est du centre-ville, en y incluant la «Cité des Ondes» (SRC, TVA, TQ), le quartier Latin et ses institutions du savoir, le futur «quartier des spectacles» et le Vieux Montréal avec sa vocation patrimoniale, muséale et touristique.

 

Voilà une avenue naturelle pour le développement du centre-ville de Montréal où sont déjà concentrés 80 % des emplois du domaine de la culture et des communications au Québec, soit plus de 100 000 personnes qui en façonnent la personnalité, d'autant plus que la plupart des autres grands secteurs économiques comme l'industrie pharmaceutique, les biotechnologies ou le secteur de l'aérospatiale sont généralement localisés en périphérie. En outre, cette stratégie est des plus structurantes pour l'industrie touristique qui crée, ne l'oublions pas, plus de 64 000 emplois principalement concentrés dans le centre-ville. Il faut savoir qu'à Montréal, les hôteliers paient annuellement près de 200 millions de dollars en taxes foncières et 100 millions de dollars en TPS et TVQ. N'oublions pas qu'il s'agit d'argent neuf dans notre économie, parce qu'il provient des touristes venus d'ailleurs….Tout ça pour dire que ces secteurs économiques constituent certainement la base sur laquelle peut se construire l'avenir de l'arrondissement Ville Marie et de Montréal.

 

Pourtant, il y a 25 ans, la culture, le divertissement et le tourisme étaient souvent considérés comme les parents pauvres de la «grande industrie» et du monde de la finance, avec des emplois jugés précaires et sans avenir…Qui aurait cru que ces secteurs deviendraient des locomotives de l'économie de l'an 2000, selon l'Organisation mondiale du commerce.

 

Lors du colloque «Tourisme et divertissement» organisé le mois dernier par la Chaire de tourisme, on apprenait que la tendance touristique en plus forte croissance dans le monde sont les séjours urbains de courte durée et qu'ils sont intimement liés à l'expérience culturelle et à l'ambiance que peut offrir une grande ville. On y démontrait que les festivals et événements de même que les complexes thématiques de divertissement, les casinos et les musées contribuent à positionner une ville sur l'échiquier international, «favorisant la venue d'investisseurs, la tenue de congrès, l'arrivée de nouveaux citoyens et enfin la revitalisation et la prospérité de la cité». Selon Robert Sprazzichino, expert européen en matière d'aménagement urbain, «la culture, le tourisme et les loisirs sont aujourd'hui considérés comme des facteurs essentiels et même comme des moteurs de régénération et de redynamisation urbaine».

 

Montréal n'a peut-être pas de Statue de la Liberté, de tour Eiffel ou de Disneyworld, mais elle jouit maintenant d'une réputation enviable, celle d'être la «Ville des festivals». Et cette «marque de commerce», cette personnalité distinctive exploitée avec succès par Tourisme Montréal depuis quelques années, a permis cet été à Montréal de «surclasser» pour la première fois Toronto et Vancouver, à la fois pour le nombre de touristes étrangers et pour le tarif moyen des chambres d'hôtel. Après les événements du 11 septembre, nous étions la seule ville canadienne à connaître une augmentation du taux d'occupation des hôtels !

 

Il y a 25 ans, quand j'écrivais, dans une demande de subvention pour la création du Festival International de Jazz de Montréal «qu'un jour, cet événement attirera des milliers de touristes américains», je peux vous dire que j'ai sérieusement fait rire de moi… et ça a pris 5 ans avant de finalement toucher une première subvention de 10 000 $ !

 

Même moi, je n'aurais jamais cru que ce projet quelque peu utopique puisse devenir un jour l'un des plus importants festivals au monde avec 1,7 million de participants, et même être choisi par Attractions Canada comme l'une des 8 principales attractions touristiques au pays, avec les chutes Niagara et les Rocheuses !

