Most surprising, though, is that Mansur hopes to eventually move not only his son abroad, but also both sets of parents. Surprising, that is, because according to most analysts the Uyghur are unhappy due to their economic disparity compared to the Han Chinese. If he lives a prosperous life, why would he want his son to leave the country?

The stereotypical Uyghur is poor. According to many, their low economic status in China’s resource-rich province of Xinjiang is the driving force behind the region’s instability. Few Uyghur have the opportunity to leave Xinjiang and those who do can typically only find low-paying food industry employment.

But what about those Uyghur who, against all odds, become professionals in their field, respected and reasonably paid. What do they think about China and how do they feel about Uyghur/Han relationships?

If you ever had any doubts as to the natural beauty that Xinjiang has to offer, I aim to make you a believer. Kanas Lake, besides being one of the top lakes in Xinjiang, offers some of the most breathtaking scenery in all of China. The only problem is location. From Urumqi it takes more than 12 hours by bus to get to this lake which is…

If you’re going to be flying in to Urumqi this summer, chances are you’ll be arriving in the newly-built Terminal 3. With a price tag of 1.3 billion yuan, this international hub for China Southern Airlines should go into full operation this Saturday, March 27th, 2010…

Chances are you missed some interesting news about a tightrope competition in China’s Hunan province last weekend. The two competitors, Xinjiang’s famous Saimaiti (赛买提) and the Swiss Freddy Nock, raced to see who could walk the entire Tianmen Shan cableway (天门山) the fastest. Unfortunately, speed proved to be Saimaiti’s downfall…

Any email that is properly sent from within Xinjiang will come from Sina.com. In the future, this may be expanded to include other hosts but it is almost guaranteed that all of them will be based in China. In other words, if you have gmail…

Today I’ve been seeing an influx of new readers thanks to an article by Adrienne Mong on MSNBC (“Unplugged in Urumqi”).  It was a fun interview and I was pleasantly surprised by the link which I was never promised.
If this is the first time you’ve seen this blog or if you’re a relatively new reader, let me give you a brief rundown of this site.  First of all, my name is Josh Summers and I’m addicted to Xinjiang.  I lived there for over 3 1/2 years with my wife as …

In the middle of Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, a hill sticks out of the ground that seems out of place. Legend says that both this hill and the nearby Yamalik Hill were two dragons that kept watch over the city. Even now it serves as a symbol of a city that doesn’t have much else to offer…

As much as I would like for you to think that this website is the only place you can find information about Xinjiang, it’s not. As a matter of fact, over the years there have been multiple websites created about the region by foreigners…

If you ever have the chance to join a Uyghur celebration or be invited to a Uyghur home, chances are you’re going to run into a beautiful pyramid of fried, twisted noodles. Don’t be ashamed…go snap off a piece! It’s not like a wedding cake where you’re only supposed to admire it. It’s there to be eaten and Uyghur hosts are happy to see you enjoy yourself.