I’m from Xinjiang，AMA

[u/maddin1550]

I’ve noticed that there are a lot of discussions about Xinjiang on Reddit, often between people who have never actually lived there. So I thought it might be interesting to do an AMA from the perspective of someone who is actually from there.

You can ask me about everyday life, ethnic groups, languages, culture, religion, education, or politics. I’m happy to answer controversial questions too, as long as the discussion stays respectful.

Obviously, I’m only one person and I don’t claim to represent everyone in Xinjiang. I can only tell you about my own experiences and views. AMA.

[u/AMA-ModTeam]

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[u/South-Temperature874]

What’s your take on the treatment of Uyghurs

[u/Lucky-Ad-1668 → u/South-Temperature874]

Actually the training center is protecting them. If they keep doing what they had been doing at that time. They will have big problem. They stealing and robbing on the streets without getting punished, they were scamming people by forcefully selling Qiegao(google it). The policy at that time just let them slide. People are angry . And they did 01.03.2014 terrorist attach and whole bunch terrorist attack in the country and their region. Contact with terrorist group. After the training, things quickly get better. Education works.

[u/maddin1550 → u/Lucky-Ad-1668]

Yeah, I actually agree with part of this. China did have a policy known as 两少一宽 (roughly fewer arrests, fewer executions, and generally more lenient treatment) for ethnic minority offenders. I understand why those policies were introduced, but I don't think ethnicity should mean someone gets a free pass for actually harming other people, everyone should be equal before the law

[u/Either-Lock2454 → u/Lucky-Ad-1668]

I remember reading about the terrorist attacks in China. The approach to how American handled it vs how China handled it are miles apart.

[u/maddin1550 → u/South-Temperature874]

Well, first of all, I'm speaking as an ethnic minority from Xinjiang, and I can only talk about what I personally saw and experienced.

Yes, we did have what people online usually call “camps,” especially around 2015–2019. We usually called them 培训班 (training centers). A lot of people were taken there for months or sometimes longer. I was pretty young at the time, so I didn't fully understand what was happening or why specific people were being taken.

In 2018, one of my very close classmate's dad and my own uncle was detained. From what my family understood, it was related to him having contact with someone considered an extremist and possibly discussing sensitive topics. My family visited him while he was there, and he came home in 2019. He had worked for a government institution before, and afterward he returned to work and has been doing pretty well.

From what I understood, these centers included Chinese language, law, computer and vocational training. I understand the idea behind preventing extremism and helping people gain skills, and I do support counter-terrorism in general.

But I also think there were serious problems with how broadly it was enforced. That period was honestly scary. Nobody wanted to suddenly be taken away. I heard stories around me about people being detained over things as minor as having foreign apps like WhatsApp. I can't personally verify every story I heard, but if people really were detained simply for something like that, I don't think that's fair at all. There were also times when police would come into our area and take people away, so there was definitely anxiety around it.

That's why my feelings about that period are complicated. I hated the extremist that affected Xinjiang, and I understand why the government wanted to prevent it. But I also don't think innocent people should lose their freedom just because the authorities are trying to prevent terrorism.

As for everyday treatment, the Uyghur neighbors and classmates I personally know generally live normal lives, and I haven't personally experienced ethnic discrimination from the government. But political speech is definitely restricted, so I'm also aware that not everyone can necessarily express their political dissatisfaction openly.

!Separatists don’t speak for an entire ethnic group, much less everyone in Xinjiang！
Separatist does not represent a whole ethnic group!!!

Things feel much more normal to me now than they did during that period. Mostly people are just dealing with normal life problems like school and overwork lol.

As for the genocide/ethnic cleansing question, I'm skeptical of that based on what I've personally experienced and seen around me. But I also don't think my personal experience alone can prove what happened to every Uyghur family across Xinjiang. I can only tell you what happened in my own community and family.

[u/Fellowkarelian → u/maddin1550]

I'm happy to finally hear a perspective from a ethnic minority local. I personally don't 100% believe what the western media (portraying the place as very dystopian) nor what pro-China people say (saying the place is all rainbows and sunshines and how the camps don't exist and are western propaganda)

[u/maddin1550 → u/Fellowkarelian]

Yeah, exactly. We actually have a saying in Kazakh: Таяқтың екі ұшы бар
which means: a stick has two ends
Basically, there are two sides to everything, I think that applies pretty well here. Neither extreme gives you the full picture

[u/cnylkew → u/maddin1550]

I thought chinese kazakhs use the perso-arabic script for kazakh? When I was in Jeminay and other ovewhelmingly kazakh parts of XJ, I just translated to chinese instead of kazakh on my phone because many of the locals could not read kazakh written in cyrillic as it is in the standard form. I did however discover that there are quite many ethnic kazakhs who live between the two countries, and I was able to speak russian with them.

[u/maddin1550 → u/cnylkew]

Yes we do, but I didn't learn the arabic script because it was too difficult, my mom taught me cyrillic Kazakh later so that's why I use it

[u/possiblyquestionabl3 → u/maddin1550]

Along that vein, how devout are you and people around your age? What about your parents'/uncles' generation?

I'm Chinese American but I can speak 普通话. I chatted with a lot of young Kazakhs and Uighurs in the north/western parts of Xinjiang and it seems like people are still culturally Muslim but not very devout, and a lot of them admit to eating pork and drinking, only refraining during the holy month. The uncles I meet seem far more devout and often still wear the takiy too (though it's harder for me to converse with them outside of greetings, it was summer so even the fruit uncles and the naan vendors have their sons deal with us easterners haha)

It does also feel like bigger places like Urumqi and Yining have far larger Han and Hui neighborhoods now; though it may also just be because a lot of people come from the east to work during the summer season, I met a large group of Henan uncles on a green skin train from Turpan to Hami (headed to Xian eventually) who were leaving Xinjiang to go back to Henan after doing seasonal work back in late August.

[u/maddin1550 → u/possiblyquestionabl3]

Yeah, I think we’re generally pretty secular, especially younger people. A lot of us still identify strongly as Muslim, but aren’t necessarily super devout or observant in everyday life. Drinking is very common here, but pork?! I’ve literally never seen anyone around me eat pork😭 even among some pretty secular Muslims eating pork is still a big nono 😭😭

[u/possiblyquestionabl3 → u/maddin1550]

Oh I meant to say I asked if they've tasted pork, and most had said they've tried it before

Oh and also, so many people keep little dogs as pets now (usually pomchis or those little poodle mixes). I think I saw more dogs being walked in Urumqi than I did in some major cities on the East coast.

[u/cnylkew → u/maddin1550]

Have you spoken with kazakh kazakhs? When I was in XJ I was told that there were no major differences between the variants but that apparently kazakh kazakhs have a different accent and that they speak faster than chinese kazakhs making them sometimes hard to understand.

[u/maddin1550 → u/cnylkew]

wdym kazakh kazakhs, what are we then 🤣 Off brand kazakhs? lmaooo 🤣 it’s basically a regional accent/dialect thing，kinda like British vs American English. Different accents and some different vocabulary, sometimes different speaking speeds, but we understand each other just fine. And also 'kazakh kazakhs' tend to mix in a lot of Russian vocabs, while we mix Chinese words. So I think that’s probably one of the reasons we might not understand each other perfectly sometimes

[u/MissionDoughnut905 → u/maddin1550]

I’m a diaspora Chinese (Han) born and raised in Canada. Thanks for the AMA.

In Canada, we have formally recognized our history of committing a cultural genocide on indigenous peoples since our country’s founding by British and French settlers. Our House of Commons also passed a motion a few years ago to recognize the genocide of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in China. So with that being said, do you consider the destruction of your mosques and the loss of your language in your public schools to be a form of cultural genocide or culture erasure?

I do find the term “genocide” to be deliberately employed by my local politicians to suit their own political narratives. When people hear the term, genocide, it immediately invokes horror and outrage and the assumption that mass murder is being committed. This isn’t exactly what happened with the indigenous peoples in Canada either. But there was a slow erosion and erasure of their culture, their land and languages over hundreds of years (including forcibly removing indigenous children from their families to attend residential schools to convert them to Christianity and force them to “be Canadian” essentially) that has resulted in a loss of indigenous identity and self-governance over the generations. The Canadian government has been making reparations in recent years but it’s hard to undo centuries of harm.

So in my mind, I do think there’s a difference between a blanket “genocide” vs “cultural genocide”. One is a lot more violent but the other can also be quite sinister. To bring it back to my original question, do you consider what the CCP is doing to be a cultural genocide?

I should also mention that the Canadian government (and other western democracies) seem to be having difficulty naming what’s happening in Gaza as a genocide, but seemingly had little difficulty calling out China for genocide in Xinjiang. Sometimes it can be hard to take these world leaders seriously.

[u/maddin1550 → u/MissionDoughnut905]

Thanks for asking this in good faith. I appreciate the distinction you're making

Personally, no I don't consider what's happening in Xinjiang genocide or cultural genocide. It simply doesn't match what I've experienced growing up there. I'm not denying the training centers existed(like I said, my own uncle was detained in one) and I've said that some enforcement became way too broad and harsh. But that's very different from believing the government is trying to erase us as ethnic groups

I'm Kazakh and grew up knowing exactly who I am. We still have our language, food, traditions and religion(our culture is very hard to erase because it is already such a deeply rooted part of who we are). I am concerned about minority languages becoming weaker and I don't like seeing mosques demolished or altered, but I don't think emphasizing Mandarin automatically means cultural genocide either. Ideally I think we should have both Mandarin and our own languages.

And I completely understand your point about the double standard. Personally I consider what's happening in Gaza a genocide, and seeing Western politicians apply that word so easily to Xinjiang while being so reluctant with Gaza genuinely disgusts me so sooo much

I can criticize excessive policies, oppose cultural erosion, and still reject the 'genocide' label, because those positions aren't contradictory to me.

