It seems that this part of the world is never lacking when it comes to bizarre news events, and the year 2012 proved to be no different. From burglarizing catfish to a chain-smoking chimp, Xinjiang – China’s largest province – gave us a healthy dose of laughs and double-takes.

Some people might call it an “inferiority complex”, but when you’re dealing with the sensitive ethnic issues that Xinjiang faces, it’s best to call it what it really is. Xinjiang suffer from a “minority complex”.

The city of Bole, a small town in western Xinjiang only 20 miles from the Kazakhstan border, has found a new use for all their stray cats. Watch out if you’re a rat!

You’ve probably never heard of Mohe tobacco. Or Xinjiang Airlines. But this ad from a 1994 inflight magazine will make you laugh.

What happens if a lowly Uyghur bread maker looks like he should be modeling for an Asian clothing designer or starring in a movie? As 22-year old Xinjiang native Litahong is finding out, you instantly become a star on Weibo, China’s Twitter-clone.

I was fortunate to somehow get my hands on a cool 1994 edition of a Xinjiang Airlines in-flight magazine. Obviously this cartoon is meant to be sarcastic, but what tickles me is thinking about how well it describes many passengers both then and now…

You can hear the unique song announcing its approach like The Entertainer does the ice cream truck. Except unlike the ice cream truck people don’t run towards this music, they run away! Check out this hilarious video…

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…

Living without the internet for 6 months is definitely an exercise in patience but sometimes the most difficult part was being patient with people who didn’t believe me. Take my credit card company, for instance.

This sign on the side of a building by my house is priceless. The store sells men’s underwear but methinks their sign is a bit misleading.