The Blacksmith
Kashgar, Xinjiang Province, China 2003
A Uyghur farrier readies a supply of horseshoes. His shop was in the back streets of old Kashgar. Somnolent donkeys lined up to be shod. Donkeys are still the main transporters of goods. Many small carts pulled by a head-bobbing, ear-flopping donkey trotted through the alleyways of Kashgar.
This man’s shop was in the old town. There isn’t much of old town left. The Chinese government has destroyed it and built high rises in its place. I’m glad I had the weathered wooden door and crumbling adobe walls as my background. It gives a sense of place, an atmosphere of history. It says “Silk Road”.