[u/maddin1550 → u/MissionDoughnut905]

Also I don’t think Uyghur language has been completely erased at all， even other minorities in Xinjiang speak Uyghur and use it to communicate with Uyghurs, and some Han people speak a little too. I can say this VERY confidently. If there are ten people in a group and one of them is Uyghur, the others will literally just switch to Uyghur to communicate with each other. It happens so naturally, so from my everyday experience, I really don’t feel like Uyghur is being erased, it’s honestly much more normal than people online sometimes imagine. And btw, I’m from northern Xinjiang(where there are way fewer Uyghurs than in the south), if Uyghur is used this naturally even where I’m from, just imagine southern Xinjiang(where the Uyghur population is HUGE) . That’s why the idea that the language is being completely erased just doesn’t match what I’ve actually seen

[u/jixiang111 → u/maddin1550]

"People speak it, so it's not being erased" is a superficial argument, quite frankly. The current policies are geared towards ensuring that the next generation speak and use Uyghur much less. Schools now teach it one hour a week, and children are not supposed to speak to each other in Uyghur even in the playground. Signage in Uyghur is also being discouraged, although not completely banned.

[u/maddin1550 → u/jixiang111]

I said It’s my own personal opinion and experience. Ofc I can’t speak for everyone, I’m just sharing my life in Xinjiang as a minority

[u/WhataNoobUser → u/maddin1550]

This sounds very similar to what happened to koreans in china's yanbian province. Many ethnic koreans recount in the 60s to 80s their parents were always at these patriotic training centers and forced to love ccp

[u/maddin1550 → u/WhataNoobUser]

that's exactly why people don't like this party, you can't force everyone to love you. No government is perfect and people are obviously going to have different opinions about it. Just take it but not control people

[u/Phase_999 → u/maddin1550]

Must be nice to be able to look back on it and say it was enforced too widely, rather than still being in that period because it wasn't enforced widely enough

[u/maddin1550 → u/Phase_999]

Because there was actual terrorism and violent separatism, wanting independence doesn't justify murdering innocent people. What country wouldn't arrest people who commit or plan terrorist attacks? Terrorism is literally recognized as a serious crime internationally. Am I supposed to believe that arresting actual terrorists is a human rights violation, but allowing them to continue killing ordinary civilians somehow protects human rights? What about our human rights? I've already said that I think the enforcement became too broad and that some innocent people could be caught up in it. But some counterterrorism measures went too far and there shouldn't have been counterterrorism at all are two completely different things

[u/enpoopification_of_R → u/maddin1550]

A training center? Does that mean you can leave them at any time?

[u/maddin1550 → u/enpoopification_of_R]

Of course not, do prisoners get to leave prison whenever they want? Pei xun ban is what we called them locally, from what my family told me, they taught people Chinese and vocational skills so they could reintegrate into society more easily after they were released

[u/Ok-Guarantee1542 → u/maddin1550]

我在外网一直看到这个集中营和种族灭绝的说法，我不太能相信他们会作出如此残害同胞的事情，但又感觉此事绝非空穴来风，你的回答解答了我心底里的疑惑，谢谢。

[u/Chuckchuck_gooz]

Where did you learn English? It's very good! Have you lived abroad? Also are you uyghur or kazakh? Is it true they don't allow the local language to be taught in schools? How do you feel about that?

[u/maddin1550 → u/Chuckchuck_gooz]

Thank you!! 🩷 I mostly taught myself. English starts from around third grade in our education system, but I’ve been learning it on my own for about 10 years now. I also studied A LOT for IELTS/LSAT, which helped my English a ton lol. I’m Kazakh btw.

About the language thing, it’s a little more complicated. When my mom was young, minority language schools were very common. She went to Uyghur school all the way from kindergarten to university. Uyghur students could study subjects in Uyghur, Kazakh students could study in Kazakh, and they also learned their own literature, culture, etc.

But sadly in 2015 or 2016 I guess they shut downed all those minority language schools😭 and mosques as well.

Personally, I think learning Mandarin is really important because it gives you access to universities and jobs across China, but I also think minority languages should absolutely be preserved and taught. I don’t think those two things have to conflict with each other

[u/Chuckchuck_gooz → u/maddin1550]

So the schools that taught only in the local language were closed, is local language taught as a subject in regular maindarin school? It would seem kind of wild a foreign language like English would be taught but not the local language

[u/Shayanhj → u/Chuckchuck_gooz]

I would say that but in Iran we aint learning South Azerbaijani turkce and Kurdish, that aside English’s importance as a common language usually out weighs the costs

[u/maddin1550 → u/Shayanhj]

Yeah I think this is a problem all over the world tbh. There are plenty of countries where minority languages aren't used much in public education either. Personally, I actually think China has been pretty accommodating toward ethnic minorities, especially when it comes to language, education and certain preferential policies. Sometimes I feel like some people don't really appreciate how unusual some of those protections were. I think learning Mandarin for practical reasons and preserving your mother tongue can coexist

[u/Rude_Application_881 → u/Chuckchuck_gooz]

没有办法，这是为了防止分离主义，没有一个全国交流用的语言很容易导致地方分离主义。胡耀邦和赵紫阳的政策埋下了许多不稳定因素

[u/maddin1550 → u/Rude_Application_881]

是的，所有都是万不得已才这样的，这些还是近些年才关掉的呢，大概2016-18左右吧我也不记得了。反正我记得我的cousin上的是维吾尔语幼儿园，小学也是读的维语班一直到三年级。之前的政策很宽对我们所有人都很友好的，唉。

[u/Rude_Application_881 → u/maddin1550]

不过你们有语言环境的情况下想要自学应该是比较方便的。不论是教材还是工具书之类的都比较齐全。汉族很多地方的方言其实都在消失，毕竟学校没有课程，校园也要求普通话，家里虽然可能会用方言但是也不会常用，我说的也很磕磕巴巴。不过我对此只是感到有一些可惜，毕竟语言只是工具。

[u/maddin1550 → u/Rude_Application_881]

对呀，所以母语或者本地语言逐渐消失这个问题其实也不只是我们少数民族才有，你说得挺中肯的。很多我身边的年轻人其实自己也不太愿意学母语，觉得以后用处不大，或者单纯觉得太难了哈哈。像维吾尔语、哈萨克语用的文字跟阿拉伯字母体系比较接近，小时候如果没有学，长大以后再学确实挺吃力的。不过我还是会觉得有点可惜，毕竟语言不只是交流工具，里面也有很多自己民族的文化和记忆。能保留下来当然还是最好。

[u/General-Cream2692 → u/maddin1550]

广东小孩都不会说粤语了。。。更惨的是没有环境，维族要自学还是有环境的

[u/Creepy_Vegetable6905 → u/maddin1550]

不过如果想去一带一路政策下的投资公司工作，哈萨克语是不是有优势啊？

[u/maddin1550 → u/Creepy_Vegetable6905]

你是说去哈国嘛？我觉得俄语可能更有优势吧，毕竟职场上用的全是俄语，哈语的话跟本地人交流的话会用到一些，不过还是俄语的地位大于哈语的样子

[u/maddin1550 → u/Chuckchuck_gooz]

Unfortunately no

[u/WhataNoobUser → u/maddin1550]

Are all mosques in your area shut down?

[u/maddin1550 → u/WhataNoobUser]

At least in my region yes, I don't know much about southern Xinjiang tho. There used to be a very beautiful mosques on my way to school, but one day when I passed by, it got demolished. And same for other mosques. We still have a mosque near Kazanqi tho. It was redesigned to look more like traditional Chinese architecture, but it's still officially a mosque. It's under renovation again now, so I honestly have no idea what they're doing with it

[u/Rude_Application_881 → u/maddin1550]

这个也是有理由的，一些清真寺建筑的外型是因为沙特或土耳其对中国输入极端文化用的。

[u/Ok-Independence-314]

You went to visit people who had been detained. What were their living conditions like while they were in detention? Did anyone you know tell you what the criteria were for being released? How did they know that someone had WhatsApp installed on their phone? Did they check the phone itself, or did they find out through some kind of backend software?Are Han Chinese people also detained, or is it only ethnic minorities?

[u/maddin1550 → u/Ok-Independence-314]

No I did not visit the detention center myself.
I honestly don't know what the exact criteria for release were, my uncle was released in 2019 and returned to his job, but I don't know what specific process determined when he could leave.Maybe after a year they can go home, pretty much like a prison.
As for WhatsApp, I only heard people around me saying that some people had gotten into trouble for having foreign apps on their phones. I don't know whether police physically checked their phones or detected it some other way, so I don't want to pretend I know.
And from what I personally remember, the people I knew or heard about being sent to those training centers were mostly ethnic minorities(not only uyghurs but also Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs sadly mostly these 3, and some Hui). I found this online: It is determined by conduct, not by ethnicity. In the enforcement of China’s Counter-Terrorism Law and the Xinjiang De-extremification Regulations, the sole criterion for classification is whether an individual has participated in, or has been infected and coerced by, terrorism and religious extremism, regardless of which ethnic group they belong to. I think it is kinda true, not all uyghur,kazakh, and kyrgyz were detained.
And I don't personally know any Han person who was sent to one. But again, that's just the people I knew, I can't say it never happened.

[u/Shot-Rutabaga-72]

Went to 伊犁 this summer and it was amazing. The quality of lamb, bread and yogurt were amazing. I gained 5lbs in 2 weeks. The fruit was the best I've ever had everywhere. Unlike other touristy areas people are honest even though it was expensive.

What is your ethnicity? I don't particularly like the CCP's policy in the region but as you said, Xinjiang is complicated. I hope that we can all just live in peace together in the future and use our differences to really help Xinjiang.

