Summer Trip (2): Xinjiang

So there I was, in Xinjiang with no predictions of what the five days would lead me. Even though I had scanned through the itinerary of the trip before departure and therefore had an idea of what would happen in the trip, everything remained uncertain. This could be shown by the fact that there were only ten of us in our sleeping car. Other passengers simply claimed their refunds.

The moment we arrived at a train station in Xinjiang I saw many policemen walking around. The station looked busy as usual, with many travelers rushing out the exit. Everyone in our group looked kind of worried, but I was surprisingly calm.

On the bus, the tourist guide – a Han who has lived all his life in Tulpan – kept telling us that everything was fine in the region. His comments on the riots and Rebiya Kadeer were basically the same as what the government had been saying in the papers.

We finally arrived at Urumqi in the evening. It felt as though the entire city was in an atmosphere of repression. Many locals were still seen on the streets chatting with one another or doing their shopping, but there were also troops patrolling the city as part of the government campaign to boost security. Furthermore, many military vehicles, with red banners containing patriotic slogans, being parked at roadside. There were always sound trucks passing by, playing loud political messages.

Even though no curfews were imposed, we were asked to stay in the hotel. And it wasn’t until the evening when I tried to call my parents I realized that there were neither long-distance calls nor internet access available. Long distance calls (not SMS) within the country were still available though.

Over the next few days, whenever we arrived at a pass or a tourist spot we were “greeted” by some officers, either in police or casual wear. An officer would jump onto our bus, and run his eyes over all of us to see whether there is a foreigner or a non-Han Chinese. Our guide joked that the police at the Tian Shan (“Celestial Mountains”) had the most authority: they could detain whoever they want at any time on the spot… (Don’t know if that’s true).

In fact, my Canadian passport gave me a bit of a trouble: I was frequently asked to register myself with the local officers, and was asked why and when I travelled to Xinjiang, etc… Despite this, everything went fine. The patriotic banners could be seen not only in the city, but also in the tourist spots. The Shanghainese I travelled with looked very interested in these slogans, probably because these strings of words looked even more patriotic than the ones they used to live with everyday in their neighbourhoods.

All in all, even though there were some small clashes between the Uyghur and the police, I felt that the government was in control of the region.