To escape modern Yarkand's uninspiring grid system, take a walk in the Old Town to the east of the Altun Mosque, where craftsmen still work their wares with ball-peen hammers and grindstones, several workshops churn out traditional Uyghur instruments and horses and carts rule the streets. To get here, take the dirt lane headed east, just south of the Altun Sq, and keep going. Eventually you’ll link up with Laocheng Lu and can return west back to the New Town.