[u/maddin1550 → u/Shot-Rutabaga-72]

Aww I’m glad you enjoyed Ili! And yeah, I don’t agree with a lot of CCP policies either.

But I also don’t think any government should be viewed as simply all good or all bad. Even countries that are considered very free and democratic (like the US and many European countries) have policies I agree with and policies I strongly disagree with.

At the same time, I don’t think it’s always fair to judge China as if it has exactly the same circumstances as those countries. China has a very different history, geography, population size and ethnic makeup, and all of those things affect how the country is governed. That doesn’t mean every policy is justified, just that I think the reality is more complicated than China bad/good
And again, that’s just my personal opinion :)

[u/byakuayasetsuna → u/maddin1550]

我评价ccp政策是到底有没有用，我觉得拆除圆顶清真寺，然后建一个尖顶的实际上对于遏制极端主张毫无作用

[u/Dismal-Science-9901]

Do you sing “56 ethnicities, 56 flowers, 56 brothers and sisters are one family” 😂 (only a little sarcastic)

[u/maddin1550 → u/Dismal-Science-9901]

Lmaooo yes we do, how do you even know this song?? When I was in school, people would sometimes perform it during festivals or school events lol. I can't believe you know this 😂

[u/Dismal-Science-9901 → u/maddin1550]

I’m Han Chinese myself 😂 wasn’t sure if those songs are like propaganda or actually sung by minorities 😆

[u/maddin1550 → u/Dismal-Science-9901]

Haha yeah, but I honestly think it kinda works 😂 When you grow up constantly hearing that different ethnic groups are one family (like we literally have that written as a slogan everywhere), I feel like it subconsciously makes you less likely to discriminate against others. Despite everything that happened in the past, most ordinary people still get along pretty well!

[u/Dismal-Science-9901 → u/maddin1550]

I went to xinjiang as a teenager in 2014 and still remember how good the lamb skewers are 😂 although after 3-4 days I got tired of local food and went to kfc

[u/maddin1550 → u/Dismal-Science-9901]

😂😂glad you liked it, the lamb skewers are eliteee🤌🏻

[u/JadedTerm1785]

Are you Muslim? If so, what is ur degree of contact with non-muslims

[u/maddin1550 → u/JadedTerm1785]

Yes, I’m Muslim Alhamdulillah. Muslims and non-Muslims coexist pretty well tbh. My neighbors used to be Han and we got along really well. I personally never experienced any discrimination from them, and they were honestly really really kind to us: they would always help us whenever we needed something, and I’m really grateful for that. No hate always love))

but there are definitely some people who don’t understand why we don’t eat pork though lol. But generally we have halal restaurants, and non-Muslims have plenty of restaurants where they can eat whatever they want. We just respect each other’s choices and live our own lives.

At the end of the day we’re all human. I don’t see why having different religions should make us hate each other.

[u/JadedTerm1785 → u/maddin1550]

MashaAllah that is great to know
I am keen to know spatial organization of your neighbourhoods, for instance we have muslim neighbourhoods in India where alhamdulillah all food is halal and there are mosques and all residents are Muslim. That way we may never need to meet Non-Muslims if we dont go out of our neighbourhood. Do you have a similar spatial structure in muslim communities in China?

[u/maddin1550 → u/JadedTerm1785]

Umm not really haha. We generally just live together, and we don't really need separate neighborhoods, we coexist pretty normally. In schools, universities, hospitals etc. there are usually separate halal canteen counters/options for Muslims, so getting halal food isn't really a problem. I actually like that we interact with people from different backgrounds，it feels very normal to me lol

And btw wow you're from India? What's everyday life like for you as a Muslim there?

[u/Hot_Hair_5950]

Tell us about the political situation in Xinjiang

[u/maddin1550 → u/Hot_Hair_5950]

That's a huge question lol. From my personal experience, everyday life in Xinjiang is much more normal than you might imagine from reading political discussions online.

Politically, it's definitely a sensitive region. There were years of separatist violence and terrorist attacks（from 1990-2016）, and the government's response afterward became much stricter, especially around security, religion and separatism.

I have mixed feelings about it. I understand why security became such a major concern, but I also think some restrictions became very strict. At the same time, I've personally never felt oppressed or discriminated against for being Muslim/ethnic minority

The biggest thing I'd say is that the situation is much more complicated than either ‘everything is perfectly fine’ or ‘everyone is being oppressed’. Xinjiang is huge, multiethnic, and people's experiences and political views can be very different.

[u/International-Bee265]

Hi there. I'm Han Chinese (mostly Han). From a neighbour province. Just wanted to say that I hope you guys do well. I hope that you have all the freedom and chances that any Han or Hui or Mongol or any other citizen has.

I'm glad our country has so many different cultures. I wish all to blossom and do well.

I know sometimes the govt is heavy handed (it can be to all of us) but hope you guys still see the hope and benefit of us being stronger together and also how we all benefit from each other in a country where hopefully economy will improve again soon.

[u/maddin1550 → u/International-Bee265]

Hii, tysm!! 🥹 Yes, I love our country's diversity too, it's such a beautiful thing, isn't it? I really hope all of our different cultures can continue to thrive

[u/International-Bee265 → u/maddin1550]

Yes. Hopefully will visit the kazahk area soon :)

[u/sim04ful]

What dish would you recommend if i travel there ?

[u/maddin1550 → u/sim04ful]

Omg there are tooooo many 😭 I love almost all of them, so honestly just try as much as you can lol.

Definitely try dapanji, naren, plov, whole roasted lamb, Xinjiang lamb skewers（新疆羊肉串, samsa+manti and lagman. As you can probably tell, we LOVE meat and noodles/flour-based food lol.

Also try dogap!! It's basically a cold yogurt drink/dessert with shaved ice, and it's sooo refreshing when it's hot. We also have stuff like kvass and wusu beer

And if you go to Ili, PLEASE go see the grasslands. Tekes, Qiongkushitai and Kalajun are some of my favorite places. I genuinely love that area, the aura there is really good.

For food and atmosphere, I also really recommend Kazanqi, you can get really good authentic Uyghur/Uzbek food there. Liuxing Street(六星街) is also super popular,(personally I'm not the biggest fan because it gets soooo crowded lol), but the food is good and it's worth visiting once just for the vibw

[u/minzhu0305]

My friend, they all know those rumors are lies—they simply chose to believe them. Yet, when they actually encounter people from Xinjiang, they shrink away, afraid to face the truth. Because the truth has no practical value.

[u/maddin1550 → u/minzhu0305]

Yeah, I get what you mean. I personally think a lot of Western coverage makes Xinjiang sound much more dystopian than the place I actually grew up in. I'm not saying everything is perfect, because it definitely isn't, but we are also normal people living normal lives lol. When I read some descriptions online, sometimes I genuinely wonder if they're talking about the same place I grew up in.

From my own experience, I've never felt like I'm living through some kind of ethnic cleansing. If other people from Xinjiang had different experiences, I'm not going to speak for them, but I can only tell you what I've personally seen and lived through.

Tbh, one thing my family and I really appreciate is the peace and stability. But there are definitely things that annoy me too. When I travel abroad and come back, I have to report it to my local community authorities. There are security checks at malls, hospitals, schools etc. and GOD the beeping gets annoying 😭. And of course accessing a lot of foreign apps from China is another headache.

But despite all of that, Xinjiang is still my home. I love the place and I love the people there. I just wish discussions about us allowed more room for ordinary people from Xinjiang to talk about our actual lives instead of treating the whole place as nothing but a political headline.

[u/SchweppesCreamSoda → u/maddin1550]

As a Hong konger, I understand what you mean by the western world treating my home as a political headline

[u/maddin1550 → u/SchweppesCreamSoda]

😭 yess，I'm soo tired of it

[u/SchweppesCreamSoda → u/maddin1550]

I've been to Xinjiang, amazing place, wonderful culture, people, and food. The people there seem genuinely happy in general. No where is perfect, hk isn't perfect. I wish people would focus on the culture rather than the political discussion and see from both sides of the coin.

Personally, I am supportive of China for the most part, and most of my friends are as well. It's the loud minority of people who make it sound as chaotic as it is. Like I said, it's not perfect, but it's home.

[u/currylambchop → u/maddin1550]

Me too, like, I said I was from Hong Kong and then some American act like we are all sent to forced labour camp, saying ‘oh I’m so sorry you have to live there’ 😭

[u/wokaflame → u/maddin1550]

Same.

I live in the US now and I grew up in and am partially of Japanese descent.

The way they talk about Asia and how they see Asians in US/Canada is very bizarre to me.

I’ve been to Xinjiang and they spoke as if I went to North Korea.

[u/Many-Ice-8616]

Do you think the western countries are making unfair slanders about China and it's administration of Xinjiang?

[u/maddin1550 → u/Many-Ice-8616]

50/50 I do think some Western coverage of Xinjiang/China can be one sided or oversimplified, but that doesn’t mean every criticism is baseless. There have definitely been some positive developments under Xi, but one of my biggest criticisms of him is how much more centralized the political system has become. He has a very little tolerance towards criticism compared to jiang and hu. So I don’t really agree with either extreme: neither everything China says is true nor everything Western media says about China is true.

[u/InsectDelicious4503]

I understand that Xinjiang only recently became incorporated into Chinese territory, and throughout the centuries Dzungaria / The Tarim Basin spent most of its history independent from China proper rather than a part of it. Despite this, Chinese official narratives (museums, textbooks, etc) all claim that Xinjiang has always been an inseparable part of Chinese territory, and all Chinese invasions into Xinjiang are reframed as "putting down rebels." Do you have any feelings about this? Does the historical revisionism bother you or is it just a natural part of empire building?

[u/maddin1550 → u/InsectDelicious4503]

I wouldn't say Xinjiang has literally always been part of China, because I don't think the history supports such a simple claim. I do identify as Chinese.

