This winter’s uncommonly cold temperatures have affected rural production all over Northern Xinjiang. According to the XUAR Forestry Office, the XUAR will have to collect at least 30 million RMB to make up for losses in fruit production and provide for better protection from low temperatures in the future. Losses from the worst winter storms in fifty years, which have affected 54% of Xinjiang’s fruit-growing land, are estimated at 293.6 million RMB. Luckily, the Forestry Office’s goal seems to have been exceeded by 2 million RMB. Fruits and nuts are not the only agricultural products affected by the weather, however. The death of 41.8% of the bees in the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture’s apiaries has caused a financial loss of 1.14 million RMB.

So, why is Ürümchi unseasonably warm? Word on the street is, the short-sleeve weather that fell upon the city earlier this month, blamed on global warming, has been contributing to the outbreak of measles, which we have
reported on previously. On the other hand, people have turned off their coal stoves, making Ürümchi’s skies clear and the air positively pleasant. (But don’t leave your windows open all day, or you’ll come home to a dust-encrusted apartment.)

The City of Ürümchi is taking steps to control the rise of prices. Note that, in Xinjiang, a consistent rise in commodity prices over time is not inflation, but a natural effect of market forces. Well, anyway, those market forces are clearly getting out of line, as food commodity prices increased 5.4% in 2007 alone, about as much as they had in the previous three years. That doesn’t sound like much, but it’s affected a clear increase in everyday foodstuffs, one bemoaned by Ürümchiliks of all stripes. Example: restaurant menus have been changing all over the city since December. One plate of polo was 5-7 RMB not long ago; now it’s 8-12 RMB. (Suyuq ash prices have increased from 3-4 RMB to a typical 5 RMB. I love suyuq ash.) The city has set aside 20 million RMB, double last year’s amount, for agricultural development, including the building of greenhouses. The city will provide loans to agriculture businesses to increase production. Businesses providing foodstuffs will be temporarily prohibited from altering their prices without first applying to the government for approval. Aid to school cafeterias and low-income families has also been increased. (That’s right, fight those “natural market forces” with cold, hard socialism!) The XUAR’s grain reserves are also meant to be sufficient for the task of maintaining the stability of market prices. The XUAR has also achieved a goal, set in 2003, of storing up 20 000 metric tons of beet sugar in China’s only white crystal sugar storage area. Where is this place, and may I bring a spoon? The stores are meant to help control sugar prices, which have likewise increased and are predicted to rise further.

There is news for domestic and international trade and travel. First, the PRC’s only land port with Tajikistan, Qarasuw, has been approved for use during all weather conditions. Starting this year, it will be open constantly from 1 May to 30 November. Last year, 12 500 tourists, 56 300 metric tons of goods, and 250 million USD of trade passed through the port. Over the past five years, Chinese and foreign financial organizations, including the Asia Development Bank and Development Bank of China, have lent Xinjiang a total of 24.6 billion RMB for road construction and maintenance. This has contributed to the construction of over 60 000 kilometers of new roads, including Southern Xinjiang’s second express highway, Route 314 from Korla to Kucha, currently under construction. Australia’s Arrow Energy has signed a contract with the XUAR Geology and Ore Office to develop coal seams in the South Jungharia and East Jungharia coal fields.

The economic news has also paid some service to an Ürümchi landmark, the Shuangxing Old Goods Market, where I got my bookshelves. Trade at the market has already hit a high point, as at other used goods markets, with sales volume up 30-40% from this time last year. About 20% of customers are students, 20% are unmarried workers living on their own, 10% are families in poor financial circumstances, and 40% are migrant workers. The jump in sales probably has something to do with the natural increase in prices caused by market forces.

Xinjiang, like the rest of China, just never stops building. In the next year, over 20 000 earthquake-resistant housing buildings are planned for construction in Ürümchi. In addition, 9000 current structures are planned for quake-proofing. This may have something to do with the recent earthquakes on the Xinjiang/Tibet border. If you have recently been to Ürümchi, you may have noticed a gigantic pit between Hongshan Park and the Bogeda Hotel, near Edo no Sakura Japanese Restaurant, where the city government used to be until 2004. This is one of two areas adjacent to Hongshan Park slated for redevelopment, and work is finally beginning. High-class apartments on the site are already being sold for 8300-8800 RMB/m². (A typical nice, new apartment in the city goes for around 3500 RMB/ m².) These will be located right next to a greener Hongshan, part of a larger project to connect People’s Park and Hongshan via a “Hetan Green Corridor” along the current Hetan Express Highway. Property values in the area are already rising. It is hoped that filling in the pit will bring some life back to the area, which has been quiet since the government moved. (The Bingtuan headquarters just down the road doesn’t really have the same “community” feeling.) However, it is hoped even more that a great deal of business will go on just outside the gates of the new Hongshan Park.

According to the New York Times, the PRC has begun to provide extra pay to those army veterans, as well as some civilians, involved in the nuclear tests at Lop Nur. The subsidy began last year.

2 January 2008 saw a terrible fire take place at the Dehui International Square (德汇国际广场) department store on Qiantang Jiang Lu near the passenger train station in Ürümchi. The fire took five lives and caused millions of yuan in damage to property. Xinhua has a story on the outpouring of charity for the over 1200 families affected by the fire. Donations have already exceeded 14 000 000 RMB.

There have been more developments in the field of educational policy. At the recently-concluded 11th Meeting of the XUAR People’s Congress, several representatives pointed out the need to dramatically increase middle and high school enrollment in Southern Xinjiang, specifically in Qäshqär, Xotän, and the Qizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, with an emphasis on skills training. In Qäshqär, the rate of high school attendance is only 23%, while, in other areas, it is lower than 20%. The meeting also emphasized the need to focus on “bilingual education” and on the “Two Basics” plan. As for the lack of Chinese-language teaching resources, a major impediment to spreading Mandarin in Southern Xinjiang, representatives had no answers, only noting the need for more training. Somewhat more concretely, the XUAR Education Office has set some goals regarding the spread of “bilingual education” in the near future. According to its figures, there are now more than 150 000 students enrolled in “bilingual” classes in Xinjiang, of which there are now over 5000. There will be a new emphasis on pre-school entry Mandarin language training, which currently enrolls 141 500 or so children. In the South, the Education Office wants to enroll 85% of children of age in such programs within four years. “Bilingual” training programs will also begin to train teachers from rural areas.

People and money are flowing through Xinjiang. In 2007, over 7 700 000 passengers passed through the Ürümchi airport, up 19.6% from 2006. In 2007, Xinjiang’s 1636 companies receiving foreign investment were offered 2.852 billion USD in contracts, eventually accepting 812 million USD thereof. Foreign investment in Xinjiang in 2007 exceeded 13.716 billion USD, up 50.7% from 2006, which the XUAR, naturally, wants to improve upon. The goal is to increase foreign investment 20% to 16.5 billion USD, of which 9.8 billion will be invested in regular XUAR companies and 6.7 billion USD in the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. There is also the goal of increasing net profits from import and export to 16.5 billion USD.

Ürümchi is not a very nice place to be right now. Beginning on 18 January, the city experienced the coldest weather it’s had in ten years, dropping below -20C every day for five days. Luckily, it’s been rather noticeably nicer over the last couple of days. On the 24, Ürümchi got hit with an earthquake measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale. Did anyone feel this? Similarly, Qäshqär set a record low temperature, hitting -24 C around 27 January. Likewise was Southern Xinjiang to receive a 10-year record snowfall, getting a total accumulation of 5 to 15 cm.

Actually, all of Xinjiang is experiencing minor disasters. There occurred in Ürümchi’s Midong District on the afternoon of 24 January a mining accident that took one life. The Ili River is experiencing flooding caused by the thickening of the river’s surface ice, in turn brought about by the sustained record low temperatures, flooding herders’ houses and drowning livestock in Huocheng County and in the Chapchal Sive Autonomous County. 23 families of herders and 4640 livestock animals have been evacuated.

There is some hope. The Qaramay oil fields reached their goal in 2007 of zero on-the-job deaths. The Xinjiang Oil Field Company attributes their success to improved employee safety programs. In the medical field, on 20 January, the XUAR Health Office [better translation, anyone?], along with ten other concerned organs, ordered Xinjiang hospitals not to turn away non-job-related cases of carbon monoxide poisoning. Although signs of a measles epidemic in Ürümchi have been building since November, the city reportedly has over 100 outpatient clinics prepared to provide free measles vaccinations, and the city’s Disease Prevention Center has been spreading notices and information about measles. The PRC also plans to establish Ürümchi as a model city for heating production reform and energy conservation. Ürümchi would be the second such city to be established as such under a World Bank program. Unfortunately, it seems that the over 30 000 000 RMB to be provided for this project will, at this point, only go to the construction of two new phases of pre-existing apartment complexes.

Today’s news and photos, unless otherwise credited, came from the Xinhua News Network’s Xinijang channel.

