China Guide
The Northwest
The Tomb of Abakh Hoja
Opening time: Daily 10am–7.30pm
Price: ¥30
Address: 8km northeast of the centre (bus #20 from Renmin Square, or 40min cycle through wheat fields and poplar woods)
The most impressive of all Kashgar's tombs is the Tomb of Abakh Hoja. The mausoleum itself is a large, mosque-like building of blue and white tiles with a green dome and tiled minarets. Built in the seventeenth century, it was the resting place for a large number of people – the most famous being Abakh Hoja and his granddaughter Ikparhan, who is known in Chinese as Xiang Fei, "Fragrant Concubine". Having led the Uyghurs in revolt against Beijing, she was subsequently seized and married to the Qing emperor Qian Long, later being ordered to commit suicide by the emperor's jealous mother. In both commemorating a local heroine and stirring anti-Qing propaganda in the cruelty she suffered, the story serves the convenient dual purpose of pleasing both the Uyghurs and the Han Chinese.