Abduweli Ayup has not returned to Kashgar since 2015, and his chances of doing so anytime soon seem slim. The Chinese government canceled his passport, he said.
He sometimes watches videos on YouTube from his hometown. They don’t make you feel better. It feels compulsive, he said, “like eating spoiled food.”
“You know, you want to keep eating it, but then your stomach hurts,” he added. Watching a video while speaking with a BuzzFeed News reporter, Ayup pointed out a giant sculpture of a traditional stringed instrument next to the city gates. “Look, that’s just for tourists,” he said.
The city is now full of these types of photogenic additions. There are giant teapots at the main intersection near the city gate. Elsewhere, murals display maps of Xinjiang or carry slogans such as “Impressions of Xinjiang” where visitors stop to take vacation photos. A new entrance has been added to the goldsmith’s market, with a large sign with silhouetted figures hammering iron. The anvil statue in the corner now comes with projection-mapped fire, as well as sparks and a metal soundtrack when hit. Camel rides are also offered.
In the videos he has seen, Ayup has also noticed images of people dancing dressed in traditional Uyghur costumes, costumes they could have worn more than a century ago. Figures like these can be seen on Chinese state television and at the country’s annual parliamentary session. “No one would wear those clothes anymore unless it was for show,” Ayup said.
Tourism is now booming in Xinjiang. Last year, even as global numbers fell as a result of the pandemic, 190 million tourists visited the region, more than 20% more than the previous year. Revenue increased 43%. As part of its “Xinjiang is a Wonderful Land” campaign, the Chinese government has produced English-language videos and organized events to promote a vision of the region as peaceful, newly prosperous and filled with spectacular landscapes and rich culture.
Chinese state media has also portrayed this as an engine of economic growth for Xinjiang natives. One article described how a former camp detainee named Aliye Ablimit, upon her release, had received training in hospitality. “After graduating, I became a tour guide to the ancient city of Kashgar,” Ablimit said, according to the article. “And later, I turned my house into a Bed and Breakfast. Tourists really love my house because of its Uyghur style. All the rooms are occupied these days. Now I have a monthly income of about 50,000 yuan,” or about $7,475.
The façade does not compare so well to the mosques of Kashgar. Many of the neighborhood’s smaller mosques appear to be out of use, with their wooden doors damaged and padlocked, and others have been completely demolished or converted to other uses, including cafes and public toilets.
Inside the Id Kah mosque, many of the chambers, including within the prayer halls, have disappeared. But unsurprisingly given the last five years, many of the faithful have also disappeared, from 4,000 to 5,000 at Friday prayers in 2011 to just 800 or so today.
The mosque’s imam, Mamat Juma, acknowledged as much in an interview with a vlogger who often produces videos supporting the Chinese government’s narratives, published in April 2021. Speaking through a translator, he is at pains to point out that not all Uyghurs are Muslim and to diminish the role of religion in Uyghur culture. “I am really concerned that the number of believers will decrease,” he said, “but that should not be a reason to force them to pray here.” ●
Additional information from Irene Benedicto
