Xinjiang is a wonderful land

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ON May 28, the Chinese cultural and artistic delegation consisting of 60 artists will make a special visit to Kuwait; during which Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center will host the epic musical show entitled, “Xinjiang is a Wonderful Land.” This is in addition to a photography exhibition entitled, “Xinjiang Under the Camera Lens,” a souvenirs exhibition entitled, “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Xinjiang,” and other activities.

The Chinese always say: “No one knows how vast and beautiful China is until he visits Xinjiang.” Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is located in northwest China, in the center of the Eurasian continent, with an area of more than 1.66 million square kilometers. It is the largest province in China in terms of area. Xinjiang has a vast territory; where mountains, lakes, grasslands and deserts together form a beautiful landscape, and where diverse ethnic groups live, creating a unique and attractive place. Xinjiang is an important station on the ancient Silk Road, the gateway to the opening of Chinese civilization to the West, and an important land for the exchange of civilizations between the East and West.

In Xinjiang, there is stability and unity among citizens. It is home to more than 25 million people of multiple ethnicities. It is one of the province-level administrative regions with the most ethnic groups in China. Although people in Xinjiang have different languages and customs; stability, harmony and common progress form the main tone of Xinjiang. All communities enjoy equal status regardless of population size, historical roots, level of development, or differences in customs and traditions. It is where people of various nationalities live together, study together, and work together. It is where the customs of social life and culture of all ethnicities are exchanged and integrated; including languages, foods, music and architecture, jointly creating a beautiful scene of national unity in the new era.

Harmony
In Xinjiang, there is harmony and freedom of religious beliefs. Respecting and protecting freedom of religious belief is a fundamental policy that the Chinese government has long adhered to. There are many religions in Xinjiang; including Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Catholicism, Taoism and Orthodox Christianity. The regular religious activities are sponsored by religious groups and citizens themselves and are protected by the law, which provides convenience for religious believers from all ethnic groups to obtain religious knowledge. The government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has been organizing pilgrimage activities every year since 1996, taking into account the cancellation due to the Covid-19 epidemic at the time. It arranges charter planes annually; providing high-quality entry and exit services, medical treatment and food to ensure the smooth performance of Hajj for qualified Muslims of all nationalities. It has translated Holy Books including the Holy Qur’an and Al Bukhari Book to different languages for the believers.

In Xinjiang, the economic boom continues. Since the introduction of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Xinjiang government has been making great efforts to pioneer the opening-up of the inland border areas, and its economic strength continues to grow to new levels. As a core area for China-Europe freight trains and a core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, the number of China-Europe freight trains passing through Xinjiang ports has so far exceeded 70,000. Tourism is thriving in Xinjiang, as the region received more than 265 million local and foreign tourists, setting a record high in 2023. Cotton production in Xinjiang represents more than 90 percent of cotton production in China. It has been able to achieve mechanization, digitization and intelligence in production. Nearly 7,000 cotton harvesting machines were built in 2023, bringing the automated harvesting rate to 85 percent. Xinjiang is also vigorously developing clean energy, and the installed capacity to generate electricity from wind energy, photovoltaics and other renewable energy is expected to reach more than 64 million kilowatts. In 2023, Xinjiang’s GDP reached 1.9 trillion yuan — an annual increase of 6.8 percent, and its growth rate in most economic indicators ranks among the highest in China.

Achievements

All of these remarkable achievements are due to a safe and stable development environment. Xinjiang has suffered from terrorism and religious extremism, with thousands of violent terrorist incidents occurring there. Subsequently, Xinjiang adopted a series of anti-terrorism and extremism measures, including establishing vocational education and training centers in accordance with the law. These measures have significantly improved the domestic security situation and effectively protected the human rights of people of all national groups. There has been no terrorist incident in Xinjiang for seven consecutive years, and the social situation has witnessed remarkable improvement. The people live and work in peace and tranquility. People of all ethnic groups enjoy an increasing sense of gain, happiness and security; sticking together like pomegranate seeds. However, some countries are fabricating and spreading lies and rumors about Xinjiang, making baseless accusations of what they call “forced labor” and “genocide” in Xinjiang, and are using all available means to distort China’s image, to obstruct China’s stable development in Xinjiang, and to undermine friendly relations between China and Arab and Islamic countries. In 2023, more than 390 foreign delegations and more than 4,300 people visited Xinjiang. They believed that what they saw with their own eyes in Xinjiang was completely contrary to Western media reports, and there was no such thing as “forced labor”, “genocide” or “concentration camps”. They also expressed their appreciation for the results of efforts to combat terrorism and extremism in Xinjiang.

Xinjiang is a wonderful land. I am sincerely pleased to invite friends to watch the theatrical performance, “Xinjiang is a Wonderful Land”, which will be held at the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center, to enjoy the joyful singing and dancing of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, and to see the new appearance of Xinjiang in the new era. I also welcome everyone to visit and have a look at Xinjiang, where you will see the beautiful, prosperous, harmonious, peaceful and developed Xinjiang with your own eyes.

By His Excellency Zhang Jianwei
The Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the State of Kuwait

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