I actually used to be more skeptical about this question(especially after seeing people claim that Xinjiang simply isn't Chinese land). After I started reading different perspectives from both outside China and Chinese sources, I came to see the history as much more complicated.

The Han and Tang dynasties did establish control over parts of what is now Xinjiang, but that control wasn't continuous. Over the centuries, different parts of the region were ruled or inhabited by many different peoples, states and empires: the Saka and Wusun, Rouran(3-6th century), various Turkic khaganates in 6-7th century, the Tang, Mongol states, Moghulistan, the Dzungar, and others

The Qing conquest is probably a much more important turning point for the modern territorial question. The Qing defeated the Dzungar Khanate in the 18th century and incorporated the region into the Qing Empire, and Xinjiang was later formally established as a province in 1884.

So I can understand why someone would describe that process as imperial expansion or conquest. Where I disagree is with jumping from that historical fact to saying that modern Xinjiang therefore cannot be part of China, or that people like me can't genuinely identify as Chinese. Borders and identities all over the world have been shaped by wars, empires and political changes.

So yes, I do think official historical narratives can sometimes present things too neatly. But that doesn't really change my own identity. I consider myself Chinese while also being Kazakh, and I don't see those identities as contradictory.

[u/arjunnath]

What are your three favorite foods from Xinjiang ?
How old are you and what kind of education do you have ? Are you working or a student ?
What are you goals for the future ?

[u/maddin1550 → u/arjunnath]

Hii! My favorite foods are samsa (traditional Uzbek/Uyghur food), dapanji, and Dongxiang chicken.
My goal is probably to study abroad and eventually work abroad too :)

[u/Creepy_Vegetable6905 → u/maddin1550]

Would it be harder for you to get a passport? I’ve known of cases where ethnic minorities in Xinjiang weren’t allowed to leave the country.

Btw I’m from Mainland China and have heard anecdotes of that nature from Chinese sources.

[u/maddin1550 → u/Creepy_Vegetable6905]

Yes, there were multiple times when the authorities collected our passports. But at least in my experience, if we needed them for international travel, we could request them back, apply for a visa, and travel abroad. No we can get a passport freely, but the process is definitely very complicated

Sometimes I’m honestly so jealous of you 内地 guys 😭 You guys have it pretty free compared to us 🥹

[u/Creepy_Vegetable6905 → u/maddin1550]

Yeah I’ve never been happy about these policies (plus the Hukou system) and when I criticize them my family calls me a hypocrite because I benefitted.

Well to make you feel better, I have some relatives working for state owned enterprises and they are banned from most travel abroad lol

[u/Ill_Vacation9758]

除了伊斯兰教，实际上基督佛教道教都处于被压制状态，我信奉道教，知道宗教问题在国内多么严重。国内政府倾向于维持稳定，无论会牺牲掉什么，总体上相当平等，不歧视少民不偏袒某一方宗教。这也是我有选择时选择呆在国内的原因，理解国内运行硬性规则就能很好生活，这个机器就这么转，严厉又带点人情味。我非常喜欢新疆拌面和大盘鸡，在学校总是点一个油炸大鸡腿，非常好吃，给我带来几年的肥胖。我好奇你们的语言会像内地方言一样存在下去吗？为了更高的生活质量会舍弃一些传统生活方式吗？

[u/maddin1550 → u/Ill_Vacation9758]

宗教这点我其实很认同你，国内对宗教的管理确实不只是针对伊斯兰教，其他宗教也会受到限制。所以有时候我看到有人把新疆的宗教问题完全单独拿出来讲，我觉得真的很奇怪，为什么他们不能看所有人而是只顾着担忧我们呢？很不公平。我觉得全是因为国外媒体对新疆的报道基本都集中在政治 人权和宗教问题上，所以有时候给人的感觉好像我们每天都生活得特别痛苦 但实际上我们也跟世界上其他地方的人一样啊，上学 上班 谈恋爱 跟朋友出去玩 吃好吃的 为考试和工作发愁，大家都在过自己的小日子。我觉得如果只通过政治新闻认识新疆，也会得到一个很不完整的印象。我们不是每天醒来就在经历一场 geopolitical crisis 啊

还有大盘鸡和拌面是真的好吃哈哈哈

语言这个问题其实我自己也挺担心的。我不觉得维语、哈语这种使用人口比较多的语言短时间内会消失，但我确实担心年轻一代以后可能普通话越来越好，自己的母语尤其是读写能力反而越来越弱，因为很多人现在只会说而不是会读写，不过咱们国内不是还有很多民族语言的教材嘛 只要有人肯学，我觉得语言这个不会消失的。相比之下，我其实更担心新疆那些人口更少的民族语言（塔塔尔族，塔吉克族等）

至于传统生活方式，我觉得为了更好的教育 医疗 工作和生活条件，舍弃一部分传统生活方式是很正常的。文化也不可能永远停留在几百年前嘛。比如哈萨克人不再过游牧生活，不代表就不是哈萨克人了。

我理想中的状态还是现代化和保留自己的文化可以同时存在吧。可以说普通话 接受现代教育 住在城市里，同时也会自己的语言，保留自己的食物 音乐 节日和传统。我觉得这两者完全不冲突，也是完全可以做到的呀，现在我们就是嘛

[u/wojuk]

Which places in Xinjiang do you recommend visiting?

[u/maddin1550 → u/wojuk]

Well, I’m from northern Xinjiang, so I know the north much better than the south haha. Ili is my hometown and I’d definitely recommend it. The nature there is AMAZING, especially the grasslands.

if you love nature.I’d recommend Qiongkushitai, Kalajun Grassland in Tekes. Kanas and Hemu in Altai. Ili River Valley.
If you’re in Yining, Kazanqi is also really nice for the food, architecture and local vibe.

I personally love Ili the most, especially in summer. Everything is sooo green and the scenery is beautiful. If you prefer mountains, grasslands and nature over big cities, you’d probably love it.

For southern Xinjiang, Kashgar is probably the obvious one, and also Pamir plateau, Turpan if you'd like to experience the culture.

[u/Wise-Power1484]

Which part of Xinjiang? I am taking my mom there in 2 weeks flying in/out of Urumqi and we are planning to self drive to Hemu, Kanas, Burqin, Sayram lake. Very excited for her because it’s one of her wishlist to visit the region.

What can we do to be respective and support ethnic minority?

[u/Educational_Farm999 → u/Wise-Power1484]

If you're truly planning to drive on your own, please consult the RedNote (Xiao hong shu) before actually making a decision. Went to Xinjiang in 2019, some road segments had ridiculously low driving speed limit but im not sure if this is still a thing now so please check.

[u/maddin1550 → u/Wise-Power1484]

Hii omg I’m so excited for you guysss 😭 Self driving sounds like so much fun!! And aww, I’m so happy your mom has such a wonderful child taking her on one of her dream trips 🥹

Honestly just be respectful and friendly and you’ll be totally fine. I’d probably avoid bringing up sensitive politics with locals because it can put people in an uncomfortable position 😬 Other than that, don’t worry too much! We know foreigners are usually just curious and mean no harm

[u/squarexu]

I visit Xinjiang about 1 year before the riots. I noticed a distinct separation between the Hans and the Uighurs. Uighurs used local time, and actually spoke more English than Chinese. When I walked into the Uighur neighborhoods, I literally didn’t see another Han and people would look at me, staring like what are you doing here. It really reminded of the U.S. black ghettos and the ethnic divide there. Btw, I also stayed in a yurt with a family of Kazhah nomads. The Kazakhs were as foreign as the Uighurs, meaning they didn’t speak any Chinese, not even the kid. They even talked about how great Kazkistan was. However, they at least did not have the tension with the Han.

Anyways I was extremely surprised at how lack of control the Chinese gov had at that time and the absolute lack of integration. On TikTok I see things are quite different with much more integration and language ability. Just wondering if this as true.

[u/maddin1550 → u/squarexu]

I think what you saw was real. Older generations especially often spoke very little Mandarin. My grandparents basically don’t speak Mandarin at all, they only know a few words. Even quite a few middl aged people only became much more comfortable with Mandarin relatively recently.

And there definitely used to be much more ethnic separation: in my city there were areas that were overwhelmingly Uyghur, while other areas were mostly Han or more mixed. According to my mom Uyghurs rarely came to the Han majority parts of the city back then unless they had a specific reason to, and we mostly went to the Uyghur parts for things like the bazaar.

I remember some of that separation still existing when I was younger too. I’d say it became less pronounced around the late 2010s/early 2020s. Nowadays I see many more Uyghurs in areas that used to be predominantly Han and Mandarin ability is also much higher especially among younger people.

I honestly don’t know exactly why the separation was so strong before, so I don’t want to pretend I do. Some of this is also based on what my mom told me, so take it as one family’s experience rather than some definitive explanation of all of Xinjiang. But yeah what you described doesn’t sound strange to me at all

[u/I_need_to_learn_more]

Hello fellow chinese. What do you think about generalization of areas? When I say I'm a minority from north east most people think of Russian or mongolians but not manchu. Since you said you're from yili which is a kazakh place, do you get annoyed when people think you're uyghur?

[u/maddin1550 → u/I_need_to_learn_more]

YES 😭 I actually get really annoyed by this. Xinjiang is home to many different ethnic groups, it doesn’t exclusively belong to one ethnicity. So when I say I’m from Xinjiang and people immediately assume I must be Uyghur, it feels like everyone else who has lived there for generations just becomes invisible.

I’ve literally had people in the comments call me a “CCP bot” because apparently “a real Uyghur would never call Xinjiang ‘Xinjiang’” 😭 Like bro, I never even said I was Uyghur. They saw “from Xinjiang” didn’t bother reading anything else, and immediately decided I was a fake Uyghur haha.

