The past decade has seen big changes in Xinjiang, the Uygur autonomous region in northwest China where 58 percent of locals hail from ethnic minority groups. Kurbanjan Samat, Uygur native and well-known documentary maker, honored his own commitment to publishing a series of documentaries and accompanying books on the people of the region to battle the external bias against his hometown.

Perception and preconception

The series' latest literary installment, entitled Jiang Lai (The Future of Xinjiang), appeared on shelves in March, presenting an overarching conclusion to Samat's Xinjiang trilogy: I Am From Xinjiang on the Silk Road (2014), I Am Going to Xinjiang (2018), and I Am From China (2019).

Samat launched his series around 2012 against the backdrop of a general global misunderstanding of Xinjiang following several terrorist attacks in the region. People with little-to-no knowledge of the region tended to get nervous when coming face to face with Xinjiang residents, particularly after the attack in the capital of Urumqi on July 5, 2009, which caused 197 deaths and injured over 1,700. Those with "easier-to-identify" ethnic characteristics working in other Chinese provinces most often fell victim to the presumptions.

The first book and accompanying documentary I Am From Xinjiang on the Silk Road (2014) present life through local eyes, digging into the stereotypes that color people's preconceived notions on the region. The film garnered 20 million hits online within the first week of its release and won Samat several "outstanding documentarian" awards across China.

"We all come into the world as crying babies and we will all return to nature after we die, only in different ways," Samat told Beijing Review. "We need to think about human nature—regardless of ethnicity and skin tone."

He decided to write his second book, I Am Going to Xinjiang, as he strongly felt the Uygur alone could not possibly represent a region that is home to all of China's 56 ethnic groups. This work included the 26 stories of both Chinese living in and foreigners moving to Xinjiang, a developing region that had been receiving financial aid and talent from other provinces for decades at that time—and a key feature along the Silk Road since ancient times.

"I wanted the second book to deliver the message that Xinjiang is a safe and appealing place for many who would like to study, or settle down, here," Samat said.

In the last book of the series, he took his search worldwide, looking for Xinjiang people across the continents. Having visited dozens of countries himself, and with a few accolades to his name, Samat met more and more Xinjiang people living abroad, willing to share their stories with him. His third book, I Am From China, came into being in 2019, some 40 years after China had opened its doors to the world.

Accidental ambassadors

Between 2012 and 2022, Samat became father to two boys and lost his own father, yet diligently continued his self-designated task to shoot Xinjiang and its people through his lens.

Chen Yuan, 53, was born in Aksu Prefecture in south Xinjiang, where over 90 percent of the population is Uygur. When traveling to Turkey in 2014, his guide gave him a hug when learning Chen came from Xinjiang, trying to convey a sense of sympathy for his "suffering."

Chen told the guide there are many different ethnic groups living in the region and they all get along. Chen's parents can both speak Uygur fluently, as can he. "My father was always invited by his Uygur friends whenever they had something to celebrate," Chen shares in Jiang Lai.

Uygur singer Perhat Khaliq has his own way of promoting Xinjiang ethnic art to the wider public. He gained nationwide fame for his performance on a wildly popular music reality show called The Voice of China in 2014. "I don't think I have to only use Uygur instruments to create music. I also don't think adding 'mainstream' ones will affect my creative authenticity," he shares in the book.

Among the many Xinjiang faces, Tong Liya, a dancer-turned actress from the Xibe ethnic minority, is probably one of the most famous ones who spared no effort making the voice of Xinjiang heard on the world stage. She helped produce Samat's first documentary, I Am From Xinjiang on the Silk Road, and appeared in it herself.

Tong brought Xinjiang ethnic dance to Beijing audiences in 2019, following three years of intense preparation. Together with 50 alumni from Xinjiang Arts University, she performed at the National Center for the Performing Arts, lifting the diversified ethnic cultures and historical heritages to a whole new level. Tickets for the show sold out in no time.

"I left Xinjiang for Beijing 20 years ago in pursuit of professional dance training. This performance was a dream come true," Tong said in the Jiang Lai prologue. She feels obliged to give back and hopes to help younger performers achieve their dreams. "We live far from where we were born. In the distance, the love never stops," Tong added.

Samat considers Jiang Lai the "summarization" of his trilogy. He revisited a dozen of interviewees from the first book some 10 years after their lives first crossed paths, and life had indeed changed a lot over the decade. These new stories reflect their individual transformation—and that of Xinjiang by large.

The region has seen no terrorist incidents since 2017, and many people would now like to go and take in the charisma of Xinjiang themselves thanks to millions sharing visual tales of its beauty and uniqueness online. Annual trips to the region increased four times to 200 million in 2021, from 50 million in 2012.

The book also marks a new start for younger generations following in the footsteps of Samat and his interviewees. They are sharing their stories through social media platforms, forging connections all over the world. I Am From Xinjiang is far more than your average book or documentary. It's a vision for locals to dream big and for society to abandon preconception and embrace a deeper and wider perception of Xinjiang people.

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

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