TTravis and ElishaWow! What an amazing place to stay and how lucky we were to find it. By far the best place we stayed in China. Mrs. Li (the owner) was so genuinely nice and caring, and we felt like part of the family staying there. One of my favorite things in Kashgar was hanging out with her and her family in the evenings. She always invited us at night to hangout in the common area where she would make us tea and share her fresh and dried fruits with us. She was really good at using a translator app, so we were able to have a good conversation with her through that.
She has a great little family. Her son speaks good English and was also very nice. She had a young daughter who also speaks English, but is more shy with it (though she will sing you a Taylor Swift song..she has a great voice). They have 3 cats and the youngest one, little tiger, is just the sweetest and the friendliest cat I have ever met.
It was such a good and warm feeling to stay there. We definitely wish we could visit again. A home away from home. And we were treated so generously in more ways than we can write here.
Mrs. Li asked us right away if there was anything she could help us with, without us having to ask, which we really appreciated, and she took the time to sit down with us to go over our plans. She let us store our luggage for 3 days and walked us out to help us get a taxi when we departed.
While it was the family that made it simply amazing, some might also be interested in the following information.
The location is great. On a quiet street. Close to the big mosque which is a good landmark to use to find the area. And of course close to the old city. It's also really close to the biggest supermarket we have found thus far in China (we have to admit it was nice to get a few ”luxuries” from home like cereal and hot chocolate).
The guesthouse is cute and has a Central Asian feel. The shower works great and is hot. We were there in the winter, and the room has heat if you needed it. Mrs. Li was able to arrange a driver for us to go to Tashkorgun and the Karakorum Highway, which was super helpful. The place was nice and clean.
Thank you so much Mrs. Li! You will be a highlight of our visit to China and will be remembered in our hearts forever.
-Travis and Elisha (Colorado, USA)
PS: when we get home I'm going to try to write up a bit about our trip on Tripadvisor because I couldn't find anything about Kashgar on trip advisor since covid, and some things have changed, so I thought it might be helpful for fellow travelers, so look for that.
JJanet, MalaysiaThe homestay owner, Chen Fang sister is an absolutely lively character. She is warm and welcoming! As soon as we reached the entry point to Baihaba village, she picked us up from the car park at the entry point. She is very sociable and made us feel extremely comfortable. In that 10 mins ride, she managed to gave us an overview of the village and recommended places that we can visit including the horse ride to the peak. This is a must-try! The sunset view is absolutely amazing! Do try this.
Her sister is also very caring. The room was a little cold at night and when we informed her, she came over herself to help adjust the temperature. Needless to say, we slept very well that night. The room was clean and beddings were very comfortable. The only improvement would be to offer towels, instead of the disposable ones. Everything else was great!
No breakfast is provided with the homestay (or at least we didn't book it). There are many eateries and shops around us within walking distance so the location is perfect. For the horse ride, she arranged for the horse riding company to send a car to pick us up to the riding location. And of course, dropped us back to the homestay afterwards.
This was one of the most memorable day throughout our Kanas holiday!
Thank you sisters for your warm welcome! Highly recommended!
ผผู้เข้าพักHostel is about 5 - 7 minutes away from the ”Sports Centre” metro station, which is about 25+ minutes from the airport.
The hostel entrance is next to the Tesla shop, and you have to press the buzzer, for the security guard to open the gate for you.
Then, after writing your name down in the guest-book, you go up to the 10th floor in the lift.
(Check the other reviews here, for a picture of the gate/door to the building)
The staff speak little to no English, but they are very helpful.
They will try to solve your issues, as long as you patient with the translation software.
Also, it is difficult for staff to check you in, if you do not have a contact number or Alipay/Wechat contact.
(This is a CN Govt requirement)
The dorm rooms are basic and you may get the city views.
There are no privacy curtains and there was no air-con, in my one.
The hostel staff can provide fans, but we did not need any, as it was still cool at night.
The beds are OK.
There is a bathroom in the dorm room too, but there was almost no privacy for the bathroom, as there was a gap between the door for others to see and you can see through the frosted glass into the bathroom too!
The hostel is relatively clean, quiet and well-located,
except there may be other local guests, who are loud and smoke sometimes in the other rooms.
Next to the hostel is a nice up-market shopping centre and with really lots to eat, in the food-court on the 3rd floor.