Here we are in #Urumqi the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. A 🧵.

After less than 24 hours what are my initial snapshot impressions of the city and the people.

It's a wonderful, welcoming vibrant city that is nothing at all the way it is portrayed in the Western media. Don't take my word come and see for yourself.

We travelled here on the 14-hour HSR journey from Xi'an, of course, it would've been far easier and quicker to fly but we wanted to get a glimpse of the countryside on the way there to see what we were letting ourselves in for. In a word stunning. From the mountains, we skirted to the wide open plains, to the cities and towns we passed through or near. I hardly touched the book I took to read on the trip, and that was only when it got too dark to see outside.

I was very surprised to see the number of churches and mosques along the route, that I did. I have always taken the tales of religious persecution with a pinch of salt, and I am baffled by the traction they have gained that one journey on this train would've done a lot to dispel.

Just one of the many immaculate stations that dotted the route.

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#Urumqi #Xinjiang #SeeForYourSelf #ComeToChina






2/4 Urumqi First Impressions

There was little or no sign of heightened security at Xi'an Bei or on the train itself. I saw more of the security staff on the train than on previous trips on HSR, but this I think was mainly down to them using the carriage we were in as their break area. It was interesting to me in particular to see that many of the train crew and security were either Uyghur or other ethnic minorities, including the woman who seemed to be running things.

The first we really noticed of heightened security was at our hotel where they have two permanent security on the door and an airport-style scanner. There is definitely a heavier security presence on the street compared to anywhere else I have been in China. There are more foot patrols on the streets, and I saw several spot ID checks, including one I experienced myself. The tourist area around the Grand Bazaar had the most overtly visible security. Here as well I was struck by how many police seemed to be from minorities. I refer to actual police here, not the usual security guards that are ubiquitous in China, where the amount of apparent Uyghurs seemed in proportion to the population I was observing today. I haven't been in a large store or mall yet without going through a security station, but it has never been what I'd call an inconvenience.

(You'll notice one of the security guards in the picture, I of course asked permission via Baidu Translate before taking the picture of our hotel from both security and the management.)

A note here. I have made the deliberate decision not to photograph checkpoints, the police or the military in a deliberate fashion. There is still a very real threat from the terrorist separatist movements, and I do not intend to give them any kind of inadvertent intel. There will be some pictures that may show something already clearly in the public domain, such as a street scene that may have a police station in it, but nothing I deem to be useful to 'bad actors'.
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#Urumqi #Xinjiang #SeeForYOurself #ComeToChina

Do you want to practise your Conversational English? 🇬🇧🇨🇳 It's that time again: #PractiseEnglish
I've really enjoyed the sessions I've been running lately. I've met many friendly people and it's been a lot of fun. So if you want to give it a go either DM me or read below:⬇️ !I'M NOT SELLING ANYTHING! it's just in the service of trying to build understanding between the UK and China.
I can offer WeChat, MS Teams, Skype or Whatsapp video calls.⬇️

OK, I'm biased here in that I do not believe that the situation in Xinjiang is anything like that claimed by Western media. This article has really angered me though:
12ft.io/proxy?q=https%…
#China #Uyghur The article relies only on anecdotal accounts, it doesn't include any indications of attempts to verify the stories and publishes them as fact without any caveats. Although a few searches on his previous interviews reveal that Parach's story has clearly changed over time⬇️