Kashgar was incorporated into the People 's Republic of China in 1949 . During the Cultural Revolution , one of the largest statues of Mao in China was built in Kashgar , near People 's Square . In 1986 , the Chinese government designated Kashgar a " city of historical and cultural significance " . Kashgar and surrounding regions have been the site of Uyghur unrest since the 1990s . In 2008 , two Uyghur men carried out a vehicular , IED and knife attack against police officers . In 2009 , development of Kashgar 's old town accelerated after the revelations of the deadly role of faulty architecture during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake . Many of the old houses in the old town were built without regulation , and as a result , officials found them to be overcrowded and non-compliant with fire and earthquake codes . Additionally , the newer buildings may also have been built with increased ease of surveillance in mind . When the plan started , 42 % of the city 's residents lived in the old town . With compensation , residents of faulty buildings are being counseled to move to newer , safer buildings that will replace the historic structures in the $ 448 million plan , including high-rise apartments , plazas , and reproductions of ancient Islamic architecture . The European Parliament issued a resolution in 2011 calling for " culture-sensitive methods of renovation . " The International Scientific Committee on Earthen Architectural Heritage ( ISCEAH ) has expressed concern over the demolition and reconstruction of historic buildings . ISCEAH has , additionally , urged the implementation of techniques utilized elsewhere in the world to address earthquake vulnerability
2008 Sichuan earthquake
2008 Sichuan earthquake
Kashgar