 

Depuis plusieurs années, un participant sur cinq au Festival de Jazz vient de l'extérieur de Montréal, la moitié en provenance des États Unis, soit une personne sur dix. Le plus remarquable, c'est que 86 % des visiteurs du Québec et 80 % des touristes étrangers sont venus à Montréal spécifiquement à cause du Festival de Jazz! Et, selon l'étude effectuée par KPMG en 2001, ces seuls touristes venus au Festival de Jazz ont dépensé à Montréal 44,5 millions de dollars, générant 10 millions de dollars de recettes fiscales pour le gouvernement du Québec et 7,2 millions de dollars au fédéral - toujours de l'argent NEUF dans notre économie et près de 10 fois ce que le Festival a reçu en fonds publics !

 

Même les FrancoFolies, un événement en croissance qui touche principalement les jeunes et les communautés culturelles, à qui nous voulons donner le goût de la musique francophone, rejoignent maintenant 18 % de touristes dont les 2/3 proviennent de l'extérieur du Québec, avec un total de 700 000 visiteurs en dix jours. Quand on y ajoute le Grand Prix de Formule Un qui démarre la saison d'été en lion, La Feria du Vélo, Juste Pour Rire, Le Mondial SAQ, les Internationaux de Tennis du Canada et le Festival des Films du Monde qui vient clôturer «l'été des festivals», on obtient une masse critique d'événements qui assurent un rayonnement international ininterrompu pour Montréal pendant trois mois, avec des télédiffusions multiples dans des dizaines de pays à longueur d'année.

 

Et souvent, les événements montréalais ont ceci d'unique au monde qu'ils ont la capacité d'accueillir des centaines de milliers de spectateurs avec des activités d'animation urbaine gratuites, dans les rues du centre-ville fermées à la circulation automobile, alors qu'ailleurs ils se limitent à des sites fermés et souvent payants.

 

Il faut savoir qu'en conséquence les organisateurs sont souvent seuls à couvrir tous les coûts d'aménagement, de programmation, de sécurité, de nettoyage et de publicité pour des activités qui rapportent à tous sauf à eux. De là le besoin d'un apport indispensable des commandites privées et des aides gouvernementales pour assurer la survie de cette jeune industrie typiquement québécoise, souvent subventionnée à moins de 20 % de son budget alors que ses concurrents internationaux le sont souvent de 40 % à 60 %, grâce à des taxes dédiées à l'hébergement, comme à la Nouvelle Orléans, Chicago ou Edimbourg.

 

Une récente étude de KPMG pour le compte du REMI (Regroupement des Événements Majeurs Internationaux) démontre que ces dix-neuf événements représentent globalement une activité économique de 300 millions de dollars, créant plus de 7000 emplois annualisés au Québec qui génèrent directement plus de 58 millions de dollars de recettes fiscales pour le gouvernement du Québec, et ce, sur les seules dépenses des touristes, en plus des 10 millions de dollars encaissés à même les dépenses des événements eux-mêmes!

 

C'est pourquoi il faut saluer la vision du gouvernement du Québec pour avoir créé, il y a trois ans, un fonds de 10 millions de dollars par année pour soutenir cette industrie et l'aider à développer son produit, un investissement qui a donc profité à toute la société, ayant provoqué une croissance des retombées touristiques de 23 % en seulement deux ans! De plus, chaque dollar investi dans les événements a été multiplié par cinq grâce à l'effet de levier qu'il a donné aux organisateurs pour aller chercher plus de commandites et de revenus du grand public!

 

C'est pourquoi il est indispensable pour les événements que soit renouvelé ce fonds triennal qui échoit cette année, histoire d'en conserver leurs acquis et maintenir leur potentiel de croissance. Il est de plus impératif que le gouvernement fédéral (qui touche lui aussi près de 40 000 000 $ d'argent neuf chaque année) reconnaisse enfin cette activité économique et touristique florissante, même si elle est surtout concentrée au Québec. Les événements souhaitent évidemment qu'Ottawa crée un programme normé pour aider à financer leurs infrastructures temporaires, en remplacement du programme quelque peu controversé des commandites…

 

Il faut se rappeler que si d'aucuns ont questionné les modalités d'attribution de ces programmes gouvernementaux, personne n'a jamais remis en question la pertinence d'investir des fonds publics dans les grands événements populaires et touristiques. Il faudrait donc faire attention de ne pas jeter le bébé avec l'eau du bain…

 

Fort de ce succès, nous avons devant nous un défi pour maximiser l'impact des événements à longueur d'année pour Montréal : la désaisonnalisation. C'est donc pour consolider l'image de la «Ville des festivals» comme destination culturelle et gastronomique, même dans la saison creuse d'hiver, que nous avons créé en collaboration avec Tourisme Montréal et les trois paliers de gouvernement, le Festival MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE.

