Leisure weekend life in Urumqi -- hope overwhelming fear

• Source: Xinhua
• [07:47 July 20 2009]
• Comments

Doctor Wang Hongbo made his rounds in the hospital on Sunday, when he should have been enjoying his first day off over the past two weeks.

He chose to remain busy after his work at the hospital this day -- helping his wife do laundry, doing some grocery shopping at a nearby supermarket and fixing the fluorescent lamp at home that he had been too busy to fix.

After the July 5 riot in Urumqi which has left 197 people dead and more than 1,600 injured, Wang, along with his colleagues with Xinjiang Tumor Hospital, has been busy saving lives at the operating tables.

On Sunday, he drove his wife and son to a restaurant in the violence-torn city, where he said he wanted to retrieve over diner the long-lost family gathering.

"I don't mind the hustles and bustles in the restaurant at all," he said. "Instead, I felt the familiar sense of security came back."

Also crowded was the People's Cinema in the downtown.

"Without an access to the internet after the riot, I chose to watch films with my family to kill my boredom," said Kamailong, a student at Xinjiang Normal University, who was queuing for a ticket for blockbuster Ice Age 3.

A busy ticket seller with the cinema told Xinhua that revenue had returned to almost as much as what it was before the incident.

"Tickets of the newly released films, such as Harry Porter and The Half-Blood Prince and Ice Age 3, have been selling like hot cakes," she said.

"I do feel joyfully relieved with the lines coming back," she added.

Bai Xue, a senior high school graduate, did not go to the cinema. Instead, she took a bus and came to Hami Plaza in downtown Urumqi to take part in the first round competition of Miss Tourism, accompanied by her mother.

Bai was not fully prepared as she had stayed indoor for a whole week after the bloody violence swept Urumqi on July 5. She had just resumed training for two days before the contest was finally unveiled.

Cheng Jianrong, a regional executive chairman for the beauty competition, said that full efforts were needed to promote Xinjiang's cultural and economic industries and the competition was an important part.