A new dawn in Kashgar
- Source: Global Times
- [01:10 August 11 2010]
- Comments
A herdsman herds sheep on Nalati grassland on July 24.
By Lin Meilian
Eminhan Oxur, 70, whose Uyghur name translates as "heroic mother" in English, could also be called the queen of the High Terrace Folk House, which is in the Old Town of Kashi.
She oversees the largest family in the town located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. And she got an early start in her mothering career.
She got married at 15 and she gave birth to 20 children who produced 36 grandchildren and seven great grandchildren for her. Despite her busy lifestyle, she still makes time for outsiders and relies on them to make a living.
"I am glad to see tourists visiting my place," she told a Global Times reporter. "I tell them stories about my family and show them the beautiful china we make."
The mud-brick walls have supported the High Terrace Folk House for at least 2,000 years and it is one reason it remains a must-see tourist spot in the Old Town of Kashi, also known as Kashgar, meaning "colorful city" in Uyghur.
Huo Bencheng, who is in charge of tourism in the Old Town and works in the Folk House as the manager, told the Global Times that the High Terrace Folk House welcomes about 300 tourists a day, a big jump from the days following the riots a year ago in Urumqi which left about 200 people dead.
"Many residents here rely heavily on tourism. Without tourists, they can't even make a living," he said. Some 4,000 Uyghurs live in the town.
Huo has been working at the Folk House for five years, the only person of Han nationality doing so.
He coordinates tour guides, logs complaints from tourists and even offers advice during family disputes, weddings and funerals.
Shaky grounds
The Folk House was on a list of buildings to be torn down last year due to concerns it might collapse during an earthquake, but that plan changed this year.
The local government intends to reinforce sections of many mud-brick houses using concrete reinforced with iron in keeping with local customs, said Huo.
"Many old people refuse to leave their homes as they have been living here their entire lives," he said.
Despite efforts to preserve the house, Huo is worried Kashi's tourism industry is vulnerable.
"Kashi's tourism industry is even sensitive to small incidents," he said, pointing to a residential building fire in Urumqi on July 19, which left 12 people dead.
That evening, countless people phoned Huo to inquire if it was safe to travel to Kashi.
"I told them it was just an accident, nothing is going to happen in Kashi," he said.
The mood has been similar around many other tourist sites in Xinjiang since last year's deadly riots.
In fact, about 1,450 tour groups comprised of 84,000 travelers, including 4,000 from overseas, canceled their trips to Xinjiang shortly after the riots, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Also, the number of domestic tourists fell 26 percent to 1.3 million during last year's National Day holiday in October following a string of needle attacks in the capital.
