A restive part of China’s old Silk Route is in a fight to preserve its culture and language as unrest between the local Uighur people and Han Chinese plague the region.
SEP 14 2015, 10:33 AM ET
1. A restive part of China’s old Silk Route is in a fight to preserve its culture and language as violence and unrest between the local Uighur people and Han Chinese plague the region. In the past few years, tensions between the minority groups have heightened in Xinjiang, China’s westernmost region which touches Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Above, two Uighur men stand in front of a sign saying “Be united and work together; achieve prosperity together” in Uighur language and Chinese in the outskirts of Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China.David Lom / NBC News
2. Customers and shop owner wait outside a grocery store in the outskirts of Kashgar, Xinjiang. Traditional Uighur flat bread, which is called ‘nang’, is seen behind the man in white.
Advertisement of plane tickets in both Uighur language and Mandarin are seen on the wall.David Lom / NBC News
3. A Uighur man stands outside Kashgar’s Id Kah mosque, the biggest mosque in China, waiting for the bus after Friday prayers. Chinese Uighurs are also commonly referred to as “Hui” people.David Lom / NBC News
4. Traders at Kashgar’s famous livestock market prepare to sell the animals.David Lom / NBC News
5. Uighur restaurateurs sell dumplings next to the livestock market in Kashgar, Xinjiang.David Lom / NBC News
6. An elderly Uighur woman gets ready for a traditional Uighur wedding ceremony at the bride’s home, in Duolaitebagexiang County, Kashgar.David Lom / NBC News
7. Friends of the bride wait for her to come out of her room to meet her groom at a traditional Uighur wedding in Duolaitebagexiang County, Kashgar.David Lom / NBC News
8. A Uighur man plays flute in front of a Mao Zedong statue at People’s Square in Kashgar.David Lom / NBC News
9. Uighur men at a streetside restaurant sell mutton soup and traditional tea at lunch time in Kashgar.David Lom / NBC News
10. A local Uighur man sits at a restaurant in Kashgar.David Lom / NBC News
11. Two men stop for a break on the Karakoram Highway, one of the highest paved highways in the world. The road crosses from China’s western Xinjiang province into Pakistan.David Lom / NBC News
12. Uighurs hang out after dinner in Tashkurgan town, the last town in Xinjiang before crossing the Pakistan border.David Lom / NBC News
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