I’m in the old Silk Road city of Kashgar, in North-West China,  famous for its wonderfully preserved Ancient City Walls.  Or rather, about to become famous, as the Ancient City Walls are still under construction.  They’re coming along well, and in just a year to two I expect the tour guides will be enthusiastically showing off these venerable Ancient Relics.

OK, OK, there are still some genuinely old pieces of city walls here and there, and maybe some of the current work is only over-aggressive “restoration”.  But there are definitely large sections of wall that are still covered in white construction dust and look spanking new.  I was even privileged to see a section of Ancient City Walls being built before my very eyes.  They are doing a good job, and with a few years of natural weathering, it will look fine – definitely more impressive and authentic than the mundane older sections.

Authentic Old Walls

“Authenticity” is often a flexible concept in China.  But I was amused to see the creative process happening right in front of me.