 

Ce projet, retenu comme une des priorités du Sommet économique de 1996, regroupe au sein de son conseil d'administration les représentants des milieux économique, touristique et culturel, dont la Chambre de commerce, l'Association des Hôteliers et la Place des Arts.

 

Après seulement trois ans, déjà près d'un demi-million de visiteurs, dont 15 % venus de l'extérieur de Montréal, étaient comptés l'hiver dernier aux différentes activités des trois volets de l'événement : la Fête de la lumière Hydro Québec, les Plaisirs de la table SAQ et les Arts La Financière Sun Life.

 

En association avec les Productions l'Entracte (à qui l'on doit le récent défilé du Père Noël), nous nous attaquons maintenant à la saison automnale en collaboration avec les marchands du Vieux Montréal et le Vieux Port : dès octobre prochain, «La Grande Mascarade, la fête de l'Halloween» transformera ces sites historiques en des lieux magiques et mystérieux qui pourront accueillir de grandes foules avec de multiples activités gratuites aussi amusantes qu'épeurantes…

 

Cette nouvelle fête populaire possède un énorme potentiel de croissance et vise à moyen terme à devenir l'un des événements majeurs entourant l'Halloween et la fête des Morts en Amérique du Nord, une autre façon de confirmer la réputation festive et ludique de Montréal à longueur d'année.

 

Dans la foulée de cet objectif qui fait largement consensus, il faut retenir deux grandes tendances qui se sont imposées au colloque Divertissement et tourisme (où je prenais d'ailleurs la parole, en compagnie de Normand Legault, du Grand Prix de Formule Un, et Daniel Lamarre, du Cirque du Soleil) : la création de mégacomplexes culturels et de divertissement, de même que la «thématisation» comme stratégie de «branding» pour consolider le positionnement d'une ville comme destination internationale. Comme ils répondent à ces critères déterminants, j'ai choisi pour terminer mon exposé de vous parler brièvement de projets qui me tiennent particulièrement à cœur : le Complexe Spectrum, la future Place des festivals et le Quartier des spectacles.

 

Il y a 20 ans exactement, quand nous avons lancé le Spectrum dans l'ancien cinéma Alouette (là-même où mon père m'avait amené voir Bambi pour ma première sortie au cinéma), jamais nous n'aurions imaginé que cette salle pourrait devenir ce lieu mythique du spectacle montréalais, encore moins qu'elle serait un jour au cœur de la revitalisation de la rue Sainte Catherine.

 

Après avoir déménagé le Festival International de Jazz de Montréal dans ce secteur pour profiter de ses nombreux terrains vacants et de la proximité d'une dizaine de salles de spectacles, je peux vous dire que je connais ce quadrilatère situé entre Bleury et Jeanne Mance comme le fond de ma poche. Depuis 20 ans, je rêve de voir revitalisé ce no man's land, avec ses quatre stationnements à ciel ouvert et ses deux terrains vagues qui coupent encore la Place des Arts et le Complexe Desjardins du reste du centre-ville. C'est d'ailleurs là que se situe la véritable démarcation entre l'Est et l'Ouest de Montréal : aussi bien les anglophones que les francophones s'y sentent chez eux, que ce soit au Spectrum ou au Festival de Jazz.

 

Construit sur un terrain d'un acre situé angle Bleury et Sainte Catherine, le Complexe Spectrum comprendra l'actuelle salle de spectacles ainsi qu'un club de jazz, quatre nouvelles salles de cinéma Ex Centris et neuf salles de cinéma Alliance Atlantis, des restaurants, une librairie / disquaire ainsi qu'une billetterie centrale, ouverts tous les soirs. Jouxtant la future Place des festivals et en face du nouveau Complexe de 280 millions de dollars annoncé par le gouvernement du Québec (comprenant les Conservatoires de Musique et de Théâtre ainsi que la future salle de l'OSM), nous voulons faire du Complexe Spectrum le vaisseau-amiral du Quartier des spectacles, un haut lieu de la culture populaire montréalaise, toujours dans la mire des caméras de Musique Plus et de Musimax, situés de l'autre côté de la rue Bleury.

