Shache, city in western China, in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Shache is an oasis situated near the Yarkant River, at the edge of the Takla Makan Desert and at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains. It is the center of a fertile irrigated region that produces wheat, cotton, beans, fruit, and silk. Located on a highway near the borders with India, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, the city is also a trading center. Local manufactures include carpets, silk and cotton textiles, and leather goods. The population is dominated by Chinese and Uygurs (Uighurs), a Turkic-speaking people of Muslim faith. An ancient city, Shache was first conquered by the Chinese in the 1st century AD. In the early Middle Ages it became an important trading center on the Silk Road, a caravan route that linked China and Europe, and was visited by the Venetian traveler Marco Polo about 1270. Population (1988 estimate) 128,950.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
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