Cape Times reporter Nicolette Dirk recently spent two weeks in Xinjiang, a city in China's north-west, on invitation from the State Council Information Office of China. This is the first article in a four-part series on how the city is growing its agriculture, textile and tourism industries, and taking care of its most vulnerable people
With five million tourists visiting the north-west China city of Xinjiang annually, tourism has become one of the industries the area’s local government has invested in.
Xinjiang was recently in the spotlight, given media reports on the city’s Muslim community being banned from fasting during the holy month of Ramadaan.
But after visiting areas within Xinjiang such as Umruqi, Turpan, Fukang and Aksu, I have realised how much Xinjiang has developed its tourism industry though its 55 ethnic nations.
The press was invited on a two-week visit for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, where I got a taste of some of the city’s rich culture.
I saw how arts and culture were some of the authentic aspects in the region that have been preserved and promoted for tourism.
Despite being known as a major industrial centre, Umruqi is also has one of the biggest creative centres in the Shuimogou district.
Here, international artist Wang Zhongmin showcases his clay sculptures, while in another part of the centre, doll artist Shan Xumei showcases her collection of dolls.
With China having the highest population of people over the period of 60 years, the centre also provides a hub for elderly professional and amateur artists coming to pass time with their canvas paintings.
Umruqi’s grand bazaar, located on South Jiefang Road, was also one of the interesting venues to visit.
Similar to the set-up in Cape Town’s Greenmarket Square, tourists can freely explore and “haggle” for Chinese artefacts such as mats, guitars and jewellery, or even a caged bird reasonably priced by informal traders.
In Umruqi, it helps being accompanied by an interpreter to get the best deal.
On your way to the market informal stalls, owners sold authentic food such as lamb, grapes, watermelon and fried noodles in open markets.
In Fukang, journalists were shown the village of the Kazakh people, where we learnt about their folk customs.
The Kazakhs are one of the ethnic groups in Xinjiang who are subsidised by local government.
One of the customs I took part in was a marriage ritual, dressed in a red Kazakh wedding dress, with one of the other visiting journalists. After my impromptu “marriage” we visited the picturesque Heavenly Lake that gets most of its water from the melted snow of the Tianshan mountain range.
My visit to the Jiaohe Ruined City in Turpan was one of the most interesting yet challenging experiences of the trip. The city was conquered by the Kyrgyz in 840, and in 1994, archaeologists discovered a mass grave of 200 babies buried in the ruins.
There were many theories as to the cause of the mass grave. They included that the babies could have died of disease or were used as a sacrifice. This theory has since been classified as untrue.
In the 47ºC heat when one of the journalists fell ill during the tour, I also learnt that Buddhist priests used the mountainous area of the northern part of Jiaohe as their religious sanctuary before it was destroyed.
Archaeologists working at Jiaohe are presently in the process of restoring all the original paintings from the Buddhist caves.
But visiting the previous sanctuary of Chinese Buddhists will cost you $8 000 (R102 430) to experience.
Joaoehe is one of the important sites along the Silk Road and China’s president Xi Jinping has strategised to develop the Silk Road Economic Belt to improve trade opportunities for the country.