The seven-meter statue of the Uyghur academic, who compiled the “Grand Turkish Dictionary” in the 11th century, had stood on the grounds of a mazar, or shrine, dedicated to him outside of Opal township, in Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) prefecture’s Kona Sheher (Shufu) county since the mid-1990s. From the early 1980s into recent years, numerous scholars in China have researched and published about Kashgary and his work, and numerous national and international scientific seminars on the topic of his work have been held in Urumqi and Beijing.
His resting place was renovated with approval and funding from the XUAR People’s Government in the early 1980s. The mazarhas since been designated as a key protected cultural site in China, and has been a key tourist site for both domestic and international tourists to the region.
