ApakHojaTomb Mausoleum

ApakHojaTomb Mausoleum also called fragrant concubine tomb (Xingfei in Chinese). It is located 5kms northeast of Kashgar City. It is said that, altogether seventy two persons from five generation of the same family were buried in the Apak Hoja mausoleums.

As a tomb of the descendants of an Islamic sage, it was built around 1640 AD for the first time. First generation and first person who is buried here was Yusup Hoja, he was a celebrated Islam missionary. After he died in 1640 AD, his oldest son Apak Hoja carried on the missionary work and became the chief of the Aktaglik (white mountainaire) Sect of Sufisiam during the seventeenth century. Apak Hoja died in 1693, and buried in the tomb here then the local people name the place with the name of APak Hoja for his honor, and also his preaching and reputation is much greater and higher the his father.

A legend goes that one of the descendants of Apak Hoja buried here, who was a lady named Iparhan, who was a concubine of the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. Because of rich delicate fragrance of flower sent back in forth by her body, she was called Xiangfei (Fragrant Imperial Concubine). After her death, her mortal remains was escorted back Kashgar and buried in Apak Hoja Tomb by Su Dai xiang, her sister-in-law. So the tomb was also called “Xiangfei Tomb”. However, according to textual research, Xiangfei was none other than Rongfei, a concubine of Emperor Qianlong, and she was actually buried in the East Tombs of the Qing Dynasty in Zunhua County of Hebei province after she died. The Apak Hoja Tomb is a key cultural relic unit under the protection of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.