Camels at the Kashgar Livestock Market. Photo / Jim Eagles
Camels at the Kashgar Livestock Market. Photo / Jim Eagles
Jim Eagles' eyes are opened to the intricacies of trade at a livestock market in the Silk Road hub of Kashgar.
The old man with the wrinkled weather-beaten face, tall black hat with the fur trim round the edge and thin white beard dangling from his chin looked as though he knew a thing about animals, and about long-fleeced, curved-horn mountain sheep in particular.
The Kashgar Livestock Market - centuries old and the biggest in Central Asia - was in chaotic full swing with braying donkeys, lines of long-eared sheep, greedy goats snaffling snacks, skittish horses, jostling cattle and even a few arrogant camels all looking for a new home.
Such is the fame of this market, in the far northwest of China, that it attracts buyers and sellers from across the region: Uzbeks and Kazakhs, Uighurs and Hui, Kyrgyz and Tibetans, Tartars and even a few Han Chinese, all doing their best to get a good deal and make a few yuan.
But the mountain man I was watching disdained their efforts to attract his attention, ignored the clouds of dust drifting above and the piles of dung lying underfoot, and made his way straight to the corner of the market where the horned sheep were clustered.
Halting eventually at one small flock he greeted the three men standing nearby with a nod and turned a piercing gaze on the animals. One rated as interesting enough to justify running a work-hardened hand over its fleece. Another had its legs checked out. A third earned a detailed check of its backside.
With a well-practised look of disinterest he began a conversation with the adjacent men, all wearing squarish green skullcaps, which started slowly and gradually gained in animation, complete with arm-waving, hand-clapping, astonished laughter, fleece patting and even the occasional turning away as though in disgust.
Buyer and seller shake on their deal. Photo / Jim Eagles
Bin, our guide to this part of the world, had explained there was a well-established etiquette governing transactions at the market. "They negotiate through a neutral middleman who gets a small commission," he said. "The middleman's job is to bring the seller and the buyer together on a price they can both be happy with.
"You can haggle about a price, of course, but it would be bad manners to become angry or to shout. And it would be very rude for someone else to interfere, to make another offer perhaps, while a negotiation is under way."
The negotiation I was watching had reached its climax as the old man nodded and extended his hand; it was shaken and smiles broke out.
Bin had also explained that sales here are done entirely on a handshake.
"There is no paperwork. Money and animals do not always change hands immediately. But once hands have been shaken it is settled and there is no going back."
This time, however, the transaction was completed immediately. A wad of cash was handed over, half a dozen selected horned sheep were separated from the rest and the mountain man headed back the way he had come with his purchases trailing docilely behind.
Similar negotiations were taking place all round the vast market area.
Most involved livestock but there were also stalls selling chunks of meat, snacks, clothes, robes and knives.
And in an adjacent area those descendants of the horse - motorcycles and cars - were on offer.
I watched the old man a bit longer as he pushed through the bustling throng, past the bobbing hats of many races, some - like his - black and trimmed with fur, most, like the trio he had just been dealing with, square and green, but also round white skullcaps, squarish caps with intricate patterns, tall pointed white hats, flat dark blue Chairman Mao hats and even a (very) few baseball caps.
Skullcaps are de rigeur at the market. Photo / Jim Eagles
Behind me came the warning cry of "Boish, boish!" which Bin had warned us basically means, "Coming through. Get out of the way." I jumped to one side to allow one of the ubiquitous Chinese three-wheeled trucks loaded with sacks of grain to rumble past.
For a minute I lost sight of the old man and his sheep but then I spied his distinctive hat bobbing behind a meat stall where several carcasses hung for customers to select their desired cuts.
Round the corner I went and there he was, approaching a small donkey cart where a young girl sat on a pile of some sort of greenery, looking very bored. The girl looked relieved, the sheep were loaded onto the cart, the old man flicked the reins and off they trotted back to their mountain home.
I headed off, too, keen to see more of this fascinating melting pot where the diverse peoples of Central Asia meet in such an amiable atmosphere to do business.
But I did keep a careful eye out, mindful of guide Bin's warning, "Be careful of the animals. People here are friendly but the animals not always. They may kick us."
CHECKLIST
Getting there: Singapore Airlines has 21 flights a week between New Zealand and Singapore, then connects to more than 60 destinations around the world.
Details: World Expeditions operates its Silk Road Expedition from Beijing to Samarkand via Kashgar in April, May, August and September. Phone 0800 350 354 or visit worldexpeditions.com for further details.
