{"id":4556,"date":"2018-11-21T18:47:51","date_gmt":"2018-11-21T18:47:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iuhrdf.org\/en\/2018\/11\/21\/some-chinese-uighurs-modeling-path-success\/"},"modified":"2018-11-21T18:47:51","modified_gmt":"2018-11-21T18:47:51","slug":"some-chinese-uighurs-modeling-path-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/some-chinese-uighurs-modeling-path-success\/","title":{"rendered":"For Some Chinese Uighurs, Modeling Is A Path To Success"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">Speaking to a foreign journalist is usually a stressful endeavor for a Uighur in China. Uighurs belong to a Muslim ethnic minority and speak a language closer to Turkish than Chinese. These differences from China&#8217;s dominant ethnicity, the Han, have been at the root of a tense and sometimes violent relationship between Uighurs and China&#8217;s government.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">But there&#8217;s another difference many Uighurs possess that the rest of China is attracted <\/span><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">to:<\/span><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"> their appearance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">Speaking to a foreign journalist about that is easy for Xahriyar Abdukerimabliz, a 19-year-old model from Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region in China&#8217;s far northwest.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"bucketwrap image medium\" id=\"res553717419\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 40px; margin-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: inherit; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; position: relative; float: right; width: 330.438px; clear: right; overflow: hidden;\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit; position: relative;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"img\" src=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2017\/09\/26\/11_custom-2131a8b17ba2b9d3b99f0d8cbd1a0134bebc1dac-s300-c85.jpg\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font: inherit; max-width: none; height: auto; width: 300.438px;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"enlarge-options\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><button class=\"enlargebtn\" style=\"text-align: left; user-select: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-appearance: none; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; text-indent: -999em; cursor: pointer; display: block; position: absolute; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; height: 27px; width: 27px; background-image: url(&quot;\/\/media.npr.org\/chrome\/icon_enlarge.png&quot;); background-repeat: no-repeat; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.6rem; font-style: italic; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; outline-width: 0px;\">Enlarge this image<\/button><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit; color: rgb(118, 118, 118);\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit;\">\n<div aria-label=\"Image caption\" class=\"caption\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; font: inherit; overflow: hidden; width: 300.438px; background: 0px 0px;\">\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.2rem; line-height: 20px; font-family: inherit; max-width: 55.7em;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">Xahriyar<\/span><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"> Abdukerimabliz is a 19-year-old model from Urumqi, the capital of China&#8217;s Xinjiang region.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span aria-label=\"Image credit\" class=\"credit\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.7; font-family: inherit; display: block;\">Rob Schmitz\/NPR<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">&#8220;Not to brag, but we are very good-looking,&#8221; he says. &#8220;Our facial features are naturally attractive. We&#8217;ve got great eyebrows, big, beautiful eyes and double eyelids that weren&#8217;t created by a surgeon.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">Abdukerimabliz blinks, revealing his naturally creased eyelids. More and more Chinese are undergoing surgery to create a crease in their upper eyelids that about half of all East Asians are born without. Abdukerimabliz&#8217;s &#8220;double eyelids&#8221; are topped with striking eyebrows, a long nose and expressive eyes that look either Asian or European, depending on his mood \u2014 or pose.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">The demand for this look has roots in the birth of Chinese consumerism back in the 1990s.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">&#8220;There were fewer local brands in China back then,&#8221; says Max Liu, CEO of the Beijing-based modeling agency Fun Models. &#8220;All the famous brands were international, and they all used Caucasian models. As China has developed, local brands now want a local image, but not too local. So they&#8217;ve turned to models who have half-Asian, half-European looks for their brand identity.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">Plus, says Liu, Uighur models are Chinese and they speak Mandarin, making it a cinch for agencies to work with them. That&#8217;s why he&#8217;s seen a 10 percent increase in Uighur models year to year in China.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">&#8220;With their looks, they can easily flow through cultures,&#8221; says Liu. &#8220;They can play multiple roles. If you need to cast a foreigner in a movie, they can do that while speaking flawless Chinese. They&#8217;re incredibly versatile.