Xinhua Network News Xinjiang Channel 新华网新疆频道

• 30 December 2007: Authors celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Xinjiang Writers’ Association on the 27th of December. The Association started in 1957 with only 50 members; today, 2000 authors are members.
• 31 December 2007: Three climatologists wrote a treatise on global warming’s effects on China’s Northwest for the Economic Consultation Newspaper. The summary is as follows: “As a result of global warming, our country’s Northwestern region is currently undergoing a transformation from a warm, dry climate to a warm, wet climate, and so in the future this arid area may become relatively moist. Experts believe climatic transformation will have a major practical and strategic impact on the local ecology, on regional economic development, and on other relevant factors. The Northwestern region ought to actively carry out responsive measures to exploit changing ecological resources, simultaneously taking advantage of the situation yet preventing and avoiding harmful side effects, thus bringing about better and faster economic and social development.” Seems to me that they’re saying “if global warming makes the Taklamakan Desert into a thriving oasis… more power to it!” Though I admit I haven’t read the full text, which is available through the above link.
• 31 December 2007:Regional Social Sciences Union held its annual meeting in Urumqi on the morning of the 29th. 200 scientists attended, revealing research results from 2007 and exchanging academic information.
• 31 December 2007: The Regional People’s Inspection Agency’s Anti-Corruption Bureau announced that this year special investigation operations lead to the conviction of 13 individuals working in the field of health care, including the Regional Health Department Financial Regulations Bureau Chief Chen Jianguo (sentenced to 10 years imprisonment) and the former president of Kashgar Prefecture People’s Hospital Zhu Zhong (sentenced to 14 years).
• 31 December 2007: The Party Secretary of Aletai Prefecture divulged on the 29th that the regional government has already approve the upgrade of Beitun (Beitun in Google Earth) to full city status and will also invest 400 million yuan to help bring about this status change. Beitun, which is the headquarters of the 10th Division of the XPCC, previously only held township status. Intensive urban planning projects aimed at remodeling Beitun began on April of 2007 and was carried out by both Chinese and British engineers.
• 31 December 2007: Qadir Qurban, a Uyghur computer specialist at the Changji police department, has become a candidate for Olympic torchbearer. Qurban was recommended by the Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture for his efforts in bringing about stability via the implementation of the latest crime fighting theories and technologies. As the torchbearer selection process continues to unfold, Qurban works out daily and continues to pour efforts into his work, knowing that at the very least he can contribute by helping quash any preemptive efforts to hamper the Olympics through his technological work.
• 1 January 2008: This New Years a number of shopping centers passed out discount cards which triggered an upsurge of “panic buying,” leading a Xinhua writer to conclude that holiday frenzy shopping at extremely crowded shopping centers has turned to a new consumerist tradition in Urumqi.
• 1 January 2008: Surveys conducted and funded by the China Petroleum Tarim Oilfields Company and China Petroleum Northwest Oilfields Company have confirmed 974.1 billion cubic meters of proven natural gas deposits in Aksu Prefecture, enough to fill energy quotas for 200 million residents.
• 2 January 2008: On the morning of the 2nd, Urumqi International Airport had to close for the second time within a month due to heavy fog. Several hundred passengers were affected by the delays.
• 3 January 2008: The Central Propaganda Ministry, the National Broadcasting Headquarters, the Regional Party Committee and the Regional Government in cooperation with local industries are carrying out the “TVs for Ten Thousand Homes” project, which will provide 273 thousand 53 cm color TVs to low-income, rural households across Xinjiang. Akto County (a place known for being a hotbed of resistance) resident and program beneficiary Maimaiti Wushou’er gushed, “I didn’t expect that during Qurban festival I’d be sitting on my kang watching television, I must thank the party and the government for their care and consideration. Now I’ll definitely study with enthusiasm party policies, science, and cultural knowledge, and soon I’ll be able to cast off this poverty.” Imagine that! Maybe America can learn a thing or too from China: televisions, not bombs.
• 3 January 2008: Full-scale construction work on the Kashgar-Khotan railroad will begin this year. Surveying investigations and planning for this new railroad was conducted in 2007; now, the projects 6.5 billion yuan worth of construction investments will be directed towards the actual implementation of a new 775 kilometer railroad connecting Kashgar city with Minfeng in Khotan prefecture. The railroad is expected to begin operation in 2010.
• 4 January 2008: The city of Urumqi recently began the first “National Causes of Pollution Survey which will attempt to clarify the data available on pollutant producers in Urumqi by investigating the amount of pollutants, their sources, the directions by which they spread, their regional distribution, the current condition of pollution prevention systems, and expenses being put into pollution management. The data produced by the survey will form the foundation for upcoming pollution management reform.
• 4 January 2008: In 2007 Xinjiang companies extracted 26.4 million tons of crude oil and 21.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas, making Xinjiang the number 1 gas and oil producer in the country. According to current estimates, 20.8 billion tons of crude oil and 10.8 trillion cubic meters of gas are yet to be exploited.
• 5 January 2008: Nur Bekri, acting chairman of the XUAR, made an appearance at the regional Minority Elementary and Middle School Bilingual Training Evaluation and Feedback Meeting. Bekri, who as a high-ranking Uyghur member of both the regional government and the regional party probably underwent bilingual education himself, emphasized the importance of the continuing growth of bilingual education and ensured continuing support on behalf of the government for the program.
• 5 January 2008: The 36th meeting of the 10th Regional People’s Congress Standing Committee occurred on the morning of the 3rd. The primary topic of hand was preparations for transition to the 11th Regional People’s Congress, whose first meeting is rapidly approaching.
• 5 January 2008:As part of the “Fewer Children, Quicker Prosperity” project of the regional Population and Family Planning Committee, over 50 thousand households were each awarded 3000 yuan for voluntary renouncing their right to have a 3rd child. Left unstated in the article is the fact that minorities in rural jurisdictions are permitted to have 3 children per household, so the beneficiaries of this program are probably all non-Han.
• 5 January 2008: Starting from the 6th, the China Southern Airlines route between Urumqi and Dushanbe, Tajikistan will be transformed from a chartered flight to a regularly scheduled and operating flight. The route opened in 2004 but was chartered and therefore prices were often high and flights operated on an erratic schedule. After the 6th, both prices and times for the route are expected to stabilize.
• 5 January 2008: Thanks to rapidly increasing trade between China and Central Asian nations, the export volume of Alashankou, (Alashankou in Google Earth) a trade center located on the border with Kazakhstan on Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, surpassed 50 million tons before the close of 2007, officially making it the busiest land-based railroad “port” in the nation.

Other

• 2 January 2007: David Challenger with CNN travel writes a standard-fare travelogue of his trip to Turpan. Though most of the writing is typical first impression descriptions many Xinjiang enthusiasts and scholars have long moved past – “The people were intriguing; Chinese were evident, and of course Uighurs, who looked like a cross between Mongols and Afghanis” – it is nonetheless interesting to see Xinjiang make a blip on a top-level American news network.
• 3 January 2007: Fresh produce industry website Fresh Plaza writes on the growing jujube industry in Gansu in Xinjiang. The jujube industry is expected to expand to over 3 million acres, which will make it the largest jujube base in China.
• 4 January 2007: China View runs aEnglish translation of the Xinhua article above regarding Xinjiang becoming the nation’s top oil/gas producer.
• 4 January 2007: Rocky Mountain News reporter David O. Williams makes some observations about the ski industry’s gradual shift of focus from the United States to Asia. With the skiing and snowboarding industry on the decline in the US, many American ski moguls are turning Asia’s vast untapped markets and prime skiing mountains. Ping Tian resorts near Urumqi are examined as a case study in this move; currently Ping Tian has many Americans on their team to help develop the resort into a top notch resort, including ski trainers who are passing on their skills to (former) Kazakh herdsmen.

