Gratianus

Eight students, two administrators, and I went on this fantastic trip to see Xinjiang, the part of China furthest to the west. It is strictly speaking not a province but an autonomous region. The majority of the population is not Chinese but Uighur, although the government has very much encouraged Han Chinese to move to Xinjiang, so that in the regional capital Ürümqi, half of the population is now Han Chinese. As I understand, the two populations are geographically segregated. Last year there were ethnically motivated riots, about which very little is known since no westerners were allowed into Xinjiang at the time and Chinese media toe the official line.

We had a wonderful time in Xinjiang, where we visited three cities: Ürümqi, Turpan, and Kashgar. The two last are oases in the Taklamakan desert, and Kashgar is in the very west of China.

Here are the students after arrival, waiting for our checked-in luggage.



Russians and people from other former Soviet republics often come to Ürümqi. The airport has flights from these places, and there is a railroad to Kazakhstan, which conveys a lot of trade between China and the former Soviet Union. I believe there must be some tourism as well. At least there are often signs in Russian. I particularly liked this sign at the airport with the same text in four languages in four different writing systems: Uighur, Chinese, English, Russian. A truly cosmopolitan place, as is appropriate for a place on the Silk road.



Ja, så en bild av mig straxt efter ankomst till Ürümqi.