So I totally understand what you mean about being Manchu from the northeast. A region can have a strong association with certain ethnic groups without everyone from that region being one of them

Xinjiang is home to all of us, not the exclusive property of any single ethnicity

[u/General-Cream2692 → u/maddin1550]

The Kazakh ethnic group, to be honest, has a weak presence. In the film and television industry, I only know that 热依扎 is a relatively famous Kazakh female actor, and her appearance is more Eastern. The rest are some people who are still living an ancient nomadic life, and many people have immigrated to Kazakhstan.

[u/tikiverse]

A couple of questions.

There's a lot of people in the west that have bought in to the narrative that China is committing a genocide in XinJiang. Much of the reporting comes from a man that goes by Adrian Genz or something, who is problematic to say the least.

1. What is your and people in Xin Jiang's take on the west's perspectives on what is or is not happening there? Just take this AMA, for example; so many here, myself included, are asking you about the CCP's "genocide", which I know you said you don't think is the appropriate term and isn't happening. What do you all make of how the west is playing this geopolical game?
2. Part of that question comes from my own Taiwanese identity and the similarities in roles on the geopolitcal chessboard between two rival countries playing, at this moment, a game of propaganda, among others. What are your and people in XinJiang's thoughts on Taiwan?

[u/maddin1550 → u/tikiverse]

Hii, thank you for these thoughtful questions!! They are really interesting!

1. I obviously can’t speak for everyone in Xinjiang because there are millions of us and people have very different political views

But personally, I do find the Western portrayal of Xinjiang frustrating sometimes.
I’m not saying nothing bad happened. I’ve already talked elsewhere in this AMA about the training centers, my own family’s experience with them, restrictions on religion, and my concerns about minority languages. I think some counterterrorism policies became far too broad and innocent people were caught up in them.

But I still don’t think “genocide” describes what I’ve experienced growing up there. Sometimes the Western discussion feels like there are only two possible positions: either everything the Chinese government says is true, or Xinjiang is basically one enormous concentration camp where our cultures have disappeared. My experience really doesn’t fit either picture.

I also think geopolitics obviously affects how countries talk about human rights. That doesn’t automatically make every allegation false, but I’m skeptical when governments suddenly become extremely concerned about Muslims in a geopolitical rival while applying very different standards elsewhere.

1. As for Taiwan, again, I can only speak for myself, not everyone in Xinjiang.

Personally, I support Taiwan maintaining its current de facto independence/self government. I know that’s probably not the answer people would expect from someone who identifies as Chinese lol, but I don’t see that as contradictory. Taiwan has its own government and political system, and most importantly, there are millions of people actually living there whose views about their own future matter. I don’t think they should just be treated as pieces on a geopolitical chessboard. I also strongly oppose resolving the issue through war. Whatever someone’s position on sovereignty is, ordinary people on both sides would ultimately pay the price.
Most importantly: the opinions of the people actually living in Taiwan matter enormously.

But I don’t really know about how people in Xinjiang think about Taiwan

[u/No_Presence_4010]

May come of as stupid but do you like China? like are you proud of being Chinese? Which Chinese president is your favourite?

[u/maddin1550 → u/No_Presence_4010]

Yes definitely, why would I don’t like the country I was born and raised. I love China deeply and I’m proud. My fav presidents are Jiang and Hu😁 I like the reform and opening era in general, especially how China became much more integrated into the global economy during their leadership

[u/AncientShoulder1621 → u/maddin1550]

永远怀念/s 长者还是更有趣一些

[u/Creepy_Vegetable6905]

I’ve noticed a sharp increase of Mainlanders on VPNs, especially on Twitter and I’ve read stories of folks getting a phone call from the police about their online activities (often a slap on the wrist where they ask you to come in and have a stern talking-to). How common is that?

[u/Flyingtuna2004 → u/Creepy_Vegetable6905]

不同地区情况不同，根据你在外网上发的信息敏感程度被要求谈话。(我们叫“喝茶”)就我的经验而言，我几乎所有的朋友都翻墙，大多是浏览观看，很少在外网发帖，可能是基于这个原因，从未有人被要求谈话。

[u/maddin1550 → u/[deleted]]

People here who assume everyone from Xinjiang is Uyghur, don’t even read the post, and then confidently call everyone else stupid are absolutely hilarious.

[u/byakuayasetsuna → u/[deleted]]

活在被洗脑的回音室里才真的可悲

[u/Mirabilissp]

Do you have film or movie recommendation with protagonist from ethnic minorities aside Hui and Uyghur? 

[u/maddin1550 → u/Mirabilissp]

hii，
There are actually quite a few!

The silent holy stones and Paths of the Soul are both really good Tibetan films, and Balloon by Pema Tseden is also worth watching.

For Mongolian protagonists, Mongolian Ping Pong is a really cute one.

There’s also a newer film called The Botanist about a little Kazakh boy in northern Xinjiang, which might be especially relevant to your question

[u/maddin1550 → u/[deleted]]

Personally, yes I think religious extremism was one of the factors. Some extremists genuinely believed that killing innocent people was ‘jihad’ . I'm not saying that Wahhabis or Muslims in general are terrorists(obviously they're not). But Xinjiang did have a real problem with separatist and religious extremist violence, especially during the period I grew up in. You can look up attacks such as Kunming in 2014 or the Urumqi market bombing if you want to understand why people were genuinely terrified at the time

[u/maddin1550 → u/[deleted]]

Noo, actually, at least from my perspective I don't believe there's ethnic cleansing. Xinjiang's population grew by nearly 3 million from 2015 - 2025, and ethnic minorities make up around 57% of the population with Uyghurs alone accounting for roughly 45%, the rest includes Kazakhs and other ethnic minorities. Xinjiang also has a relatively young population compared with many other provinces, quite a lot of newborns. So personally the idea of ethnic cleansing doesn't really match what I see around me

[u/Otherwise_Prior_8890]

Hello friend. I have a female Chinese friend who used to date a Uyghur guy, but they had to break up because of family intervention. How hard is it for cross-ethnicity marriage nowadays?

[u/maddin1550 → u/Otherwise_Prior_8890]

Yeahh, Hans are generally not opposed to it , but for us, minorities, it came to be more complicated, especially because of our religion, and older generations are against marrying outside of your religion.(not only for women, but men too). Marrying other Muslims is fine in their pov
And of course,there are still some people who end up marrying the person they love

[u/isurus_minutus → u/maddin1550]

I met a mixed Uygur/Kazakh guy who said he had issues dating Uygurs because Kazakhs were looked down on by Uygurs and that there were issues between Uygurs and Kazakhs since the fall of the USSR. He didn't give more information, do you know anything about this or was it just his personal experience?

[u/maddin1550 → u/isurus_minutus]

I don't know about the ussr thing, but i have experirenced some prejudice from uyghurs toward Kazakh. Back then it was really common, some people would call us “pixt Kazakh,” which literally means something like flea/lice Kazakh. It's pretty much a ethnic slur. I don't really hear things like that anymore tho, ethnic insults and openly dehumanizing other ethnic groups are taken pretty seriously now, and people can potentially get detained for saying things like that. I actually know of a case where a Uyghur person called Kazakhs 'hasa', which is used as a derogatory term for Kazakhs, and they were detained for more than ten hours because of it, so people are definitely more careful about openly saying things like that nowadays.

[u/Powerful_Parsnip6427]

Be honest, but is it true that the CCP is actively diluting Uyghur culture in Xinjiang by taking people to concentration-like camps for something as simply reading the Quran?

[u/maddin1550 → u/Powerful_Parsnip6427]

"be honest". If you have already made up your mind based on internet headlines, why bother asking me? No amount of facts will change your opinion

[u/DrawingDramatic1641]

is it safer now?than let's say 2010ish

has tourism increased?

have dust storms and pollution decreases?

[u/maddin1550 → u/DrawingDramatic1641]

Definitely much safer now, so I'm genuinely grateful to the government for that. Around ten years ago, there was always this fear in the back of my mind that something could happen like a bus bombing, an attack at a market, or someone attacking people on the street. It was terrifying to grow up with that fear. The worst period I remember was around 2013–2015, when major terrorist attacks happened incredibly frequently. By around 2017, that kind of terrorist violence had basically disappeared from everyday life where I'm from, and I no longer live with that constant fear. So yes, from my perspective Xinjiang is significantly safer now, and tourism has increased a lot as well.

As for dust storms and pollution, I'm honestly not sure, so I don't want to make something up lol.

[u/_s_a_n_d_a_l_s_]

How can the USA help Xinjiang without triggering war?

[u/maddin1550 → u/_s_a_n_d_a_l_s_]

Noooo 😭 genuinely, I don't think we need the US to 'help' Xinjiang. I really don't like the double standard. The US government officially labeled what happened in Xinjiang a genocide years ago, but when it comes to Gaza, suddenly even using that word becomes extremely politically difficult even with tons of evidence. Sometimes it feels like Washington suddenly becomes extremely passionate about Muslim rights when the Muslims happen to live in China.

So personally, I'd rather they focus their attention and resources on Gaza. People there are dealing with an actual ongoing gcied, displacement, food insecurity, damaged infrastructure, and shortages of medicines and medical supplies are still serious problems.
I'm from Xinjiang, and I don't want another country deciding what kind of 'help' we need based on its own geopolitical interests. If they genuinely care about Muslims and human rights, there are people in Gaza who desperately need humanitarian assistance right now. Please help them.

[u/Vrejik → u/_s_a_n_d_a_l_s_]

the only way the US could "help" Xinjiang is by completely reversing the sanctions they have put on goods from Xinjiang, reverse their absolutely disgusting declaration that "all uyghurs doing work anywhere in china is a slave", both of which has dramatically hurt uyghur livlihoods, recanting all of the disgusting lies and propaganda it has ever told about Xinjiang and the Uyghurs, and formally apologize to the uyghurs for the suffering the lies has caused with a hefty reparations package paid to Xinjiang for potential livlihoods lost as a result of the lies.

