Xinjiang...are we still in China?

The state of Xinjiang is known as Xinjiang Autonomous Region and is made up of many different ethnic minorities, most of which are closer to to Tajikstan than China. After WW2 the region declared independence as the Republic of East Turkestan. But with the creation of the People's Republic of China in 1949 the new state collapsed when most of its political leaders died in a myserious plane crash on their way to talks with China's new government....

The combination of Uyghur, Krygyz, Tajik cultures are evident in the many mosques, night markets with different foods, clothes, languages and faces and creates a sense of having already left China.



(local tea ingredients" dried snake, lizard, mushrooms and all manner of interesting animals



Most people we spoke to resented the Chinese Government's suppression of their culture and history and there seemed to be a historical void in people's memories. Either they were too afraid to talk about the history of their land, or they had never been allowed to learn it. There is a book, detailing the history and culture of the different ethnicities of Xinjiang but it is illegal under Chinese law, you can be sent to prison for just owning a copy.

And so we walked, talked and observed different ways without knowing why or how it came to be like this. There is an empty hole filled only with fear and anger. How long can people live without their history?

By the clear blue of Karakul Lake we stayed the night in a Kyrgyz yurt. White, cold stone amidst warm brown eyes. Biting winds tempered by soft voices. Empty vastness but crowded yurt.
Deep amidst the dust storms, lies the village. The red Chinese flag flies high over the faces of a different people. A reminder that big brother is always watching. We asked for stories, they knew none. We asked for songs, they sang one. We asked for history, they were silent.

Amy wrote: so sad to read about the way a regime can steal a people's history.