Xinhua Network News Xinjiang Channel 新华网新疆频道

• 24 December 2007: Over 100 thousand farmers and herders in remote regions have received benefits from the “Electricity for Every Household Project” and are now able to bid farewell to oil lamps and wood-burning heating. The “Electricity for Every Household Project” was started jointly by the XUAR People’s Government and the National Power Network Company in 2006. Since its inauguration, the project has been implemented far ahead of schedule, with a current total of 336 million yuan having been invested in the construction of power converters and power lines necessary to provide electricity to remote regions.
• 25 December 2007: A certain Mr. Xu was sentenced to two years in prison on December 24th for attempting to extort the Urumqi Carrefour for 50 thousand yuan two months previously. On the 5th of September, Xu called the Carrefour to tell them to deposit 50 thousand yuan in a designated bank account without informing the police, otherwise he would detonate a bomb he had planted in the storage room via remote control. The Carrefour administration immediately evacuated the store and informed the authorities, causing a swarm of armed police and explosives specialists to descend on the abandoned supermarket. No explosives were found, and detectives of the Urumqi police department arrested Xu at an Internet bar the next day.
• 25 December 2007: From January to the end of November, Xinjiang saw 400 thousand foreign tourists and received 148 million American dollars worth of tourism revenue. At 34%, Russians constitute the largest portion of foreign tourist.
• 25 December 2007: The economic efficiency of state-owned enterprise increased by a substantial margin from January to November of this year. Total sales revenues for SOEs reached 25.3 billion yuan, a 20.1% increase since last year. The metal, coal, chemical engineering, foodstuffs, textiles, and trade industries saw the most significant improvements.
• 25 December 2007: From the beginning of this year to the 24th ofDecember the Qaramay oilfields produced a total of 11.5 million tons of crue oil. This years total is higher than last year, and thus adds the 27th year to a continual changing of increasing oil output.
• 26 December 2007: The Xinjiang software company Sarka has developed a software that can recognize Uyghur, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz text from image files and convert them into text. With this software, an individual can scan documents written in these languages or take photographs of texts and then convert them into editable text files. The program was the product of a join effort between the company, the Information Science and Engineering Institute of Xinjiang University, and Qinghua University’s Electrical Engineering Department.
• 26 December 2007: The Disaster Relief Office of the regional Civil Affairs Department has allocated 42 million kuai to aid residents stricken by natural calamities to make it through the winter. This winter a large number of Xinjiang residents are affected by natural disasters such as abnormally high snowfall, torrential rain, hailstorms, floods, landslides, mudslides, strong winds, droughts, and low temperature conditions. The disaster relief aid will be used to provide affected residents with food rations, clothes, and coal.
• 26 December 2007: By 2008, all agricultural and pastoral regions in Xinjiang will be covered by the New Model
  Cooperative Medical Treatment system. In acknowledgment of this complete coverage, the central and regional governments have decided to increase financial support for the program, which involves both financial subsidies to support those with illnesses and providing special training to residents so that emergencies and illnesses can be treated locally.
• 26 December 2007: Three Xinjiang gold mining companies will receive a total of 7.6 million yuan of funding from the national government, to be used for gold exploration and for environmental protection. Xinjiang’s gold mining industry has been receiving governmental funding since 2004, and this year’s addition pins the government’s total investment in the regional mining industry to 15.7 million yuan. Xinjiang is considered one of China’s most important gold industry bases; this year’s gold production statistics put Xinjiang at 8th place in China’s national gold mining industry.
• 26 December 2007: Urumqi International Airport was closed for the first time this winter due to heavy snowfall on the 26th from 11am to 6pm.
• 27 December 2007: In order to improve business relations between the XPCC and its clients and to promote even faster and better economic development through the Bingtuan’s myriad industries, Huaxia Bank has signed a comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement with Bingtuan officials which will grant XPCC controlled industries and XPCC work unit employees greater and smoother access to the bank’s resources, including loans, account management, and other financial services.
• 28 December 2007: This year the total value of Xinjiang foreign trade was substantially hire than the national average. The total value of imports and exports from January to November of this year reached 12.3 billion American dollars, a 50% increase compared with the same period last year and a 26.5 percentage points higher than the national average.
• 28 December 2007: The safe landing of a China Southern Airlines Boeing 757 airliner marked the official opening of Korla’s new airport. The construction of a new, larger airport to replace Korla’s previous one was a national level project aimed at consolidating Korla’s role as a hub between Northern and Southern Xinjiang and between Xinjiang and the rest of the country. A total of 630.3 million yuan was invested in the project.
• 28 December 2007: The XPCC Health Department announced plans to begin construction next year of comprehensive health archive which within three years will contain the basic medical information and statistics of all 2.58 million members of the XPCC. Upon completion of this medical archive, XPCC health services will be able to provide quicker outpatient services, develop more efficient immunization plans, improve health education, better monitor epidemic and contagious diseases, and give better recover and rehabilitation programs to XPCC patients.
• 29 December 2007: This year 1025 kilometers of highways were opened for use, an increase of about 136% compared to high construction over the previous five years. Before the 1990s, Xinjiang didn’t have even one kilometer of highway, now, the XUAR Transportation Department has managed to connect Urumqi with every prefecture and every prefecture-level capital with all of its internal counties. In all there are 145 thousand kilometers of highway in Xinjiang.
• 29 December 2007: Masses of people from Kuche, Xinhe, Baicheng, and as far away as Korla saw a massive fireball in the sky on the night of the 27th. At around 8:50PM, Beijing time, witnesses saw an object in the sky so bright that in some places it seemed like daylight. One witness described the object as a “red-hot chunk of iron” that left a bright trail in the sky similar to the contrails of an airplane. The object was visible for about 10 seconds, then, 5 seconds after the fireball disappeared witnesses report hearing a loud boom. Police from the Xinhe PSB dispatched two expeditions to find any trace of the object but none was found. Meteorite? Likely. Alien invaders? Well, let’s just say if I were an alien overlord I’d definitely choose Xinjiang as a nice, remote, resource-rich, sparsely populated, spacious base of operations to begin my nefarious conquest. I suppose time will tell.
• 29 December 2007: From the beginning of its operation to the 25th of this month, the China-Kazakhstan crude oil pipeline has transported 4.7 million tons of oil, worth 2.4 billion American dollars.
• 29 December 2007: The 20th and final meeting of the 9th Regional People’s Political Consultative Conference ended on the afternoon of the 28th. The primary goal of the meeting was to elect delegates for the 10th Regional People’s Political Consultative Conference, whose first meeting will be held on the 13th of next year. The members of the 10th RPPCC can be found here.

Other News

•  26 December 2007: The People’s Daily Online provides some English language coverage on the recent closure of Urumqi airport.
• 26 December 2007: China View provides a picture gallery to celebrate the completion of the renovation of Kashgar’s old town.
• 28 December 2007: China Daily runs an article on Pimo, a small town on the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert and home to some miraculous desert reclamation efforts.

This week saw a massive migration of herds and their flocks take a detour through Aletai City, the opening of a massive, Xinjiang funded tin-zinc mine in Tajikistan, the completion of this year’s Patriotic Muslim Cleric Training Program, new highs in yearly cotton and gold production, the first draft of the translation of the Kyrgyz epic poem Manas to Mandarin Chinese, and more, under the break.

Xinhua Network News Xinjiang Channel 新华网新疆频道

• 17 December 2007:The “port” of Kalasu (see in Google Earth) on the China-Tajikistan border in Tashkorgan County of Kashgar Prefecture, officially closed for the winter on the 30th of November. The original closure was scheduled for the 30th of October but an extension was requested due to the volume of traffic through the port. This year Kalasu saw record highs, including the export of 4046 vehicles, 55 thousand tons of various goods, and 250 million American dollars worth of materials. Workers at Kalasu attribute this rise in commerce and trade to improvements in the Tajik economy.
• 17 December 2007: An explosion in a coal mine exploration well located in Wuqia County resulted in 4 deaths and 2 injuries.
• 17 December 2007: Herders and their flocks crowded the streets of Aletai City recently due to a recent drought that caused their customary winter pastures to supply insufficient water and feed for the animals. Snows in northern Xinjiang have come a month late, throwing off the ecological balance in the area by delaying the much needed water supply which constitutes the base of the region’s wintertime environmental structure. Aletai officials quickly mobilized and organized a program to migrate the herders from their traditional winter pastures in the E’erqisi and Wulungu river valleys to untouched pastures in the Sawu’er Mountains. Units of cadres, doctors, and veterinarians escorted 10 thousand herders and their 55 thousand animals from their old pastures, through Aletai City, to their destination from the 8th to the 14th.
• 18 December 2007: A cooperation agreement was drafted and signed by delegates from Xinjiang Medical University’s Erfu Hospital and Zhongnan University’s Xiangya No. 2 Hospital. The agreement was announced in a ceremony on the 15th. The Erfu hospital, located in Hunan, is renowned across China for being one of the top hospitals in the country, particularly in the field of cardiovascular surgery. The cooperative effort will focus on improving cardiovascular facilities in the Xinjiang hospital and devising better systems for providing better treatment to high-risk Xinjiang residents.
• 18 December 2007: The groundbreaking ceremony for Xinjiang’s largest foreign project, the A’erdeng-Tuopukan lead zinc ore mine in Tajikistan, was held on the 15th. The event was notable enough for XUAR Vice-Chairman Hu Wei to personally attend. The Xinjiang Tajikistan-China Mining Company invested 73 million dollars for the creation of the facility which, after constructed, will have the ability to mine and process 100 million tons of the projected 600 million tons total. Later expansions of the facility will permit continued exploitation of the mine’s underground resources.
• 18 December 2007: This year’s Patriotic Muslim Cleric Training Program ended satisfactorily and XUAR Chairman Ismail Tiliwaldi attended the closing ceremony and gave a talk exhorting the imams and religious workers who participated in the program to vigorously contribute to socialism and social harmony.
• 18 December 2007: The regional Gold Administration Bureau has announced that for the year of 2007 from January to November, a total of 6665.73 kg of gold has been minded so far. Given average monthly mining rates and mining forecasts, the total accumulated amount of mined gold is expected to pass 7 metric tons by the end of the year, making a new all time high.
• 18 December 2007: The Agricultural Bureau of the XPCC has verified that a cotton farm run by the 33th regiment of the 2nd Agricultural Division has reached a yield of 280 kg of cotton per mu, breaking a national record and demonstrating for the fourth year in the row that the XPCC cotton fields along the Tarim river north of the Taklamakan are the highest producing cotton fields in China.
• 19 December 2007: Pollution has gotten even worse in Urumqi over the past few days, with the pollution index hitting a high of 340. According to the article, the air has becoming so thick that an artificial fog has enshrouded the city and a choking smell hangs in the air. It even goes so far as to strongly recommend wearing face masks when outdoors.
• 19 December 2007: 200 million yuan is going to be invested in a new effort to reduce class sizes in Urumqi. Starting next year, elementary school classes will be limited to 50 students and middle school classes will be limited to 46 students. The 200 million yuan investment will be used to construct 22 new school campuses in 4 of the city’s center neighborhoods in order to accommodate the reallocation of students.
• 19 December 2007: 18,850 extremely impoverished households across Xinjiang will receive a bag of flour, a bag of rice, and two buckets of cooking oil. The donations are a part of the effort to help impoverished households prepare festivities for Qurban, New Year’s, and/or Spring Festival.
• 20 December 2007: The first draft of the Chinese translation of the Kirghiz epic poem “Manas” has been completed by over 30 scholars from the XUAR Literary Union and from the Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture. All 230 thousand lines of the poem have been translated but the draft is currently being reviewed by experts from Chinese Academcy of Social Sciences and the Central Nationalities University. The final edited version of the epic poem is expected to be published August of next year.
• 21 December 2007: Hospitals in Urumqi are reporting the continuous, high-level pollution that has been plaguing the city for the past several days is having a significant effect on the health of residents. The respiratory, ear-nose-throat, and fever departments of Urumqi’s major hospitals are seeing almost 100 patients with pollution related ailments every day. The lead physician of Urumqi’s health care advisory service has no doubts whatsoever that pollution is the cause of this spike of ailments; furthermore, he recommends that all residents, especially the elderly and children, minimize their time outside and wear face masks should going outdoors become an absolute necessity.
• 22 December 2007: As part of a continuing effort to improve the food production industry in Urumqi, the city government has closed over ten thousand unlicensed food industry businesses over the past year. Restaurants, wholesale food businesses, and foodstuff markets must pass sanitary inspections, safety inspections, and obtain the proper licenses or otherwise face the possibility of being shut down by the city’s Industrial and Commercial Bureau.

