Despite my aversion to diets, I lost close to 10 kg (22 lbs) on in my first year in China! A lot of this can be attributed to more walking, a better sleep schedule, and the occasional post-restaurant stomach virus I like to call Mao’s Revenge, but I think there was a little more at work here. Let me explain…

It’s been a long time in the making, but I’m excited to finally be able to share with you one of my favorite experiences living in Xinjiang.
This week will be dedicated to an incredible Xinjiang tradition known as the Uyghur wedding.

What do Bill Gates and the province of Xinjiang have in common? Expand your useless China trivia with this fun list of Xinjiang facts.

About this time last year I was invited by a good Uyghur friend to take part in one of Xinjiang’s most popular pastimes: the BBQ. Having spent part of his life behind a Xinjiang kebab stand outside the province my friend shared with me the secrets that make the kebabs in Xinjiang that much better than those beyond the provincial borders.

Rest Stop by 老百姓
Seeing this picture me want to hop on my motorcycle and start exploring again!  Rest stops like the one you see above are scattered all along the Xinjiang highway system and despite their crude appearance they really have grown on me.

The Shanghaiist website has picked up on a story that I’ve been reading about with interest over the last few months. A Uyghur Christian named Alimjan Yimit was sentenced to 15 years in prison late last year and was recently allowed to visit with his wife and son for the first time in 2 years.

Close to 100 million visitors are expected to visit Shanghai’s Expo (World’s Fair) which includes pavilions for each of China’s provincial regions. Xinjiang is, of course, included in this list and thanks to Adam Minter of ShanghaiScrap we are able to get our first views of the pavilion, both inside and out.

All of the major China travel books provide an ocean of information about Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong while only gently dipping their toes into the enormous province of Xinjiang. After years of fielding questions from FarWestChina readers who are seeking advice about traveling in the province I finally decided that it was time to do my part to fix this void of information. So I wrote my own travel guide.

From Ashok, an Indian photographer: “I strongly feel that the condition of Xinjiang’s inhabitants serves as a testament to the importance of upholding cultural democracy…[this work] from my first trip is an attempt to create a visual record of the Uyghurs’ traditional culture and lifestyle.”

Thanks to the Fragrant Concubine, who more than likely isn’t even buried in Kashgar, the Apak Hoja Mausoleum (aka “Abak Khoja”) has become one of the city’s top tourist sites.  In addition to the famous mausoleum it also offers a glimpse into old Uyghur wood carving as well as a cemetery plot that is still in use today.