The Three Immortals Caves (San Xian Dong) are a set of Buddhist cave temples carved into the cliff face above the Qiakemaer River, about three kilometres north of the city centre. They were active during the Tang dynasty, when Buddhism was the dominant religion across the Tarim Basin before the Islamisation of the 10th and 11th centuries. The painted murals have largely faded or been damaged, but the caves themselves remain accessible and the setting — high on a crumbling loess cliff above the river valley — is dramatic.
The caves are easy to reach by bicycle or on foot from the old town. They are a reminder that Kashgar's history runs much deeper than its current identity as a centre of Uyghur Islamic culture. For a thousand years before the arrival of Islam, this region was home to Buddhist monasteries, Sogdian merchants, and Chinese garrison towns all existing in close proximity.