Kashgar Project
This project brings together teams from the Monash Asia Institute, Urumqi Normal University in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China in an international research collaboration to document, measure, and define the most significant cultural monuments and spaces of Kashgar. For the purposes of this project, Kasghar is defined as the modern and ancient city and the eleven countries that currently form the greater region of "Kasghar". Monash Asia Institute and Urumqi Normal University teams are working with the support of the Department of Tourism, Government of Xinjiang and the Department of Foreign Relations, Kashgar.
The project will produce a popular book on Kashgar that provides a photographic essay appealing to a wide readership internationally and within China. The book will be launched at an international conference on Kashgar to be held in either Melbourne or London. This will be organised in collaboration with Sotheby's and the Asia Society to generate interest in Kashgar among the larger cultural community. On the publication of the Chinese edition there will be a second launch in Beijing and Urumqi. Each author will then continue to work on Kashgar in their field of speciality with a view to publishing detail, expert monographs in their area. This work will be supported and coordinated by the Monash Asia Institute in conjunction with Urumqi Normal University. The Monash Asia Institute also undertakes to work with the local museums, curators and keepers of cultural relics in Xinjiang to ensure that their work receives international recognition.
For further details of the project, contact Professor Marika Vicziany ( marika.vicziany@adm. monash.edu.au )
Source: Newsletter of the International Dunhuang Project - IDP, No. 27, Spring 2006, ISSN 1354-5914, p8.(see: http://idp.bl.uk/pages/archives_newsletter.a4d )
Related Link
Read more about Kashgar Merchants in The New Silk Road: Trade and Labour in Asia, Around the Globe, Vol 3 No. 1, 2006