Other News

• 17 December 2007: Forbes announces that the Asian Development Bank will provide 150 million American dollars to help Xinjiang develop its transportation infrastructure, particularly to improve the Korla-Kuche stretch of the Urumqi-Kashgar road system.
• 20 December 2007: Reuters covers the recently launched joint anti-terrorism exercises conducted by India and China. Although the exercises are being held in Yunnan, both countries have stated anti-terrorism as one of the goals of the training regimen and Reuters cannot help but note similarities between Xinjiang in China and Kashmir in India.
• 21 December 2007: China View has an English language version of a Xinhua article on this year’s total gas production in the Tarim Basin. By the end of the year, the total gas produced by the Tarim gas fields is expected to reach 15.5 billion cubic meters, a 40% increase since last year. Moreover, this year 12 billion cubic meters of the extracted gas were sent to China’s east coast through a pipeline that begins in Lunnan in Southern Xinjiang and ends in Baihe outside of Shanghai (See in Google Earth).

Xinhua Network News Xinjiang Channel 新华网新疆频道

• 9 December 2007: Xinjiang will hopefully have two new national-level geographical parks in the near future. Tuomuer Canyon in Wensu County and Tianshan Canyon in Kuche County, both of Aksu prefecture, recently were submitted to the National Resources Department as potential National Park Candidates. Representatives from the NRD investigated both sites at the end of October and a ruling on the status of the two parks is expected to be announced shortly.

• 9 December 2007: Over 16 million yuan will be invested for the protection and preservation of the Silk Road’s oldest military installation, the Keziergaha Watchtower, as well as nearby grottoes containing Buddhist frescoes. The Keziergaha Watchtower (whose name is ancient Turkic for “Red Checkpoint”) was built sometime during the Han Dynasty and was part of a network of towers that stretched all the way to Changan. The nearby Buddhist grottoes were constructed sometime in the 5th century. The investment will go into protection projects such as a workstation, weather monitoring equipment, and restoration work.

• 10 December 2007: Epic rescue operations have been carried out to rescue a crippled camel discovered by a research expedition in the Lop Nur Wild Camel Reserve on the 1st of December. After tracking the injured camel for several days, food, salt, and antibiotics were brought out to the camel on the 7th; on the 8th, a crew ventured into the wild and with the help of tranquilizers this crew managed to load the camel into a truck, by which it was brought to a veterinary clinic in Ruoqiang. Treatment was given to the wild camel in Ruoqiang until arrangements were made to transport the camel to the Tianshan Wildlife Reserve center for more extensive treatment.

• 11 December 2007: According to the National Statistics Bureau’s Xinjiang Investigation Team, the consumer price index rose 9.7% over the month of November. Prices for consumer goods continue rising.

• 11 December 2007: During a highway building project, construction workers unearthed a cemetery whose contents include 2400 year old wheat stalks that still maintain a golden hue. The wheat is projected to have been buried sometime around the Warring States period or the Qin dynasty, and strongly imply that at the time the Turpan basin had a highly developed wheat agricultural base.

• 11 December 2007: Two days of continuous fog caused the delay or cancellation of over 200 flights at Urumqi International Airport. The fog reduced visibility to 200 meters, below acceptable operating standards. The fog departed on the 10th and normal operations were reinstated at around 12:30.

• 12 December 2007: The regional output value of the XUAR increased 12% over the last year, which is a new high when compared to the economic performance of the last 12 years. Following this general economic growth, average yearly disposable income for residents of cities and townships surpassed the 10 thousand yuan benchmark and monthly income for rural areas surpassed 3000 yuan. An employee of the regional statistics bureau warned that although industries are improving across the board and incomes are rising, Xinjiang still faces rising prices and widespread sanitation problems in the food production industry.

• 12 December 2007: The National Power Grid Corporation has invested 2.1 billion yuan into the construction of power converting stations and coal mines in the eastern part of the Junggar Basin, where an estimated 370 billion tons of coal await extraction. Xinjiang is playing an increasingly important role in China’s energy infrastructure as the demand for more energy resources rises with China’s prospering economy.

• 12 December 2007: This year, 200 thousand high school graduates did not continue on to higher education. The regional government intends to see the silver lining of this situation by mobilizing massive integrated vocational education programs to provide high school graduates with occupational skills useful to Xinjiang’s burgeoning industries.

• 12 December 2007: Officers with the Railway Police recently shutdown a counterfeit train ticket operation in Urumqi. A railway worker discovered a passenger with a fake ticket on the 8th, which triggered investigations. Soon after, two more passengers were found with fake tickets and after examination, all three tickets were judged as coming from the same source. Further investigations lead police to Urumqi’s Midong New Neighborhood, where two suspects were arrested and over 20 thousand yuan worth of fake tickets were confiscated.

• 13 December 2007: In an ironic twist to the well-known bystander effect, two brave gentlemen did respond to the pleas of help coming from a damsel being mugged by two thugs… but after the two thugs were subdued and brought to the local police station, the victim was nowhere to be found, this providing no legal basis whatsoever to set up a case against the two muggers, especially after the muggers began making counter-accusations against the two vigilantes, saying they were the innocent, assaulted victims. After hearing calls for help while walking back to his unit, PLA soldier Nueraili dashed to the rescue and took down two robbers who were in the process of chasing a woman down the street. Eventually the three of them fell to the ground in a scuffle, whereupon the victim and another woman started shouting for someone to help the outnumbered Nueraili. Another upstanding citizen, Zhang Junxin, joined the fray and eventually the two heroes were able to overcome the criminals and bring them to the local police station. Unfortunately, since the two witnesses left, there was no way for officers to establish a criminal case and investigation, and now Nueraili and Zhang Junxin are facing accusations of assault by the foiled criminals. In order to “carry out justice,” the police stations have begun a publicity campaign on behalf of the two vigilantes, urging the two witnesses to come forward to resolve the case.

• 13 December 2007: Since its inauguration in 2005, the “Sunshine Project” has provided around 6000 farmers and herders with occupational skills. As part of the ongoing effort to provide rural residents with the skills necessary to make a decent living in modernizing Xinjiang, the “Sunshine Project” offers vocational training in a number of fields, including electric work, computers, culinary arts, weaving, farm equipment repair, driving, and tourism service.

• 13 December 2007: The regional Health Department has released statistics regarding epidemic diseases in Xinjiang for the month of November. There are currently 13976 cases of “Type B” diseases in Xinjiang, an increase of 19.89% when compared to the same time period last year. Type B diseases include hepatitis A, measles, whooping cough, and mumps. Experts ascribe last month’s increase to both the arrival of these diseases’ “high season” and a lack of adequate sanitary conditions in schools and neighborhoods.

• 13 December 2007: The fifth meeting of the seventh regional party committee was held in Urumqi on the 11th and the 12th, with Regional Party Secretary Wang Lequan and Regional Chairman Ismail Tiliwaldi making summarizing statements. The rhetorical focus of the meeting was the start of a “new history” for Xinjiang, a time of unprecedented opportunities whose advantages should be reaped to the fullest extent.

• 13 December 2007: Total cotton production for Xinjiang, China’s largest cotton base, is expected to reach 2.7 million tons by the end of the year, setting yet another annual record.

• 13 December 2007: A comprehensive 20-year plan for the restoration and renovation of the Tomb of Abakh Khoja (or the Tomb of the Fragrant Concubine) and the Id Kah mosque has been submitted to the local government for examination and approval. The first phase of this long term plan consists of reinforcing the foundations of both structures and implementing fire prevention and earthquake-resistant engineering projects on the buildings and the surrounding neighborhoods. One sentence in the Xinhua article also notes that structures near these cultural sites deemed “detrimental” to their preservation will be demolished as a part of this plan.

• 13 December 2007: The Flying Tigers are maintaining their historical winning streak now that they have played every team once and are now facing CBA opponents for the second time in the season. The Flying Tigers defeated Shaanxi, Jilin, and Liaoning once more in three away games, then defeated Shandong at home on the 9th. Tension mounted on the days leading up to the Flying Tigers’ epic showdown with their season rival, the Jiangsu Dragons, who defeated the Flying Tigers in Jiangsu on the 7th of November. This time, however, the Flying Tigers won, 108-90, bestowing the nickname of “Devil Court” on their Urumqi stadium, seeing that they have yet to see a loss on their home turf.

• 14 December 2007: The second stage of the China-Kazakhstan pipeline has officially begun. The second stage is expected to reach completion on 1 October 2009 and will stretch from Kenjiyake to Kumkol, which both are located within Kazakhstan. Eventually the pipeline will reach the port of Alashankou on the Chinese side of the Kazakh-Chinese border, where crude oil can be delivered to China’s internal pipeline system. Upon completion, this pipeline is expected to deliver 20 million tons annually from the Caspian Sea to the PRC.
• 14 December 2007: The fifth XPCC Party Committee held its 10th meeting on the 13th, during which the XPCC secretary Nie Weiguo outlined the goals of the XPCC for the upcoming years. The XPCC’s lofty goals include studying and implementing the spirit of the 17th National People’s Congress, intensifying the opening and reform policies, continue generating new systems and ideas to implement XPCC policies, accelerate economic structural adjustments, build up the “three agricultural bases” and the “main six industries,” push forward the “new industrialization,” modernize agriculture and continue urbanization so as to improve lives and promote social harmony, and to make the XPCC a model unit in constructing an affluent society in China’s northwest. Piece of cake.
• 14 December 2007: The 2007-2008 Xinjiang Economic and Social Situation Analysis and Forecast Bluebook has been released by the Xinjiang Social Sciences Institute. The Bluebook predicts that over the following year, Xinjiang’s GDP will increase by 11.65%, and that consumer prices will increase by 4%, particularly in the upcoming 9 months where increases will be solidly above the national average. Foodstuffs are expected to see a particularly high rise of 9.1%. The combined GDP of the Urumqi-Changji area will account for 1/3 of Xinjiang’s total GDP and generate over 40% of the region’s fiscal revenue, solidly pinning it as the region’s economic center and powerhouse. The Bluebook also forecasts detrimental imbalances in water resource management, Xinjiang’s transportation system, and comparative economic development between North and South Xinjiang, as well as an increase in regional income disparities.
• 14 December 2007: XUAR Chairman Ismail Tiliwaldi announced that this year’s total crude oil production is expected to hit 26 million tons, a 5.5% increase compared with last year’s crude oil production. Xinjiang thus remains the top oil producer in China for the 18th consecutive year.
• 15 December 2007: Starting from next year, Turpan’s Astana tombs will have a comprehensive “early warning system” to prevent grave robbers from looting the site. The Regional Cultural Artificats Protection Committee invested 4.85 million yuan for the Astana Tomb Security Program, which officially began construction work in the past few days. The system is expected to be completed by April 2008 and will include intruder detection systems, closed circuit TV monitoring systems, and an accompanying control center. The article sets aside a special paragraph to point out the precedent of tomb pillaging set by European and Japanese explorers in the 19th century.