 

Incidemment, cet investissement de 40 millions de dollars, réalisé par l'Équipe Spectra en partenariat avec Daniel Langlois d'Ex Centris et la SGF, générera suffisamment de nouvelles taxes foncières pour permettre à la Ville de Montréal de recouvrer son investissement de six millions dans la Place des festivals en seulement quatre ou cinq ans. Ce projet d'agora publique, annoncé par le maire de Montréal et le premier ministre Bernard Landry le printemps dernier viendra compléter cette revitalisation du centre-ville tout en assurant la pérennité du plus beau site d'animation urbaine au monde. Ce nouveau lieu public, qui pourra être utilisé comme patinoire l'hiver, servira à tous les Montréalais à longueur d'année et deviendra une attraction touristique à la façon du Rockfeller Plaza, à New York, ou encore de la Place d'Youville, à Québec.

 

Il faut se réjouir de voir tous ces projets qui vont transfigurer le centre-ville de Montréal d'ici cinq ans, avec des investissements évalués à 350 millions de dollars. Mais on est loin du milliard déjà engagé par Toronto pour en faire la «capitale culturelle du Canada».

 

Pour garder un de nos rares avantages stratégiques de Montréal, je crois qu'il faut se retrousser les manches et se donner en priorité comme objectif commun de concrétiser l'aménagement du Quartier des spectacles, une des pistes d'action principales issues du Sommet de Montréal. La beauté de ce projet de l'ADISQ, c'est qu'il vise d'abord à consolider des acquis et des équipements culturels qui n'ont jamais été mis en valeur comme un tout : il existe dans l'axe de la rue Sainte Catherine, entre Bleury et Saint Denis (et sur Saint Laurent), une masse critique de 25 salles de spectacles et théâtres qui totalisent (avec la nouvelle salle de l'OSM) 28 000 sièges, alors que Broadway en compte 46 000 à New York. Il s'agit donc de structurer, de revitaliser et d'embellir ce quartier aussi connu comme le site des grands festivals, en le «thématisant» officiellement comme «quartier des spectacles» pour maximiser son pouvoir d'attraction au moyen d'une intervention urbanistique prévoyant une signalisation propre, un mobilier urbain et un plan d'éclairage spécifique, ainsi que des services d'entretien et de sécurité accrus.

 

Pour en exploiter tout son potentiel de développement touristique, il faudra relier le Quartier des spectacles par des axes piétonniers invitants avec le Palais des Congrès, le Vieux Montréal, la Cité internationale et le Quartier des affaires. Tourisme Montréal et les organismes culturels travaillent déjà à créer une billetterie centrale accessible aux touristes et congressistes séjournant dans les grands hôtels pour prolonger leur séjour et avoir un impact à long terme dans la forfaitisation de la destination.

 

Le momentum est mûr pour une action collective et concertée, à l'heure où d'autres projets structurants sont à l'horizon, dont l'agrandissement du Musée Pointe à Callières, la revitalisation de La Ronde par Six Flags et surtout l'investissement de 470 000 000 $ dans le Casino pour en faire un équipement de classe internationale afin d'en augmenter la vocation touristique.

 

De la même façon que nous avons réussi la revitalisation du Vieux Montréal et du Vieux Port depuis 10 ans, puis du Quartier international qui s'apprête à voir le jour avec un Palais des congrès agrandi (qui nous permettra de garder notre titre de 4e ville de congrès dans le monde - encore de l'argent neuf !), nous devons concrétiser aujourd'hui nos énergies dans l'aménagement et la mise en valeur de ce Quartier des spectacles, investir encore plus dans la création culturelle pour renforcer la personnalité festive et ludique du centre-ville, locomotive du développement économique, social et culturel de la région métropolitaine.

 

C'est un investissement à la fois pour la qualité de vie de tous les citoyens, et un acte de foi dans l'avenir de Montréal comme métropole culturelle internationale et l'une des grandes destinations de la planète.

      

TRANSACT 14 / WED / SESSIONS