Inherited Empire: A Journey In Xinjiang (I)

(Part I of II)

The Fortress at Tashkurgan, Southern Xinjiang. July 2008. (Image: The Author. All rights reserved.)

I was eating alone in a busy, crowded restaurant in Kashgar, Xinjiang Province, western China. It was night, it was very hot, and the fans in the restaurant seemed to be just moving hot air from one place to another, their efforts possibly even adding to the heat. In addition to hot, I felt self-conscious. Eating alone is weird. At my peak misery point (too hot, too weird)…