Other News

• 10 December 2007: Dominic Barton at the Financial Times contends that the infrastructure for a new industrial Silk Road has been laid over the past several years; Xinjiang of course represents one of this new trade route’s most important hubs.
• 10 December 2007: China View runs an English language version of the Xinhua article describing delays at the Urumqi airport caused by heavy fog.

Blogs

• 14 December 2007: Michael discusses some statistics he found regarding Chinese name length and Xinjiang.
• 15 December 2007: The KSA Daily makes some observations about the paucity of literature on the Uyghur language, which ironically makes the pool of authors quite accessible to those in Xinjiang.

Xinhua Network News Xinjiang Channel 新华网新疆频道

• 2 December 2007: A group of experts from the National Forestry Bureau recently finished a survey in the Gurbantunggut Desert and found that the local sacsaoul forests now cover 15 million mu, enough to bring about a significant decrease in climate warming in the area. The growing forest has been directly attributed to the efforts of the 8th Agricultural Division of the XPCC, which plants over 300,000 mu of forest a year and sows over 500,000 mu worth of seeds via airborne distribution. The continuing growth of vegetation in the Gurbantunggut Desert is believed to have also brought about greater precipitation and fewer sandstorms, which in turn has aided in very high cotton outputs from farms administered by the same XPCC units.
• 2 December 2007: A second group of over 1000 demobilized soldiers were ceremoniously seen off at Urumqi’s train station on the 1st, bound towards their original homelands in Eastern China.
• 2 December 2007: Now that the harvesting season is over, agricultural migrant workers are also returning via train to their homelands in China proper. The last official batch of workers arrived in Henan from Kuitun on the 30th of November. They were the last 2422 of a total of 290,000 migrant workers from other provinces who came to Xinjiang to work seasonally on farms and orchards.
• 3 December 2007: The Malaysia consulate in China, the Malaysia Foreign Trade Promotion Center, the Malaysia Halal Goods Exhibition Committee, and the XUAR Foreign Trade office held a seminar on halal goods business opportunities in Urumqi on 26 November. The goal of the seminar was to strengthen the foreign trade relationship between Malaysia, which has an established halal goods industrial base, and Xinjiang, which has a high-demand for quality halal goods.
• 3 December 2007: From January to October of this year, the total output of Xinjiang’s mechanical and electrical industry totaled over 8.5 billion yuan, ranking first in the country.
• 3 December 2007: Th XPCC has established the “Frontier Nationalities Orchestra,” Xinjiang’s first ethnically themed orchestra. The orchestra has over 70 members, most of whom are already members of other troupes in the XPCC Cultural Union, such as the XPCC Song and Dance Troupe, the XPCC Acrobatics Troupe, the XPCC Qin Opera Group, the Urumqi Qin Opera Group, and the Xinjiang Erhu Association. The creation of the Frontier Nationalities Orchestra was lauded by the Cultural Union secretary Qin Anjiang as a way to return to traditional styles of music which have been neglected in the recent years.
• 3 December 2007: Construction of the northwest’s first inland fishing port began at the end of November. The construction site is located on the shores of Bosten lake in Bayingholin Prefecture. Bosten Lake is Xinjiang’s largest fishing industry base, producing over 6000 tons of aquatic products annually, but because of the lack of a complete and dedicated port, the anchorage and unloading of fishing boats has always been scattered, haphazard, and inefficient. Once completed, the Bosten Fishing Port will be able to simultaneously dock 150 fishing vessels.
• 3 December 2007: Starting from the end of December, the pollution emission levels of 55 centralized heating companies in Urumqi will be monitored by local Environmental Protection Bureaus 24 hours a day through the use of electronic monitoring systems. The monitoring systems have already been installed at the company installations and are scheduled to pass inspection on the 20th of December. One monitoring begins, should any particular company surpass emission standards, officers of the EPB will immediately be dispatched to rectify the situation. The constant monitoring of emissions is expected to create a significant, positive impact on the pollution situation in Urumqi.
• 4 December 2007: Just as Urumqi’s winter reaches full swing, China Southern Airlines has opened its Urumq – Taiyuan – Haikou route, offering embattled Urumchiliks with enough money a way to fly to China’s tropical getaway.
• 4 December 2007: The XUAR Propaganda Bureau and the Xinjiang Writer’s Association held the Regional Novel and Documentary Literature Seminar on the 1st of December. Over 100 writers of all nationalities attended to talk about literary works produced in Xinjiang over the past few years, to share ideas, and to discuss how to further enrich Xinjiang’s nationalities and socialist literature for the future. The article states that over the past 10 years, Xinjiang’s naturally abundant ethnic resources and talented writers have created great strides in both Han literature in Mandarin and minority literature in minority languages, so much so that a number of Xinjiang writers have joined the forefront of modern Chinese literature.
• 4 December 2007: The first Xinjiang Teachers Education Development Forum was held at Xinjiang Normal University, gathering a large number of education intellectuals from all over Xinjiang and greater China to discuss ways in which the principles and spirit of the 17th People’s Congress could be implemented in regional education systems.
• 4 December 2007: Urumqi continues to face uncomfortably high levels of pollution. After the city environmental protection bureau issued its first level blue pollution warning in the 28th, Urumqi saw an additional four days of level 3 pollution from the 29th of November to the 2nd of December. On the 3rd, the pollution level dropped to level 2, a positive development, but still high enough to bother the respiratory systems of Urumqi residents.
• 5 December 2007: By the end of 2008, all grassroots level work units will have revised and improved their emergency response systems, according to information attained at the recently held Regional Grassroots-Level Emergency Management Conference. Efforts to improve emergency response systems include the creation of one or two full time emergency response teams for every city and county, and an additional emergency response team for townships meeting certain risk conditions, streamlined communication and reaction protocols between all levels of the emergency response bureaucracy, and systematic grassroots education to include beneficial public participation in the event of an emergency.
• 5 December 2007: Of the college student volunteers who participate in the “Serving the West” program, 90% ultimately decide to join the CCP after their volunteer period is over. The “Serving the West” program is a part of the larger “Develop the West” plan which involves sending student volunteers from China proper into Xinjiang to do “service work.” According to the article, most of the students, because of the work, become involved with intimate, daily contact with minority communities and get to witness firsthand the rapid economic and social development brought about by the party leadership, thus themselves becoming ardent followers of the party line. Since the “Serving the West” program began in 2003, 3892 student volunteers have done work in Xinjiang. Interestingly, 700 of those volunteers, or 18%, have decided to stay in Xinjiang after their service period is over.
• 5 December 2007: A 120 million yuan fund has been established to help low-income middle school and college students pursue their education. The money will be use to set up scholarships and financial aid programs which in turn will be distributed to low-income students across Xinjiang.
• 5 December 2007: The Regional Education Department has announced that there are currently 150 thousand students in the bilingual education system. The bilingual education program first began as a small number of experimental schools in the 80s and 90s, expanding greatly after the national government invested 130 million yuan in 2003 to train minority teachers in bilingual teaching methods; currently 18 thousand minority teachers have gone through this training regimen and are now teaching using bilingual methods. The bilingual syllabus is characterized by hard sciences such as math, physics, and chemistry being taught in Mandarin Chinese, with the rest of the subjects being taught in the local language.
• 5 December 2007: After receiving a report of illegal poaching on the 24th of November, officers of the Tacheng District Forestry Police Branch carried out a full-blown investigation, including the shadowing of a number of suspects, that culminated in the pulling-over of a large van in Hebukusaier Mongol Autonomous County (see in Google Earth) stuffed with ten Goitered Gazelle corpses. The Goitered Gazelle is classified as a level two protected wildlife and the arrest of the poachers is considered a breakthrough in conservation in Xinjiang.
• 6 December 2007: A elite team of handpicked security industry professionals gave an excellent performance at the first ever “National Security Industry Abilities Competition, which was hosted by Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Labor and Social Security, the All-China Federation of Labor Unions, and the Central Communist Youth League from the 27th to the 30th of November in Chengdu. Competing against 30 thousand competitors from all 31 of China’s districts, the Xinjiang team managed to land 6th place overall and individual team members garnered over 20 special awards.
• 6 December 2007: A reporter stumbled upon an entourage of foreign tourists who had bypassed the official entrance to the ancient ruins of Loulan while doing research on the popular cultural heritage site. The reporter then went on to write about the park’s insufficient measures to ensure that access to the park is controlled and monitored, an oversight that threatens the longevity of the site.
• 6 December 2007: Over 7000 people have signed up to take the National Public Service Exam in Urumqi, which will be held on the 9th of December. This year, all testing locations will be in Urumqi.
• 6 December 2007: Since the start of winter, Alpine Ibex, Red Deer, have appeared in unprecedented numbers in A’ertai Mountain Region. According to still incomplete statistics, there are over 20 thousand of these animals distributed over two headwater areas in the mountains. This number is a substantial increase from the counts made in the 1990s, a change that is attributed to the decision in 2001 to make the two headwater areas wildlife reserve to counter the negative effects of mining, grazing, and hunting.
• 7 December 2007:Urumqi’s Ministry of Culture will soon be implementing an interesting and lucrative system to generate revenues off of the city’s bustling Karaoke industry: a “copyright fee” that karaoke companies must pay for every song that is played. This system was developed in April this year but was postponed until the proper monitoring software could be developed. Installation of this software should be complete with 15 of Urumqi’s karaoke clubs by the 20th of December. Ominously, the article also adds that the monitoring software has the added function of filtering out songs that do not meet the approval standards of the Ministry of Culture.
• 7 December 2007: Large-scale gold exploration and mining operations are expanding to reap the benefits of continuously rising global gold prices. Gold is often recognized in Xinjiang circles as yet another rich natural resource with high potential in bolstering Xinjiang’s economy alongside the oil and natural gas industries. An industry insider states that so long as gold prices continue rising and investment for mining operations continues to flow in, Xinjiang will soon become one of China’s primary gold production bases. The most intensive gold mining is currently being carried out at Tacheng, Aletai, Yining, Hami, Turpan, and Changji. Gold production for the first half of this year is twice as large as the amount produced for the same period last year and resulted in 300 million renminbi worth of revenue.
• 8 December 2007: The Urumqi Family Planning Commission will conduct trial research for an “early stage education program” aimed at children up to 3 years of age their parents and teachers from December to the end of 2008. The education program has been designed to fix “errors” that supposedly exist in contemporary rearing methods of Urumqi parents, and involves training parents and early-education teachers in the effective techniques of child education, child psychology, sanitation, and language learning. After the trial period, the results will be analyzed and, if successful, a second stage aimed at more widespread training will begin.
• 8 December 2007: According to the China Seismic Monitoring Network, a level 4 earthquake occured in Gongliu County (see in Google Earth) at 1:36 in the morning on the 8th.
• 8 December 2007: Experts recently completed a topological survey of the Lop Nur “Sea of Death”, producing high-resolution topographical maps which hopefully will open the door for more detailed exploration of the region. The “Sea of Death” was one of China’s officially designated “Uncharted Regions,” which are areas that still do not have corresponding 1:5 scale maps. Previously, topographical surveys of the Sea of Death were impossible due to safety and technological restrictions, but the recent maturation of Chinese survey technology lead to the Lop Nur survey project’s inauguration in October. The article states that the logical follow-up to the mapping of the Sea of Death is exploration surveys seeking oil, natural gas, asbestos, coal, gold, and sylvite.
• 8 December 2007: Medical advertisements containing medical experts and former patients are now officially banned in Xinjiang. The Xinjiang Broadcast, Movie, and Television Bureau has release a new set if guidelines regarding medical, especially pharmaceutical, advertisements. According to the article, there is a significant problem in Xinjiang of residents being persuaded into over-buying and over-using medical products due to dishonest advertisements that exaggerate effectiveness and conceal side-effects. Part of the governmental response to this situation is a total ban on medical specialists and patients lauding a product through advertisements.
• 8 December 2007: There are over 10 thousand official tour guides in Xinjiang. Although this is a reflection of Xinjiang’s rapidly growing tourism sector, Xinajing’s Tourism Bureau believes that the number of tour guides will soon reach a saturation point. In order to ensure a high quality among the increasing quantity of Xinjiang’s tour guides, adjustments have been made to the official tour guide examination, including an increase of difficulty and the addition of a Chinese language and literature section.
• 8 December 2007: Vegetation coverage of the Heavenly Lake scenic area is up to 45%, a welcome growth since 2003 when coverage was at 35%. The increase of vegetation is ascribed to the adoption of the “Ecological Heavenly Lake” plan in 2003 which mandated forest and river conservation engineering projects as well as nomadic resettlement.

