It’s that time of year again – amazing that 2012 has gone by so fast, isn’t?

That also means it’s the perfect time for a holiday giveaway! Enter here…

Announcing the winners of the FarWestChina Christmas giveaway! Thanks for taking part and look for new contests in 2012.

Do you like Xinjiang? Do you like free stuff? Then read this. You’ll be glad you did.

I’ve been encouraged by the number of comments, emails, and tweets that have expressed a desire to learn one of the lesser-known world languages. It’s now my pleasure to announce three winners of this week’s contest who will receive a copy of the textbook Beginning Uyghur for English Speakers…FREE!

I’m dedicating this week on FarWestChina to providing tools for those interested in learning Uyghur. Whether you want to do language study in Xinjiang, outside Xinjiang, or even in the comfort of your own home…I want to get you started speaking Uyghur. Why read? You could win a free Uyghur learning textbook!

…Hans Stam!

Congratulations Hans and thanks to all of you who participated.  I was pleasantly surprised by the number of submissions that came in and I hope to hold another contest next month, so stay tuned.

For the majority of you who won’t be getting a free copy of Wang Gang’s English in the mail from me…don’t despair!  It’s not an expensive book (in fact, I’m spending more on shipping to Hans than the book is worth) and you can get it very easily on Amazon or most other major book sellers.

P.S. …

Almost a year ago I had the privilege of reviewing one of the few English-language novels set in Xinjiang.  English by Wang Gang (read review here) details the story of a young boy’s coming of age in Xinjiang during a troublesome time in China’s history.  It was an interesting read for me and one I think you might enjoy as well, so I’ve decided to give away my copy to a FarWestChina reader.

This is my first time doing such a giveaway and I hope it goes well.  Below you’ll …