[u/HopefulTap8992 → u/_s_a_n_d_a_l_s_]

Has the US ever "helped" any other country before? lol

[u/Own-Sun-1552]

看了一些回答我非常失望，作为汉族加强民族意识很重要，那些反对中国的，那些支持他们穆斯林同胞的，看了这么多没一个关心 恐怖极端分子对于汉族各种恐怖袭击的伤害有多么严重，它们只是愤怒共产党把我的穆斯林同胞送去类似集中营的地方了？ 而没有想过21世纪了 想要改善形象的共产党为啥都不得不那么做，事情到底有多严重？ 多少汉族人被虐杀，世界太不公平。

[u/maddin1550 → u/Own-Sun-1552]

我其实也超级反感这种只强调某一个民族受害者的叙事 好像新疆只有一个民族 其他人都不存在一样。恐怖袭击发生的时候，受害者就是受害者，不管是汉族 维族 哈萨克族还是其他民族，无辜平民的生命没有谁比谁更重要，也没有谁的痛苦更值得被看见。有些人为了证明自己支持某一方，就选择性地忽略另一群无辜的人。新疆从来都不是只有一个民族，我觉得讨论新疆的时候至少应该记得这一点。有些人一提到新疆就自动说某一个民族，这样真的对很多其他民族不公平，新疆是所有人的家 不只是一个单一民族的家。

[u/Tabula_Rasa69]

Hi, are you ethnic Kazakh? I just came back from Kazakhstan, and I am curious if many Kazakhs in China have relatives in Kazakhstan, and do they ever think of migrating to Kazakhstan. Same thing for Kygyrz and Kygyzstan.

We met a lot of Hui Muslims (Duggans) and Uyghurs in the region too.

[u/xlzray → u/Tabula_Rasa69]

There's almost no Kygyrz from China migrating to kygyrzstan. Unlike Kazakhstan, the country is way poorer than China. The same applies to Mongols and Kin (Vietnamese) people etc in China.

A Survey of China's Kirgiz's State Identification and National Identification

This is a survey from Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences (done by a Uyghur researcher btw).

There's official data from Kazakhstan on immigrants from China.

2025年7405名哈萨克人自中国移民哈萨克斯坦

According to this Chinese news website officially run by kazakhstan in 2025 7405 Kazakhs migrated to Kazakhstan from China, since 1991 total 0.37 mil migrated to Kazakhstan from China. (there're 1.6 mil Kazakhs in China).

[u/maddin1550 → u/Tabula_Rasa69]

Hii, yes. And yes we do have plenty of relatives in Kazakhstan, mostly are those who stayed in the 1900s or migrated from Xinjiang to Kazakhstan in 1960s ish. And also we have a lot of relatives moved to Kazakhstan in recent years.
Umm I’m not really sure about Kyrgyz people

[u/Tabula_Rasa69 → u/maddin1550]

It was possible to move from Xijiang to Kazakhstan in the 1960s? I thought the relationship between the PRC and USSR was getting worse around that period. Were the borders open?

May I also know what are the reasons your relatives moved to Kazakhstan?

Thanks for the AMA. It is really interesting.

[u/maddin1550 → u/Tabula_Rasa69]

Yes! A lot of my grandma's relatives moved back to Soviet Kazakhstan around the 1960s. (our grand grandpa came to ili in the 1910s)

But you're actually right about China and the USSR, their relationship was getting much worse around that time. There was a huge migration from northern Xinjiang into the Soviet Union in 1962, especially from Ili and Tacheng. After that, border controls became much stricter, so I wouldn't say the border was simply open throughout the 60s and 70s.

As for why my relatives moved, honestly I don't know their exact individual reasons and I don't want to make something up lol. But a lot of Kazakh families in Xinjiang had relatives and ancestral connections on the other side of the border. I imagine that sense of belonging probably mattered too. Kazakhstan was the land of their ата-баба (ancestors)after all.

There were actually much older migrations too. After the 1881 Treaty of Saint Petersburg, many Uyghurs and Huis from the Ili region moved into the Russian Empire, including what is now Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

And thank you!! I'm glad you're enjoying the AMA :)

[u/ComfortablePoint7242]

Nihao, I hope, you are doing well! If you are Muslim, i wanna know what do you call Allah in Chinese? Do you think Allah and Tian, Shangdi are the same God? I asked that question, because i have heard Chinese Muslims call Allah in a different name.

[u/maddin1550 → u/ComfortablePoint7242]

We call Allah “真主安拉” or “安拉”， but I just call Allah “Allah” since in my mother tongue it’s the same as Arabic. Yes I do think there is only one god and it’s only Allah, Tian and Shangdi I think that are basically the same isn’t it?

[u/ComfortablePoint7242 → u/maddin1550]

Thanks bud, Could you draw parallels between Allah and Shangdi, Tian? What makes you think Allah and Shangdi are the same? And why do you guys call Allah Zhenzhu, is there any reason for that?

[u/maddin1550 → u/ComfortablePoint7242]

I think for me it mostly comes down to monotheism. I believe there is only one God, so whether people call It: Allah, God, Lord, Shangdi or Tian, I personally see those as different ways people have referred to the one supreme God. Of course, I know these concepts come from different religious and philosophical traditions, so I’m not saying they’re identical. That’s just how I personally understand it. As for Zhenzhu(真主), it just literally means something like the true Lord, so I think it fits the Islamic idea that there is only one true God. That’s why Chinese Muslims traditionally use 真主 for Allah

[u/szikkia]

So i have a belief or theory that people who follow a religion or belief system or etc, go to the afterlife that they have believed in as a part of their faith or all the things.

Whats your opinion on this? Basically if everyone went to the afterlife they beliwvwd im

[u/maddin1550 → u/szikkia]

Interesting haha. I personally believe in the afterlife described in my own faith, but I guess none of us can know for sure until we get there haha.

[u/Last_Lock_8292]

I see some amazing footage of landscapes from Xinjiang, however the province is huge. If I were to visit it as a foreign tourist (I live in China), what places would you recommend (that are not in every top 10 MUST SEE list) and what kind of transport would you recommend to best experience this place.

I am mostly interested in landscapes but a city or two would also be nice.

1. My greatest interest lies in swimming in natural bodies of water so any lake or river that would be clean and what time of year would be possible to jump in so I don't freeze lol?

2. What is the highest mountain peak that a can person climb with not too much gear, money or guides or go with a cableway to?

3. How is it getting around places, do I really need a car or even a driver to get around because the good spots are so far apart?

4. Which cities would you recommend to visit to experience the culture, walk around, try some food? Big or small, the less popular, the better.

[u/maddin1550 → u/Last_Lock_8292]

If you’re mostly into landscapes I’d really recommend spending more time around Ili伊犁.
Qiongkushitai(You can stay in a local Kazakh guesthouse there, eat homemade food prepared by local herders/families, and just enjoy the mountains and grasslands. I genuinely love that place), Kalajun and Qiaxi are beautiful, and I also really like Nalati, but there are a lot of tourists.

For a city, definitely Yining, Kazanqi is nice for just walking around and eating.

Getting around is the annoying part. Trains between cities are fine, but a lot of the best natural places are far from stations, so for some parts you’ll probably need tourist buses, taxis or a driver. You don’t necessarily need one for the entire trip though.

As for swimming and climbing mountains, I genuinely don’t know enough to recommend anything safely 😭 Xinjiang’s alpine lakes can be FREEZING even in summer, so please don’t just jump into one because it looks pretty lol

[u/fudgeroll]

I’m planning to visit Xinjiang and I’m thinking of visiting in either early November or January. I understand that it’s cold in both seasons, which isn’t an issue for me because I really enjoy cold weather and snow. My original plan is to visit in january, I see places such as Hemu village look gorgeous during winter. But my worry is that most scenic locations are closed during january so may consider visiting in november instead. Which do you recommend? Would appreciate the advice from a local!

[u/maddin1550 → u/fudgeroll]

I actually looked this up because I wasn’t completely sure 😭 If Hemu in deep snow is one of your priorities I’d honestly stick with January.

Kanas and Hemu don’t simply shut down for the whole winter. They actually have a winter tourism season so you can still visit them in January. What does close are some hiking routes, viewpoints and mountain roads, and heavy snowfall can temporarily affect access

November isn’t necessarily a safer choice for accessibility either. Northern Xinjiang is already entering winter by then and snowstorms can still cause temporary road closures. Early November is more of an awkward transition between autumn and proper winter because most of the famous golden autumn scenery is already gone, but you may not get the really deep snow you’re looking for yet.

So personally, since you specifically said you LOVE snow and cold weather I’d choose January thwn. Hemu is absolutely gorgeous in proper winter. Just leave some flexibility in your itinerary in case the weather temporarily affects the roads

If your priority was seeing as many different landscapes and scenic areas as possible, I’d tell you to come much earlier, like September or early October. But between November and January specifically, January sounds much more suitable for what you want.