Other News

• 8 December 2007: A comprehensive article at China.org.cn covering the nationwide phenomenon of meteorological espionage mentions the clandestine weather monitoring stations covered in last week’s news roundup.

Xinhua Network News Xinjiang Channel 新华网新疆频道

• 25 November 2007: Twenty-one culture officials from four Central Asian countries arrived in Xinjiang representing the “SCO Member States Culture Officials High-level Research Team.” Before coming to China, the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, and Krygyz who make up the team studied the cultural and economic history of Xinjiang. After arriving the officials conducted research related to cultural and economic spheres, doing things such as holding informal talks with notable cultural figures of Xinjiang (such as tightrope worker Adili Wushouer and dancer Dilnaer), visiting cultural sites such as the Xinjiang Cultural Art Museum and the Great Bazaar in Urumqi, and swapping observations about cultural and economic affairs in their own respective countries with Chinese counterparts.
• 26 November 2007: For the first time, AIDS prevention information will be inserted into the curriculum of migrant worker after-hours schools. Based on statistics on attendance at these special after-hours schools, this information will reach over 200 thousand people. At the opening ceremony, Regional Health Department Vice-Director Zhang Yongzhong underscored the potential effectiveness of this curriculum by recognizing migrant workers, due to the nature of their work and lives in Xinjiang, as one of the primary vectors for the disease. There are over 20 thousand HIV-positive individuals in Xinjiang, ranking the province 4th in the country.
• 27 November 2007: Delegates from the Xinjiang Science and Technology Department presented at the “Arabic Software Technology Exchange and Product Introduction” meeting held at the Egypt Information Technology Institute in Cairo on the 26th. The institute’s president expressed hopes that further technological exchanges could be carried out between China and Egypt. The Xinjiang delegates discussed developing trends in operating system software and office software and presented an Arabic Linux system, Arabic office software, Arabic multi-lingual dictionaries, telecom platforms, and small “knowledge-increasing” games.
• 28 November 2007: Two members of the Regional Standing Committee, Fu Qiang and Bai Zhijie, toured various destinations in Xinjiang to inspect the ongoing implementation of an electronic-classroom program funded by the Central Committee of the Communist Party. The program equips educational institutions throughout Xinjiang with computers and other multimedia equipment with the hopes that they will help raise educational standards in Xinjiang. Fu and Bai encouraged the continuing use and care of the equipment at their respective destinations.
• 28 November 2007: A new price-monitoring system has been setup in Urumqi to detect abnormal fluctuations in the prices of daily-use goods and alert the property government organizations should prices rise past a certain threshold within a certain period of time. The wholesale prices of grains, cooking oil, meat, vegetables, eggs, sugar, and other assorted daily use good will be monitored. Should any alarming abnormalities appear, the Urumqi Commercial Affairs Bureau will be alerted within one hour, and in turn will inform the relevant emergency response teams who will then carry out the necessary measures to rectify the situation.
• 28 November 2007: Urumqi’s City Council met recently and decided to invest 3.6 billion yuan in 86 construction projects over the next year, as a part of the “Charge South, Expand North, Extend East, Advance West” campaign. A large portion of these funds will be used to renovate and expand the transportation infrastructure; funds will also be allocated to Urumqi’s railway system, airport, and sewage system.
• 28 November 2007: An intensive training program has begun for Xinjiang athletes as the final winter before the 2008 Olympics approaches. The program will focus on 6 sports which apparently are the strongest candidates in Xinjiang’s athletic community; these sports are boxing, women’s volleyball, men’s archery, men’s middle/long distance running, equestrian, and taekwondo. Training is escalating, and more trainers (including 4 foreigners) are being hired to increase the intensity of the training regimens.
• 28 November 2007: Starting from the 27th of November, the number 4 will no longer appear on the license plates of newly registered vehicles with less than 9 seats. Private car ownership in Xinjiang has followed the national trend and has increased rapidly in the past several years; many owners of these private family cars desire auspicious plate numbers and try to avoid unlucky numbers, especially the number 4, which in Mandarin is pronounced similarly to the word for death, and the combination 47, which sounds similar to the phrase “die from anger (road rage, perhaps?)” and “go and die.” The removal of 4 from possible license plate combinations began in June of this year at the Qaramay Prefecture and quickly spread throughout the region, only now reaching the capital. Authorities made it a point to tell Xinhua that this was not wasting resources to indulge superstition but rather a wise measure to handle a cultural issue (I really can’t tell the difference). Personally, the 9 seats and under distinction puzzles me given the recent spate of large vehicle accidents on Xinjiang highways.
• 28 November 2007: Experts warn that lead poisoning leading to irreversible neurological and developmental damage is a high risk among children in Xinjiang. The article notably framed the effects of lead poisoning in terms of education, warning that children with high blood-lead levels will become inattentive and have eroded long-term memory and reasoning skills, leading to difficulties in the education system. An expert at the Xinjiang Chinese Medicine Institute identified highly-leaded living environments as the culprit, saying that children who like to bite things, such as pencils, toys, crayons, and household objects decorated with leaded paint, are likely to get lead poisoning due to the high lead content of these items. Interestingly, the recommended course of action contained nothing about parental or corporate responsibility, and instead recommended that children be fed lead-detox diets to counter what may be perceived as the inevitable influence of lead in Chinese households.
• 29 November 2007: The Regional Construction Department has teamed up with Disabled and Elderly Committee of the Civil Affairs Department to begin discussing the implementation of the National “100 Disability-Friendly Cities” notice, which in Xinjiang will include the cities of Urumqi, Shihezi, and Qaramay. Newly roads, apartments, tenements, and dormitories must comply with disability standards; at least 50% of public places such as theaters, schools, libraries, and museums are to be renovated to fulfill disability standards; and at least 30% of the commercial centers in these cities, like shopping malls, will also be required to meet disability standards. Construction for the disabled-friendly project will begin in 2008; a “midterm checkup” to check the project’s progress will be held on 2010.
• 29 November 2007: Three consecutive days of high levels of pollution in Urumqi, from the 26th to the 28th, have prompted the city’s Environmental Protection Department to issue a “blue” air pollution warning for the first time. The blue warning is issued after a “level-three” pollution index is maintained for three consecutive days, while the yellow warning is issued for three consecutive days of “level-four” pollution and the red warning is saved for two consecutive days of level-five pollution. The main cause of the high pollution currently plaguing Urumqi is the arrival of cold weather which has triggered an expected spike in heat-supplying measures which naturally brings about a corresponding rise in air pollution.
• 29 November 2007: The 47th meeting of the 10th Regional People’s Government standing committee began on the afternoon of the 28th. The four topics of discussion were “Regional Emergency Management Work Regulations,” the draft of “Regional Implementation of Botanical Epidemic Ordinances,” the draft proposal of “Regional Cotton Fire Safety and Management Methods,” and the draft of “Regional Atmospheric Damage Early-Warning Signal Distribution and Desemination Methods.”
• 29 November 2007: XUAR Chairman Ismail Tiliwaldi underscored the role the oil and natural gas industry plays in Xinjiang’s economic landscape while inspecting the Northwest Oil Fields branch of Sinopec. Tiliwaldi acknowledged the contribution oil and gas has given to the development of Xinjiang, dubbing them the “mainstay” and the “army” of Xinjiang’s continuing economic growth (perhaps the XPCC was slighted at such an analogy? Who knows.). Tiliwaldi also claimed that in order to broaden this socioeconomic contribution, the oil companies must quicken the pace of oil and gas exploration and exploitation.
• 29 November 2007: The Drug Prohibition Task Force of the Xinjiang PSB and the Guangzhou PSB busted a heroin-smuggling ring in Guangzhou on the 21st, arresting 5 individuals, including one Pakistani citizen, and confiscating 4380 pounds of heroin. This drug smuggling operation had trafficked and sold “Gold Crescent Moon” drugs in Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Yunnan, Xinjiang, and other locations under the guise of a legitimate business. Xinjiang’s continuing development of international trade with neighboring countries played a pivotal role in providing the supply lines that maintained the drug trafficking ring.
• 30 November 2007: The Regional AIDS Prevention Committee Office announced that this year 1043 AIDS patients have received free medical treatment as a part of growing regional efforts to combat the AIDS epidemic in Xinjiang. Also as a part of this effort, 29 national-level and 38 regional-level “monitoring stations” have been constructed, offering free AIDS diagnostic tests. The free AIDS treatment program began two years ago and not only increased availability of screening and treatment but also trained 1500 doctors and 1800 nurses to supply manpower to the effort.
• 30 November 2007: In what can only be called “a crippling blow to the progress of science worldwide,” the Regional Education Office has decided to cancel next year’s science competitions at the elementary school level. The official reasoning was that between schoolwork responsibilities and the cram classes （补习班）that most elementary school students must shoulder, the science competition represents an undue source of stress for the already busy students. Most parents and teachers expressed approval of the decision, but manufacturers of 3-panel cardboard displays have yet to chime in with their view on the decision.
• 30 November 2007: Starting from next semester, all rural students attending compulsory education will receive free textbooks and will not be required to pay school-related incidentals. The “two-free” policy began and autumn 2003 and, according to statistics, has resulted in a notable, positive impact on middle and elementary school student retention rates in agricultural and pastoral regions across Xinjiang.
• 1 December 2007: On November 30 Urumqi Environmental Protection Bureau announced that the National Environmental Protection Bureau has been selected as a pilot city for the National Motor Vehicle Pollution Management project. Because of Urumqi’s unique geographical position and growing car ownership, vehicle emissions have become a large enough problem for intervention on the national level. Around 20 million yuan of capital, along with the support of the central government, will be used to construct a high-level emissions testing center in Urumqi that will tag vehicles with unacceptably high emissions with yellow license plates, carrying out the first step of the pilot program, which is to identify the vehicles that should fall under closer scrutiny and management.
• 1 December 2007: The fishing industries of the most landlocked region of the world is expected to produce 880 thousand tons of products by the end of the year, and increase of 6% since last year. Xinjiang has a thriving “famous brands” industry that consists of selling products for their uniqueness to the region; Korla’s famous pears, Turpan’s famous grapes, and Hami’s famous melons are but three examples. The article states that the growth of the fishing industry can be partially attributed to successful campaigns to market fishing products as a regional specialty (特色). Along side pears, grapes, and melons, we may also expect to see “Sayram Lake White Salmon,” “Bayingholin Perch,” “Yili Sturgeon,” and other fine “famous brands” in stores throughout China.
• 1 December 2007: The Flying Tigers continue their rise to the top, defeating the Zhejiang Lions (103-88) on the 25th, the Zhejiang Wind Stallions (85-71) on the 28th, and the Yunnan Bulls (121-11) on the 30th. The Flying Tigers have risen to second place in the league after the Guangdong Tigers, previously a first place contender, suffered two losses. Now the Flying Tigers are competing only with the Jiangsu Dragons for the top position, both teams having a record of 13 victories to 2 losses.

