LocatedinnorthwestChina,XinjiangUygurAutonomousRegionisoftenseenasastereotypicalexampleoflandlockedremoteness,seekingopportunitiesfordevelopment.
Therealityonthegroundhowevercouldn鈥檛befurtherfromthetruth.
Xinjiang,whichsharesa5,600-kmborderwitheightdifferentcountries,coversone-sixthofChina鈥檚landmass.Theregionisalsorichinenergyresourcesandishometomorethan40ethnicminoritygroups.ForthesereasonsXinjiangbecameastrategicloca-tionontheancientSilkRoad.Today,theregionisbuildingonitsgloriouspastandstrivingtochartanewpathforward.
UndertheBeltandRoadInitiative,proposedbyChinesePresidentXiJinpingduringhisvisitstoCentralAsiaandSoutheastAsiain2013,Xinjiang鈥檚uniquegeographicalassetsanditsroleasanopenwindowtotheinternationalmarketarenowvaluedmorethanever.ItspositionasacentralareaoftheSilkRoadEconomicBelthasbeenclarifiedandstrengthened,accordingtoanofficialdocumenttitledVisionandActionsonJointlyBuildingSilkRoadEconomicBeltand21st-CenturyMaritimeSilkRoad,issuedinMarch2015.Accordingtothedocument,theChineseGovernmentplanstotransformXinjiangintoacenterfortransport,trade,logistics,culture,scienceandeducationtodeepenexchangesandcooperationwithcountriesofCentralAsia,SouthAsiaandWestAsia.
ThispartlyexplainswhyXinjiangisnowthesubjectofincreasedattentionfrominvestors.
Xinjiangisalsoaregionfamousforitsculturalabundance.Withtheconstructionofinternationalroads,railwaysandairways,theregionismoreaccessiblenowthaneverbeforetovisitorsfromaroundtheworld.Asinthepast,itistodayacenterofintenseculturalexchangebetweenEasternandWesterncivilizations.
ToexaminethechangesinXinjiang,ChinAfricainterviewedentrepreneurswhochosetomovetheircompaniestotheregiontotakeadvantageofBeltandRoadInitiativeopportunities,lookedatthediversityandpreservationoftraditionalculturesandwentbacktoschooltofindouthowapreferentiallearningprogramisgivingethnicminoritiestopclasseducation.