Hand of Kashgar: Every Copper Vessel, a Memory Carried Across the Silk Road

In the ancient alleys of Kashgar, time seems never to have passed. Sunlight streams through carved wooden windows, falling onto the weathered hands of artisans. With each rise and fall of the hammer, a cold sheet of copper slowly awakens, transforming into a vessel that carries warmth—this is the birth of Kashgar copperware, and the continuation of a thousand-year heritage.
Today, this story is being quietly carried into the world by a young Uyghur woman. Her name is Gulmira, the founder of Hand of Kashgar. Growing up in Kashgar’s old town, she fell asleep to the sound of her grandfather hammering copper, and watched her grandmother brew tea for guests in copper vessels. The winding patterns engraved upon each piece are not mere decoration, but totems of Uyghur faith, nature, and daily life—silent epics of the cultural fusion along the Silk Road.
Yet Gulmira realized that these copper treasures, once everywhere in Kashgar’s bazaars, were gradually fading from daily life under the tide of industrialization. The artisans were aging, the younger generation drifting away from the craft, and ancient cultural symbols were falling silent amid the noise. She decided to act—and thus Hand of Kashgar was born.
“We do not sell copperware alone—we sell forgotten time.”
Every Hand of Kashgar vessel is crafted by the artisans of Kashgar’s old town. Using techniques passed down for over a thousand years, each hammer strike and chisel stroke brings life into the metal, weaving Islamic geometry, Persian floral motifs, and Central Asian patterns into the surface. Every curve is a language; every sheen, a story. These vessels once held the milk tea of Silk Road caravans, once poured hospitality into the cups of oasis families. Today, they travel across mountains and seas, into Parisian apartments, Dubai living rooms, and New York cafés.


Why does the world need Hand of Kashgar?
In the tide of globalization, we long for authenticity and human warmth. Hand of Kashgar seeks to tell the world:

• Xinjiang is not only vast landscapes, but also delicate souls. Uyghur culture is a jewel of the Silk Road—passionate, open, and full of vitality.

• Handcraft is a universal language. Even if we do not share the same words, the patterns on a copper vessel let you feel Kashgar’s sunlight and the warmth of an artisan’s palm.

• Culture must be seen, but more importantly, respected. We breathe new life into traditional craftsmanship, allowing ancient skills to enter modern living, rather than remain only in museums.

Vision & Mission
The vision of Hand of Kashgar is to bring Uyghur culture to the world stage, one vessel at a time. We work hand-in-hand with Kashgar’s artisans, practicing fair trade and sustainable production, making craftsmanship a livelihood of pride. In the future, we will also share Kashgar’s voice through cultural workshops, documentaries, and international art collaborations.


To everyone who holds a piece from Hand of Kashgar:
When your fingers trace the patterns on its surface, you touch more than copper—you touch the wind of Kashgar’s old town, the snow of the Pamirs, the lifelong devotion of its artisans, and the unbroken love and dignity of a people.

Hand of Kashgar — The Hand of Kashgar, Carrying the Light of Civilization.