Other News

• 29 November 2007: An article published by China.org.cn celebrates apparently successful efforts by the Tarim Oilfield Company, the Institute of Ecology and Geology, and the XPCC to combat and even reverse desertification in Xinjiang by planting new forests. Allegedly, a “green belt” in the Taklamakan has been expanding since 1994 when the Tarim Oilfield Company started planting trees adapted to the desert climate, while on the other side of the Tianshan , the XPCC has expanded sacsaoul forest coverage in the Gurbantunggut Desert to 15 million mu, starting an ecological chain reaction that results in fewer sandstorms, more precipitation, and greater plant growth.
• 30 November 2007: The Los Angeles Times ran a bare-bones-basics guide to traveling through Xinjiang on a motorcycle. The guide essentially summarizes conditions in Xinjiang categorized by topics relevant to motorcyclists: road conditions, gasoline, laws, etc. If your interested is piqued, be sure to check out the more personalized and detailed account of Michael Manning’s trans-Taklamakan adventure here.

Blogs

• 26 November 2007 and 30 November 2007: Michael Manning discusses teaching English in Xinjiang in a 26 November post, then shares some Xinjiang-related clips of a National Geographic Silk Road Documentary in a 30 November post.

Xinhua Network News Xinjiang Channel 新华网新疆频道

• 18 November 2008: The Regional Health Department has announced the launch of the “Peaceful Hospitals” campaign. The Xinhua article mentions that in the past few years there has been an unacceptable deterioration of doctor-patient relationships in Xinjiang, with a few incidents resulting in medical workers receiving injuries (the article does not elaborate on these curious events). In order to rectify a “lack of proper confidence and understanding between doctors and patients,” the Health Department a small committee to coordinate efforts aimed at “strengthening medical service principles, improving the quality of medical treatment, establishing harmonious doctor-patient relations, resolving doctor-patient disputes, strengthening the hospital security systems, safeguarding order in hospitals, launching reform efforts, and building an overall healthy hospital environment.”
• 18 November 2008: A dramatic armed carjacking occurred in Urumqi on the 16th. This incident, which took place in broad daylight at the Xingguang Market （星光夜市）on Mashi Lane （马市巷）involved 3 carjackers stealing a white automobile after forcefully removing the driver and one occupant. According to eye-witness reports and testimonies from the victims, as the victims were waiting in their vehicle, one carjacker entered the car through the side door and sat in the passenger seat, while the other two opened the two rear doors and sat down in the backseats. One brandished a gun as the others handcuffed the occupant in the back. Eventually, they ejected the occupants and began to drive off, whereupon the victims decided somehow that the best course of action would be to try to stop the carjackers by standing in their vehicle’s path. They became the first and only casualties of the carjacking after the vehicle collided with them, though the victims’ intervention efforts did cause the carjackers to crash into two other vehicles on their way out. The two victims were immediately sent to the hospital for minor injuries, and the robbery is being intensively examined with special fervor by the police’s criminal investigation unit because of the involvement of firearms.
• 19 November 2007: The Regional Forestry Department announced renewed planning efforts to prevent and control desertification in Southern Xinjiang, specifically in the region known as the “Three Prefectures,” Khotan Prefecture, Kashgar Prefecture, and Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture. The goal of these efforts is to raise further funds for the ongoing biological and non-biological projects aimed at staving off the continuing encroachment of the Taklamakan Desert into these areas.
• 19 November 2007: China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have jointly submitted a list of “Silk Road” cultural sites to the UNESCO as candidates for this year’s selection of World Heritage Sites. China’s candidates are: Jiaohe Ancient City, Gaochang Ancient City, Bezekilk Grottoes, Astana Tombs, Tuyuk Grottoes, and Taicang Tower in Turpan; the Ancient City of Loulan in the Bayingholin Prefecture; Subash Ruins, Kizil Grottoes, Kumutala Grottoes, and Senmusaimu Grottoes in Aksu Prefecture; Mahmut al-Kashgari’s tomb in Kashgar Prefecture; and the ancient ruins of Niya in Khotan prefecture. The final inspection committees for UNESCO will visit these sites next August.
• 19 November 2007: According to the latest observations, there are 13 pregnant mares among the wild horses in the Qaramay Wildlife Preserve.
• 19 November 2007: The first batch of over a thousand demobilized soldiers of the Xinjiang Military Region departed from Urumqi to return to their original hometowns. Xinjiang’s Vice-Chairman, Gupaer Abibula , along with the Vice-Chairman of Daily Affiars and several of the Xinjiang Military Region’s top brass all saw the soldiers off and thanked them for the work they did in developing and stabilizing Xinjiang.
• 19 November 2007: Urumqi’s Labor and Social Security Bureau began a special investigative program that will examine the income and pay situations of migrant workers employed in the metropolitan area. The investigation, which started on the 16th and will last until January 16th will look into the hiring and processing of migrant workers and how companies meet the workers’ basic needs such as food and drink. The investigation will focus on the construction and coal mining industries, and will also handle the reporting, fining, and punishment of companies that do not meet the proper standards.
• 19 November 2007: According to statistics published by Urumqi’s Municipal Government General Office, of the “10 Western Provincial Capitals,” Urumqi ranks 4th in per capita disposable income, after Hohhot, Chengdu, and Xi’an. Urumqi’s per capital disposable income was calculated at 8701 yuan (vs. 12,024 Hohhot, 10,833 Chengdu, and 9723 Xi’an).
• 19 November 2007: According to China’s National Observatory, one of the best places to observe August 1, 2008 total eclipse will be the grasslands of Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County in northeast Xinjiang (See in Google Earth). The local government has already begun planning for huge festivities in the grasslands on the day of the eclipse. Bring your own tent.
• 20 November 2007: A 220 thousand kilowatt power grid was opened at Kashgar on the 16th. XUAR Chairman Ismail Tiliwaldi was present at the opening ceremony and pressed the button activating the grid himself. The power grid represents yet another node in an ongoing high-level construction product started in 1988 with the goal of supplying a steady source of electric power to all of Xinjiang.
• 21 November 2007: The 34th meeting of the 10th National People’s Congress Regional Standing Committee opened on the morning of the 20th. Three lectures were heard, one on how XUAR can implement national flood control measures, another on promoting the use of a different type of walling material (??), and the third on the preservation of non-matierial culture in Xinjiang. Many affirmations were made to implement the policies established at the 17th National Congress.
• 21 November 2007: Ever wonder why Urumqi’s air is infamous for its pollution? Perhaps its been the coalfield fire that has been blazing away for the last several years! A small article on Xinhua states that a fire in the coal fields of Sulfur Valley (delightful name, 硫磺沟 – its a small township located just southwest of Urumqi. See Sulfur Valley in Google Earth) was finally extinguished recently. Soon afterwards, Xinjiang’s second largest coalfield fire in Tielieke township, Aksu prefecture (See in Google Earth), also was extinguished on the 19th of this month, after four years of vigilant management. At its largest extent, the fire at Tielieke covered over 923 thousand square meters. The fire is estimated to have destroyed 1.8 million tons of coal.