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"backstage-bottom-spacer \" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 30px; padding-bottom: 30px; border-bottom: 2px solid rgb(245, 245, 245); font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: inherit; font-family: Georgia, serif;\">&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div class=\"bucketwrap image medium\" id=\"res553718403\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 40px; margin-left: 15px; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 14px; line-height: inherit; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; position: relative; float: right; width: 330.438px; clear: right; overflow: hidden;\">\n<div class=\"imagewrap\" data-crop-type=\"\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit; position: relative;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"img\" src=\"https:\/\/media.npr.org\/assets\/img\/2017\/09\/26\/undefined_custom-b914200609878ea96f27db079dc9cd9785e84ddf-s300-c85.jpg\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; display: block; font: inherit; max-width: none; height: auto; width: 300.438px;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"enlarge-options\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><button class=\"enlargebtn\" style=\"text-align: left; user-select: none; -webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-appearance: none; padding: 0px; border-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; text-indent: -999em; cursor: pointer; display: block; position: absolute; right: 0px; bottom: 0px; height: 27px; width: 27px; background-image: url(&quot;\/\/media.npr.org\/chrome\/icon_enlarge.png&quot;); background-repeat: no-repeat; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.6rem; font-style: italic; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; outline-width: 0px;\">Enlarge this image<\/button><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"credit-caption\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit; color: rgb(118, 118, 118);\">\n<div class=\"caption-wrap\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font: inherit;\">\n<div aria-label=\"Image caption\" class=\"caption\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; font: inherit; overflow: hidden; width: 300.438px; background: 0px 0px;\">\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 2px; padding-top: 12px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.2rem; line-height: 20px; font-family: inherit; max-width: 55.7em;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">&#8220;In France, people spoke to me in French, thinking I was French. In Italy, they spoke Italian to me. The immigration officer in Europe wouldn&#8217;t stamp my Chinese passport at first because he didn&#8217;t believe I was from China,&#8221; says Uighur model Parwena Dulkun.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><span aria-label=\"Image credit\" class=\"credit\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.7; font-family: inherit; display: block;\">Photo courtesy of<\/span><span aria-label=\"Image credit\" class=\"credit\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.7; font-family: inherit; display: block;\">Parwena<\/span><\/span><span aria-label=\"Image credit\" class=\"credit\" style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.7; font-family: inherit; display: block;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">Dulkun<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">At a teahouse in Urumqi, Uighur model Parwena Dulkun shows off a video on her smartphone of her dancing to a local song on&nbsp;<em style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit;\">Walk of Fame,<\/em>&nbsp;a talent show on CCTV, China&#8217;s largest broadcaster. Later, she scrolls to another video of her in a nationwide beauty pageant.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">She&#8217;s busy. Her shape-shifting appearance is in such high demand that she says she has taken to turning down offers of work from some advertisers. &#8220;I was in the States recently,&#8221; she says, &#8220;and after that, I went to Europe \u2014 I was in Italy, France <\/span><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">and<\/span><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"> Switzerland \u2014 and then I had a job in Hong Kong.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">And wherever she goes, she says, she gets the same response. &#8220;In France, people spoke to me in French, thinking I was French,&#8221; she says. &#8220;In Italy, they spoke Italian to me. The immigration officer in Europe wouldn&#8217;t stamp my Chinese passport at first because he didn&#8217;t believe I was from China.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">The only country where she isn&#8217;t mistaken for a local is her own.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">&#8220;In many Chinese cities, people think I&#8217;m a foreigner,&#8221; <\/span><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">Dulkun<\/span><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"> says, giggling.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">She uses these moments to educate her countrymen.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">&#8220;They try to speak English to me, and I answer in Mandarin,&#8221; she says. &#8220;Cab drivers always turn around and ask me what country I&#8217;m from.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\">She says she smiles proudly and concludes her lesson by announcing: &#8220;I&#8217;m Chinese.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit;\">Yuhan<\/em><\/span><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit;\"> Xu contributed research to this story.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"box-sizing: border-box; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1.17647em; padding-right: 15px; padding-left: 15px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 1.7rem; line-height: 1.70588; font-family: Georgia, serif; max-width: 680px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); position: static; float: none; width: auto;\"><span style=\"font-size:14px;\"><em style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: inherit; line-height: inherit; font-family: inherit;\">Source:&nbsp;<\/em><\/span><span style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: &quot;Lucida Grande&quot;, &quot;Lucida Sans Unicode&quot;, sans-serif; font-size: 13.008px;\">https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/parallels\/2017\/09\/27\/553703866\/for-some-chinese-uighurs-modeling-is-a-path-to-success<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Speaking to a foreign journalist is usually a stressful endeavor for a Uighur in China. Uighurs belong to a Muslim ethnic minority and speak a language closer to Turkish than&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-4556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4556"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iuhrdf.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=4556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}