See Sinciang with your own eyes, not from the West
On the last day of our visit to Xinjiang, we watched a grandiose performance on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, and then attended a media symposium as invited guests of the foreign press.
Özgür Altınbaş
Our 5-day trip to Xinjiang with more than 20 journalists from Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan at the invitation of China News Agency ended with an important media symposium and show on the last day. On the occasion of the anniversary of the founding of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, a 2-hour show was held in the big performance hall in Yining. The show, where the cultures of the ethnic groups living in Xinjiang were exhibited, was highly appreciated especially by the foreign guests.
'IT IS A GREAT PLEASURE TO HAVE FRIENDS FROM FAR AWAY'
The media symposium, held in the Chinese city of Horgos on the border with Kazakhstan, began with a keynote speech by Li Xiangyang, Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department of the Provincial Party Committee. Li began his speech by saying, “It is a great pleasure to have friends from far away. On behalf of the Provincial Government Information Office, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all guests and media friends attending the event! Sincere thanks to all sectors of society who have long cared and supported the development of Ili.”
'JIANGNAN BEYOND THE CHINESE WALL'
Li said that Ili is known as “Jiangnan beyond the Great Wall” and is China's gateway to the west. He also said that Ili is connected to the domestic market of 1.4 billion people in the east and to the markets of Central Asia, West Asia and Europe in the west, with a population of 1.2 billion. “At present, it has three national first-class customs clearance ports in Horgos, Dulata and Muzart, as well as Horgos Economic Development Zone, Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Pilot Free Trade Zone, China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center and other national opening platforms, and has the famous Nalati, Karajun and other China's most beautiful mountain grasslands, as well as Bagua City, Liuxing Street and other famous historical and cultural cities and streets. “ he said.
AYDINLIK NEWSPAPER STANDS OUT
One representative from each of the 5 countries participating in the trip made an evaluation speech. Among these speeches, Aydınlık newspaper's speech attracted the most attention. Özgür Altınbaş, Foreign News Chief of the newspaper, summarized his speech in 5 points:
Footprints of the new world in Ili
Collective success
Giving people self-confidence
Harmony and solidarity
Belt and Road
The following were the highlights of the speech:
“In Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, people both govern and produce. People are making great achievements by intertwining with the state. In the great war against poverty, humanity prevails... We have seen that the Chinese Communist Party has turned the saying 'One for all and all for one' into a state philosophy. A province in the east directly invests in the westernmost province and ensures its development. In this way, an important step is taken to ensure that all ethnic groups develop in the same way... In other countries of the world, differences lead to division and conflict. But here, differences lead to harmony, strength, solidarity and production. Many ethnic groups live together in peace, tranquility and harmony... This media cooperation of China News Agency should be further developed. Especially media cooperation with countries that have great potential for China, such as Turkey, should be increased. Especially people in Asian countries should not get information about Xinjiang from Western media, but they should come directly to China and see it in a real way. At this point, increasing these trips will provide an important benefit.”
'BETTER TO SEE ONCE THAN TO HEAR A HUNDRED TIMES'
Delivering the closing speech of the symposium, Chen Jianhui, Vice President of China News Agency, said that China has deep historical ties with Central Asian countries. “China News Agency regularly invites media representatives from Central Asian countries to visit Xinjiang, organizes exchange seminars, joint interviews, joint thematic programs, etc. to strengthen the friendship between media organizations, turn 'new friends' into 'old friends' and 'good neighbors' into 'good partners',” Chen said, reminding that Xinjiang borders many Central Asian countries with which it shares similar languages and culture, as well as close ties and interactions. Stating that the media cooperation between Xinjiang and Central Asian countries has entered a new stage, Chen pointed to the importance of such trips and quoted a Chinese proverb: “It is better to see once than to hear a hundred times.”
All values on stage
The 70th anniversary of the founding of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture was celebrated with a spectacular performance in the big hall in Yining. The performance brought together Uyghur, Han, Kazakh and Hui cultures, and both modern and traditional arts were performed. In the show, where the development of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture from its establishment to the present day was covered, the works of ethnic groups were performed in their own language.
Before the show, video messages from many artists were broadcasted and the development process of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture was conveyed to the audience with images.
The show is divided into three main sections based on the word “see”: “First Encounter: Mountains and Rivers”, “Encounter: Epic” and “Seeing Again: Human City”. Through artistic forms such as script interpretation, ethnic song and dance, multimedia drama performance, traditional new composition, and choral ensemble, with the help of projection, screen and other technical means, it presented the audience with a narrative-style stage creation show integrating time and space.
Zhou Xiongbiao, Vice President of the Ili Song and Dance Theater, said, “Through this artistic feast, we hope to showcase the beauty of nature, culture and harmony in Ili, use song and dance as tools, emotions as threads, and build a sense of community among the Chinese nation as the main theme. Through the beautiful melodies of tradition and modernity, we aim for the audience to experience the harmonious and vibrant beauty of Yili and gain different spiritual experiences.”
Government support for businesses
In a village outside Yining, we visited a state-subsidized business. A previously arid, grassless place has been greened up and transformed into a place where people organize entertainment, weddings and dinners. Pan Zhanjiang, the owner, runs the business with his family of 8 people. He says they sometimes organize two weddings a day. Pan said that this place was opened last year and that he achieved this with government support.
The back side of the business is a completely arid area. The government is gradually greening the arid areas and turning them into agricultural and activity areas.