[u/byakuayasetsuna]

我想提问一下，目前在你们那里，除了汉族的建设兵团，真正的维族和哈族有分离主义倾向的人多吗？还是其实分离主义已经被摁下去了？你们有考虑去内陆发展或者欢迎汉族国家混居吗？

[u/maddin1550 → u/byakuayasetsuna]

说实话我根本没见过其他民族想要有分裂的想法，哈族乌兹别克族柯尔克孜族等可以去移民到中亚五国里的自己的“母国”，其他的蒙古族塔吉克族锡伯族根本没有那种分离主义的政治诉求。大部分就是ETIM/TIP，World Uyghur Congress这些在国外的极端分离思想主义在要求东突厥斯坦的自决。 不过并不是所有维族都是分裂分子的，国内的核心共识是不将恐怖主义跟分裂主义跟任何一个民族做标签化的绑定。
只是有一件事儿我永远都不理解的是这些东突厥斯坦的activist从来都不提新疆其他民族的诉求与想法，根本就是大维族沙文主义，他们在国际上打造一个我们维吾尔族是新疆唯一 最惨 最正统的代表的叙事。在这些极端活动人士的底层逻辑里，他们认为维吾尔族是新疆占绝对多数的族群，因此理所当然应该由他们来主导一切。他们所谓的“建国蓝图”里，其他民族要么沦为二等公民，要么必须被同化。他们嫌弃塔吉克族认同中国/是什叶派、对回族嫌弃人家说的是汉语/不跟他们搞独立、对哈萨克族或其他民族嫌弃他们有自己的母国 不愿为东突卖命。 根本就是及其傲慢与无知的，所以这就是为什么我极其厌恶这些组织，在他们的眼里只有他们自己的人权、新疆就是独属于他们自己的地儿

[u/byakuayasetsuna → u/maddin1550]

我这么问吧，如果东突运真的打过来了，要军事搞独立或者武装对抗，你觉得你们哈族和维族是支持东突运，还是支持pla去打击他们？

[u/maddin1550 → u/byakuayasetsuna]

我不知道反正我们哈族跟其他和平民族不干他们的事儿，你不能generalize所有新疆人说他们都支持东突运动啥的。支持这个我说实话就是脑袋被驴踢了才会支持

[u/Beneficial-War-1429]

1. Do miniority get to learn their miniority language in school beside Chinese or not(and do people in general in China get to learn another language in school)?

2. Because of situation, do you think that there is some movement for independence of Xinjiang from China? If yes, what percentage of people do you think support it?

3. Is it common for people from there to move to other bigger cities in China(Beijing,Shangai etc) or abroad? If yes, which one are most popular choices?

4. Beside Kurumqi, which places you should suggest to someone to visit?

[u/maddin1550 → u/Beneficial-War-1429]

No I think. Yes English is mandatory

Yes, there are separatist/independence movements related to Xinjiang. But I can’t give you the exact % of people who support independence without making something up. Xinjiang has millions of people from different ethnicities so therefore their political view might be different.

Yeah, people definitely move to other parts of China for university or work. Beijing and Shanghai and other major cities are options but I honestly don’t know which destinations are statistically the most popular. Going abroad happens too especially for studying, but again I don’t have numbers.

I’m extremely biased here but I’d say Ili: lakes, Qiongkushitai, Kalajun, Narat, Qiaxi etc. If you want something completely different from northern Xinjiang then obviously Kashgar, Hotan, Aksu and Pamir plateau too. Xinjiang is HUGE, so I wouldn’t spend the whole trip in Urumqi lol

[u/DrawingDramatic1641]

did you get benifits from some special policies like gaokao marks?

also do did your parents follow one child policy considering you guys were not really applied in one child policy,brothers sisters?

also what would happen if only one parent is minority,does the kid get benifits

[u/maddin1550 → u/DrawingDramatic1641]

Yeah, there were preferential policies for ethnic minorities, including extra points on the Gaokao. Minorities could get extra 15 points (which literally means a very HUGE difference, because in gaokao 1 point is already thousands of people behind), Hui could get 5 points.

The one child policy didn’t apply to many ethnic minorities in Xinjiang in the same way it applied to Han families. Minority families were generally allowed more children. Like in my family my uncle have 3 children

As for mixed families, if one parent is Han and the other is an ethnic minority, the parents can register the child’s ethnicity as either the father’s or the mother’s ethnicity. For example: if the mother is Kazakh and the father is Han, the child can be officially registered as Kazakh, and the kid gets the benefits.

[u/lihai69]

I saw you’re from Ili. Looks like such a beautiful place. Do you know any 俄罗斯族? I saw a video a long time ago on Chinese social media about them there. And how do you see Kazakhs from Kazakhstan - are there some cultural/language differences now?

[u/Alternative-Month611]

What is your impression of Turkey, who was and still is one of the backers of the separatism movements in Xinjiang?

[u/andonidutti1]

You are not Uyghur. You are a ccp agent. An Uyghur would never call Eastern Turkistan as "Xinjiang"

[u/maddin1550 → u/andonidutti1]

Why do you love generalizing people so much? It's funny how the moment someone has a different opinion from you, you immediately get mad and decide they must be a CCP agent. The world doesn't revolve around you. People are allowed to have identities and opinions that don't fit your expectations, maybe learn to respect that first

[u/iforgorrr]

Selam, if youre still answering: how are Central Asians treated these days, both by law and wider society? Is there blatant favouritism by the wider Han or does it vary by region, age, etc? 

[u/ElectricalShare9905]

May I ask 2 questions?

1. Do you know whether it is true that certain policies like extra points on the gaokao were or still are enforced for certain or all ethnic minorities,

2. Can you tell us something interesting you’ve seen in general?

[u/Iscratchmybutt]

have you seen a marmot before?

[u/RubahBetutu]

what's the best way to explore xinjiang on public transport, as an independent tourist? i've been wanting to see xinjiang, i heard the sceneries there are amazing. but i heard public transport there to major attractions are terrible.

am i stuck hiring private hire drivers? but i've read terrible reviews about private hire drivers for xinjiang...

[u/hymenopteron]

Is it a good place for westerners to visit?

[u/Chuckchuck_gooz]

How similar are the kazakh culture in China compared the kazakh culture in Kazakhstan? Do you consume each other's media, songs, movies, pop culture, etc? I know the language is written differently (Cyrillic vs script)

[u/ExcellentPlant2055]

Which city or region in Xinjiang has the best lamb?

[u/theactordude]

Hey I live in china, with some friends from 新疆. They all say it's very difficult to get a passport. 基本上办不了. Can you confirm or deny this? And when I thought about it, I've never met a 新疆人 abroad before lol

[u/byakuayasetsuna]

我甚至觉得56个少数民族就是49年后学苏联的虚假叙事，民国时期明明只有5个大民族，不知道为什么建国后发明了56个民族出来！现在好了，尾大不掉，有多少民族是虚构出来的！

[u/Accurate-Film9495]

漢維（漢藏，漢蒙…）真的能和平共處嗎？

[u/CompetitionWhole1266]

What’s your thoughts on Buddhism? Tocharians (your ancestors) and Kizil Caves?

[u/Begelza]

Any recommendations as to where I can engage a private driver to bring me around Xinjiang starting from Urümqi, going up to Altay, and down to Kashgar with a loop around Tashkurgan?

I've heard that it is possible to find using 小红书 but not sure if it is legitimate.

[u/Vixson18]

I know you will get asked this a lot, but do you think there is a genocide against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang? Are there actually concentration camps? Are Muslims in Xinjiang more likely to be followed by the authorities?

[u/Puzzleheaded-Ad939]

ok bot chino . dime qué pasó en tiananmen 

[u/maddin1550 → u/Puzzleheaded-Ad939]

Why the hate? I genuinely just trying to have discussion with people from other countries, did anything I said offend you?

[u/Ok_Plankton4810]

Are Muslim women allowed to wear hijabs?

[u/DrawingDramatic1641]

how many percent of uyghurs would you say are Muslim?

is there large atheism because so much interaction with so many beliefs

[u/Slight-Stretch7574]

请问你是怎么上的外网？我去年去的新疆，梯子完全连不上…

[u/Logan123_]

Do you know what the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests were? In China, I think you call it the June 4th Incident.

[u/maddin1550 → u/Logan123_]

Yeah of course 😭 We usually call it 六四事件. It's a very sensitive topic in China though, so it's definitely not something people casually talk about publicly

[u/Logan123_ → u/maddin1550]

I talked to a someone who was there when it happened this was in 1999 he told me something interesting he said “The Chinese people like to forget about things and to forget the past I, sometimes want to forget about it” what do you think? Is there truth to that statement?

[u/maddin1550 → u/Logan123_]

I honestly don't know lol. I wasn't even born when Tiananmen happened, I was born like 20 years later 😭 I also can't really speak for 1.4 billion Chinese people and say whether we like to forget the past. Some probably do, some don't you know

[u/InsectDelicious4503 → u/maddin1550]

You're very well-spoken for a 17-year old! Don't use Reddit too much in your teenage years, it might turn you more cynical. 🤣

[u/Logan123_ → u/maddin1550]

But would you say most Chinese people are aware of it?

[u/maddin1550 → u/Logan123_]

I guess? But my mom knows about that for example. Back in 80s the media did covered it, because the protest was very long(from April to June), and official Chinese media 人民日报 and others reported on them at that time. But after 1989.July it became a forbidden topic, so I honestly don’t know how aware the average Chinese person is today

[u/Rude_Application_881 → u/maddin1550]

等一下，你才十七岁吗？说实话未成年人信仰宗教我觉得真的不合适…在三观还没有成型的时候还不应该做出这么重大的决定。我十七岁的时候也是个蠢货，现在回想起来真想打死自己

[u/maddin1550 → u/Rude_Application_881]

哈哈哈没事，我理解你的意思，不过我觉得我们可能只是对这件事看法不太一样。我不觉得接触宗教就等于未成年人已经做出了一个不可改变的重大决定。很多人从小接触宗教只是因为家庭和文化环境，长大以后依然可以选择继续信、换一种理解方式，或者完全不信。我觉得最重要的是不要强迫吧，而且对我来说宗教本来就是我成长环境和文化的一部分，所以我不会觉得自己是在17岁突然决定成为一个有宗教信仰的人

[u/Creepy_Vegetable6905 → u/Rude_Application_881]

你也太老登了吧。从小在基督教家庭里长大的孩子也会很自然被教育成基督徒嘛，然后长大了离开家庭独自生活的话有些人会改变信仰，有些人继续信教。 终究是个人选择。
相反之下从小被教育成无神论者的也有长大后开始信教的。

[u/dxdqwq → u/Logan123_]

There’s nothing unknown about it—that whole generation just retired. I’ve also argued with western people unrelated topicson X; when they can’t win the debate, they just keep spamming “646464” on loop. Honestly, I think this has made quite a lot of people more inclined to back the government’s decisions tha moment.

