{"id":3370,"date":"2017-02-03T22:22:06","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T22:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iuhrdf.org\/en\/2017\/02\/03\/quiet-undercurrents-south-xinjiang\/"},"modified":"2017-02-03T22:22:06","modified_gmt":"2017-02-03T22:22:06","slug":"quiet-undercurrents-south-xinjiang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/quiet-undercurrents-south-xinjiang\/","title":{"rendered":"The Quiet Undercurrents of South Xinjiang"},"content":{"rendered":"

A photographer documents the daily lives \u2014 from the mundane to the invasive \u2014 of northwestern China\u2019s Uyghur ethnic minority.<\/p>\n

Sun Junbin
\nFeb 03, 2017\n<\/p>\n

To the outside world, the south of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is known as part of the historical Silk Road, the route through which China traded with Central Asia and beyond \u2014 but it\u2019s also been branded by the central government as an unstable region that breeds religious extremism.<\/p>\n

The area is home to many Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority who speak a Turkic language and have, on occasion, had strained relations with Chinese authorities.<\/p>\n



\nStudents hold the Chinese flag under a banner that reads \u2018Ceremony for thousands of school principals to vow to prevent the infiltration of religion on campuses,\u2019 Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Oct. 27, 2014. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone<\/em><\/p>\n

My project, \u201cCalm and Quiet Southern Xinjiang,\u201d juxtaposes the mundane daily life of the region\u2019s people with the tensions that exist between them and an increasingly strict government.<\/p>\n

Specifically, I focused on Langan, a small village about 10 kilometers from Kashgar, the largest city in the area. The inhabitants of Langan often bear the brunt of a government wary of religious activities. According to Chinese officials, Langan sees relatively more religious conflicts than elsewhere in the region, to the extent that households are classified into different security categories according to each family\u2019s perceived religious devotion. Villagers from so-called special-attention families are required to meet with government officials three times a week.\n<\/p>\n



\nMembers of the neighborhood patrol hold batons as they sit on a bench in Kashgar\u2019s Duolaitebage Township, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Oct. 29, 2014. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone<\/em><\/p>\n

In November 2014, I joined some local officials on a visit to one of these special-attention families and captured a portrait of Mekrem, a woman whose husband had been detained for unapproved religious activities four months earlier. When I visited again a year later, he was still one year away from being released.<\/p>\n



\nMembers of the neighborhood patrol hold batons as they sit on a bench in Kashgar\u2019s Duolaitebage Township, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Oct. 29, 2014. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone<\/em><\/p>\n

Officials organize educational meetings every Friday afternoon, aiming to encourage residents to live more secular lives. Local religious policies have the same goal: Mekrem, for example, can receive a 180-yuan ($26) monthly subsidy if she abstains from wearing a black veil over her face.<\/p>\n

The place looks peaceful and harmonious most of the time, but you can feel the undercurrents of unease just below the surface.<\/p>\n



\n Ezizi Osman, Party secretary of Langan Village, stands in a conference hall in front of portraits of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin, and Mao Zedong, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 4, 2015. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
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\n Leaders of No. 17 Village Deng Yong, Alimjan Mijiti, and Chen Ping (back row from right) pose for a photo with Rozi Perhat\u2019s family in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 4, 2015. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone<\/p>\n

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\n An arrest warrant is seen posted to the gate of a villager\u2019s home in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 7, 2015. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
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\n The child of two factory workers in Poskam County, Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 11, 2015. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
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<\/p>\n

A martial arts teacher trains students on the playground of an elementary school in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 10, 2015. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
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\n A woman and a man with a donkey cart stand on the side of a road in Makit County, Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 13, 2015. In April 2016, about 35,000 people went into the Taklamakan Desert to plant more trees. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
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\n The leader of Poskam County, Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 8, 2015. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone<\/p>\n

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\n A Uyghur woman comforts her child at a women\u2019s workshop in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 5, 2014. The two-week workshops aim to educate women about \u2018correct religious values\u2019 and proper dress. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
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A young Uyghur man bathes in the Keriya River, Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, July 13, 2016. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone<\/p>\n

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\n Three Uyghur women sit at a scenic point by the desert in Hotan, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, July 12, 2016. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
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\n A man stands outside a home for the elderly in Poskam County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 3, 2014. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
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<\/p>\n

A Uyghur vendor in Ostagboyi Koqisi, a street in the old town of Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Oct. 30, 2015. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
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\n A child falls asleep in his grandmother\u2019s arms as the family drives through the desert between Minfeng and Korla, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, July 15, 2016. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
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<\/p>\n

Villagers attend a lecture about \u2018eliminating religious extremism through dress\u2019 at a cultural plaza in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 4, 2015. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
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<\/p>\n

Yusup Ahmetkadir\u2019s sister stands in a doorway at her home in Hotan County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, July 11, 2016. An arrest warrant has been issued for Yusup, and his whereabouts remain unknown. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone\n <\/p>\n

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Ehter Reyim, 59, has been designated a \u2018special attention\u2019 individual because of his beard, Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 1, 2014. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone<\/p>\n

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\n Tursunjan Tursunehet, pictured here with his vehicle, was sentenced to three years in prison for supporting religious extremism, Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 9, 2015. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone<\/p>\n

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\n Children salute the camera in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 7, 2015. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

A Uyghur family in Minfeng County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, July 14, 2016. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Two Uyghur farmers in Poskam County, Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 3, 2014. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
\n<\/em><\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

Two Uyghur workers in a glove factory in Yengisar County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 11, 2015. Creating jobs is a major goal for local authorities, yet many Uyghurs are unaccustomed to factory work. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n


<\/p>\n

A Uyghur boy plays a traditional stringed instrument on the wall of the ancient city of Kashgar, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 9, 2015. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone<\/p>\n

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\n The shell of a crashed vehicle sits on the side of the road in Yengisar County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Nov. 13, 2015. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
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<\/p>\n

A Muslim tomb in the desert, Minfeng County, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, July 16, 2016. Sun Junbin for Sixth Tone
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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