Thesis 100dpi

VERTICAL FARM
KASHGAR, CHINA:
39° 28′ 0″ N, 75° 59′ 0″ E
Kashgar, also spelled Kaxgar, in an oasis
city in Region of Xinjiang, far western China.
Its has been strategically important
trade center on the Silk Road between
China, the Middle East, and Europe.
In this highly fertile oasis, people live
mostly from agriculture growing wheat,
corn (maize), barley, rice, beans, and a
great deal of cotton. It is known for its
melons, grapes, peaches, apricots and
cherries. The inhabitants also engage in
a variety of handicrafts; both cotton and
silk textiles are produced, together with
felts, rugs, furs, leather and pottery.
178 REFUGIUM
Kashgar’s Sunday market is renowned
as the biggest market in central Asia. The
market is open every day but Sunday is
the largest. The town also has livestock
markets and bazaars, where variety of
crafts is sold. Since 2010 the area is classified
as a special economic zone.
Being an oasis in the desert with it’s
rich multicultural and historical background,
Kahsgar is strategically chosen
as a supporting point of the line. Vertical
hydroponics farming and its new
technologies implemented in Refugium
could contribute to the already existing
agricultural way of life, benefiting, on the
other side, refugees in food supply. Local
farmers and artisans would have a possibility
of exporting their products globally
by virtue of the mag-lev train network
contributing to the region’s economy.
Substituting current railway with the
new system will erase the division of the
town created by the former and spark
a creation of public spaces and market
squares, vital of the town’s economy and
identity.