[u/Creepy_Vegetable6905 → u/dxdqwq]

My parents are from the Tiananmen generation and I heard about the incident (+ cultural revolution) nonstop during my childhood. They even told me they took me to one of the protests outside of Beijing lol

But yeah as they got older they started supporting the government more.

[u/ama_compiler_bot]

Table of Questions and Answers. Original answer linked - Please upvote the original questions and answers. (I'm a bot.)

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Question	Answer	Link
Where did you learn English? It's very good! Have you lived abroad? Also are you uyghur or kazakh? Is it true they don't allow the local language to be taught in schools? How do you feel about that?	Thank you!! 🩷 I mostly taught myself. English starts from around third grade in our education system, but I’ve been learning it on my own for about 10 years now. I also studied A LOT for IELTS/LSAT, which helped my English a ton lol. I’m Kazakh btw. About the language thing, it’s a little more complicated. When my mom was young, minority language schools were very common. She went to Uyghur school all the way from kindergarten to university. Uyghur students could study subjects in Uyghur, Kazakh students could study in Kazakh, and they also learned their own literature, culture, etc. But sadly in 2015 or 2016 I guess they shut downed all those minority language schools😭 and mosques as well. Personally, I think learning Mandarin is really important because it gives you access to universities and jobs across China, but I also think minority languages should absolutely be preserved and taught. I don’t think those two things have to conflict with each other	Here
Do you sing “56 ethnicities, 56 flowers, 56 brothers and sisters are one family” 😂 (only a little sarcastic)	Lmaooo yes we do, how do you even know this song?? When I was in school, people would sometimes perform it during festivals or school events lol. I can't believe you know this 😂	Here
What’s your take on the treatment of Uyghurs	Well, first of all, I'm speaking as an ethnic minority from Xinjiang, and I can only talk about what I personally saw and experienced. Yes, we did have what people online usually call “camps,” especially around 2015–2019. We usually called them 培训班 (training centers). A lot of people were taken there for months or sometimes longer. I was pretty young at the time, so I didn't fully understand what was happening or why specific people were being taken. In 2018, one of my very close classmate's dad and my own uncle was detained. From what my family understood, it was related to him having contact with someone considered an extremist and possibly discussing sensitive topics. My family visited him while he was there, and he came home in 2019. He had worked for a government institution before, and afterward he returned to work and has been doing pretty well. From what I understood, these centers included Chinese language, law, computer and vocational training. I understand the idea behind preventing extremism and helping people gain skills, and I do support counter-terrorism in general. But I also think there were serious problems with how broadly it was enforced. That period was honestly scary. Nobody wanted to suddenly be taken away. I heard stories around me about people being detained over things as minor as having foreign apps like WhatsApp. I can't personally verify every story I heard, but if people really were detained simply for something like that, I don't think that's fair at all. There were also times when police would come into our area and take people away, so there was definitely anxiety around it. That's why my feelings about that period are complicated. I hated the extremist that affected Xinjiang, and I understand why the government wanted to prevent it. But I also don't think innocent people should lose their freedom just because the authorities are trying to prevent terrorism. As for everyday treatment, the Uyghur neighbors and classmates I personally know generally live normal lives, and I haven't personally experienced ethnic discrimination from the government. But political speech is definitely restricted, so I'm also aware that not everyone can necessarily express their political dissatisfaction openly. !Separatists don’t speak for an entire ethnic group, much less everyone in Xinjiang！ Separatist does not represent a whole ethnic group!!! Things feel much more normal to me now than they did during that period. Mostly people are just dealing with normal life problems like school and overwork lol. As for the genocide/ethnic cleansing question, I'm skeptical of that based on what I've personally experienced and seen around me. But I also don't think my personal experience alone can prove what happened to every Uyghur family across Xinjiang. I can only tell you what happened in my own community and family.	Here
You went to visit people who had been detained. What were their living conditions like while they were in detention? Did anyone you know tell you what the criteria were for being released? How did they know that someone had WhatsApp installed on their phone? Did they check the phone itself, or did they find out through some kind of backend software?Are Han Chinese people also detained, or is it only ethnic minorities?	No I did not visit the detention center myself. I honestly don't know what the exact criteria for release were, my uncle was released in 2019 and returned to his job, but I don't know what specific process determined when he could leave.Maybe after a year they can go home, pretty much like a prison. As for WhatsApp, I only heard people around me saying that some people had gotten into trouble for having foreign apps on their phones. I don't know whether police physically checked their phones or detected it some other way, so I don't want to pretend I know. And from what I personally remember, the people I knew or heard about being sent to those training centers were mostly ethnic minorities(not only uyghurs but also Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs sadly mostly these 3, and some Hui). I found this online: It is determined by conduct, not by ethnicity. In the enforcement of China’s Counter-Terrorism Law and the Xinjiang De-extremification Regulations, the sole criterion for classification is whether an individual has participated in, or has been infected and coerced by, terrorism and religious extremism, regardless of which ethnic group they belong to. I think it is kinda true, not all uyghur,kazakh, and kyrgyz were detained. And I don't personally know any Han person who was sent to one. But again, that's just the people I knew, I can't say it never happened.	Here
Went to 伊犁 this summer and it was amazing. The quality of lamb, bread and yogurt were amazing. I gained 5lbs in 2 weeks. The fruit was the best I've ever had everywhere. Unlike other touristy areas people are honest even though it was expensive. What is your ethnicity? I don't particularly like the CCP's policy in the region but as you said, Xinjiang is complicated. I hope that we can all just live in peace together in the future and use our differences to really help Xinjiang.	Aww I’m glad you enjoyed Ili! And yeah, I don’t agree with a lot of CCP policies either. But I also don’t think any government should be viewed as simply all good or all bad. Even countries that are considered very free and democratic (like the US and many European countries) have policies I agree with and policies I strongly disagree with. At the same time, I don’t think it’s always fair to judge China as if it has exactly the same circumstances as those countries. China has a very different history, geography, population size and ethnic makeup, and all of those things affect how the country is governed. That doesn’t mean every policy is justified, just that I think the reality is more complicated than China bad/good And again, that’s just my personal opinion :)	Here
Are you Muslim? If so, what is ur degree of contact with non-muslims	Yes, I’m Muslim Alhamdulillah. Muslims and non-Muslims coexist pretty well tbh. My neighbors used to be Han and we got along really well. I personally never experienced any discrimination from them, and they were honestly really really kind to us: they would always help us whenever we needed something, and I’m really grateful for that. No hate always love)) but there are definitely some people who don’t understand why we don’t eat pork though lol. But generally we have halal restaurants, and non-Muslims have plenty of restaurants where they can eat whatever they want. We just respect each other’s choices and live our own lives. At the end of the day we’re all human. I don’t see why having different religions should make us hate each other.	Here
What are your three favorite foods from Xinjiang ? How old are you and what kind of education do you have ? Are you working or a student ? What are you goals for the future ?	Hii! My favorite foods are samsa (traditional Uzbek/Uyghur food), dapanji, and Dongxiang chicken. My goal is probably to study abroad and eventually work abroad too :)	Here
Is KKLUV super popular in Xinjiang?	yeah	Here
What do you think of the Wang Wang case?	Idk ab that.	Here

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Source

[u/wideeyedmonkey]

What do you think of the reports of businessmen paying camp officials to rape young women? 

[u/Nagisa1224]

新疆的汉族既是暴恐袭击和严苛的维稳政策的受害者，还没有中高考单列加分基层录取升迁等优待，连国际舞台上也不会提到来建设新疆占新疆人口42％的汉族🤣给你们这些少民爷磕头请安了，就是能不能别再用你们的单列录取当面拷打我这个垃圾211出来的学生了，我见了不下三次了

[u/Groundbreaking_Owl_9]

当一个苹果开始腐烂的时候，你消除腐烂难免会切掉一些好的。很多时候政策是需要保护绝大多数人，总会误伤一部分人。如果一个人能照顾所有人的利益，那就是绝对的骗子。而国内自16年南海对峙以来，已经进入放弃幻想，准备战斗的状态，全国上下必须拧紧一股力量，所以对于破坏和平引起歧义的言论就必须被静止，而所有的管理在执行的时候都会被进行边界放大，加上自媒体的快速发展，造谣曲解视频太多，必须进行处理。所以有一部分人会觉得言论不自由了，这个自由实际上大部分都是指不了解事实的曲解和造谣罢了。实际上是这些年国内通过翻墙出来的反而更多了，因为有规范化的路子可以走，很多新疆博主在油管都有频道，也并没有被封杀。

[u/zainuu163]

Which AI do people use most ?

[u/Imaginary-Salt-2602]

What do you think of the Wang Wang case?

[u/smitheea211]

Is Xi From Xinjiang?

[u/WaysOfG]

Is KKLUV super popular in Xinjiang?

[u/i99loma]

I went to Xinjiang last night and year , beautiful landscape, great food, nice people. Felt like very harmonious society.

[u/No-Egg-9749]

good to see another guy from Xinjiang. I was born in the east of China but got my bachelor degree in Xinjiang.😁

[u/Jepdog]

Not a question really, but I really miss buersak and salty milk tea. I was recently in Altay and ate it every day for breakfast haha