• 21 November 2007: Starting from December, all public toilet signs in Urumqi will fall under one integrated system of standards. Apparently, due to the lack of standards, public toilet signs all over Urumqi are hung in inappropriate or hidden places with vague and unhelpful directions (anyone from Urumqi who wants to testify to this situation, by all means, comment and share). In order to rectify this unacceptable situation, the Urumqi Municipal Scrap Management Center (any volunteers for a better translation of 废弃物管理中心?) held several discussion meetings and finally came up with a standardized system of signs that is eagerly expected to raise the overall standards of public toilets all over Urumqi. Urumqiliqs, prepare to say au revoir to the quaint British rendition of 公共厕所 to “WC.” Now it’s all rendered as the much less flattering “toilet.”
• 22 November 2007:Urumqi’s Political and Law Department has publicized a rising trend over the past year of pregnant and breastfeeding women selling and trafficking drugs. Currently the courts are examining 20 drug cases involving women which altogether involve 33 female suspects, 10 of whom are either pregnant or breastfeeding. The article notes that this trend is just one part of a larger, alarming growth of drug trafficking in general in Urumqi, particularly of heroin. The relevant governmental departments are currently holding discussions on how to handle these unprecedented criminal cases, particular in regards to the handling of the suspects’ children.
• 22 November 2007: The National Safety Supervision Head Office has published a list of 28 Xinjiang coal mines that will be closed by the end of the year for failure to comply with safety standards.
• 22 November 2007: The Meteorological Bureaus of Kashgar and Khotan have recently resolved two cases of international meteorological mystery and intrigue. Right after the resolution in August of a case of illegal weather monitoring by the Japanese in Hami Prefecture, two illegal atmospheric monitoring stations were discovered, one in Tuopuluke Village (Yengisar County, Kashgar Prefecture) and one in Luopu County (Khotan Prefecture), this time built by an American company, the Xinjiang-Pacific Agricultural Resources Development Corporation (新疆太平洋农业资料开发). According to the article, automatic weather monitoring equipment had been operating for over year when discovered by authorities in September 2006. Though the equipment was built on land owned by the company, the monitoring was conducted without the proper permission and certifications. The Meteorological Burueaus of the two prefectures have concluded their investigation and will confiscate all illegally obtained data from the XPARDC, tear down their facilities, and fine them Y10,000. The article notes that unique weather data acquired in the vicinity of the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau is valuable in thermal-conductivity research and thus provides incentives for clandestine monitoring by foreign firms.
• 22 November 2007: Xinjiang’s Flying Tigers continue their unprecedented performance in the CBA. After suffering an away defeat to the number 1 Guangdong Tigers in Zhongshan on the 16th (93-104), the Flying Tigers slipped past the Dongguan Cheetahs in an away game on the 18th (107-100), then defeated Shanxi on the 21st (114-88) and the Beijing Ducks on the 23rd (105-73) in Urumqi. The Flying Tigers are still ranked 3rd in the league after the Guangdong Tigers and the Jiangsu Dragons, although all three of these teams have a record of 10 victories and 2 defeats (I give mad props to whoever named the Beijing team… good sense of humor).
• 22 November 2007: China Southern Airlines will begin regular flights between Urumqi and Ashgabat on 12/18. Flight CZ6015 leaves Urumqi every Tuesday and Saturday at 22:10 Beijing Time, arriving at Ashgabat 3.7 hours later. Flight CZ6016 leaves Ashgabat every Wednesday and Sunday at 3:40 Beijing Time. Once this route opens, Xinjiang will be connected to all five Central Asian states.
• 22 November 2007: A lengthy special report lauds the XPCC’s efforts in building and protecting “green ecologies” in Xinjiang’s arid climate. The report is divided into three sections. The first describes a string of Bingtuan Farms that form a “green belt” between the Taklamakan Desert on the West and the Kumtag Desert on the East. The second section describes similar efforts along the Tianshan Mountains at the southern edge of the Gurbantunggut Desert and the northern edge of the Taklamakan. The final section discusses the XPCC’s most recent efforts to employ high-tech equipment to convert arid and semi-arid ecologies into irrigated, farmable land.
• 22 November 2007: Adelihan, a 62 year-old Kazakh herdsman from Fuhai County, Altai Prefecture, lauds the local Pastoral Settlement Program as a blessing which “has broken up the difficulties our people have faced for thousands of years.” Last year, Adelihan received 26 thousand yuan worth of subsidies and was able to use the funds to construct a house, a place to store fodder, and a winter enclosure for his livestock, thus obviating the need to perform the arduous annual migrations he undertook as a youth. Local governments receiving funding from the Pastoral Settlement Project and the Earthquake-Proof Low-Income Housing Project and in turn distribute them to eligible herders. In Altai, 8114 Kazakh households enjoy benefits similar to Adelihan. The project aims to settle 60% of the Kazakh herders in the Altai region before the end of the 11th 5 year plan.
• 23 November 2007: The “Bright Future for the Silk Road Construction Project,” jointly funded and carried about by the Netherlands and China, has been completed over five years since the projects inauguration in January of 2002. The project was designed to resolve the lack of electricity for many families living in Xinjiang’s more remote agricultural and pastoral regions by providing and installing solar power equipment in these areas. The project’s funds totaled over 22.9 million euros, 60% of which was provided by the Dutch government and 40% of which was provided by China. The project successfully supplied electricity to over 65,000 families. XUAR Chariman Ismail Tiliwaldi and the Dutch ambassador to China attended a ceremony celebrating the completion of the project.
• 23 November 2007: The remains of Chen Xifu, who according to the article was “an outstanding member of the communist party, [and] an ardent warrior for the principles of communism,” were honored in a ceremony in Urumqi. Many prominent figures in the regional government and party attended. Chen joined the CCP in 1939 at the tender age of 15. Chen’s participation in wartime and revolutionary activities eventually brought him to Xinjiang, where we would eventually serve a number of increasingly important administrative roles, from the Kashgar Military District’s Confidential Affairs Vice-Section Chief to the Vice-Director of the Regional Standing Committee. Chen passed away in Beijing on the 16th at the age of 83. More information on Chen can be found in Mandarin at the link.
• 23 November 2007: The Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture experienced 3 earthquakes in rapid succession on the 22nd, at 8:16, 8:18, and 8:22. These three earthquakes registered as a 3, 4.1, and 3 on the Richter Scale, respectively. Although there were no casualties, the earthquakes were easily noticed by people in the vicinity.
• 23 November 2007: Thanks to an intricate network of high-tech weather station, the Xinjiang Oil Company has prevented over 200 million yuan worth of losses to weather-related calamities in its Qaramay Oilfields. Before the 1990s, the Qaramay Oilfields would lose 8000 tons of oil every year to disasters caused by adverse weather conditions, particularly lightning striking oil refining equipment at inopportune times, causing explosions and fires. After installing an interconnected system of weather monitoring systems throughout its oilfields, however, the company’s annual oil losses have been reduced to less than 3000 tons every year, since weather conditions around the fields are now being actively monitored and the proper precautions are taken when dangerous weather threatens facilities.
• 24 November 2007: The Urumqi Police Department resolved 3 major criminal cases in the past few weeks.
  • The first occurred at noon on the 16th, when three suspects posing as policemen subdued and “arrested” three shoppers with fake guns after accusing them of using counterfeit money. After forcing the victims into their vehicle, the suspects demanded a Y10,000 fine from each. While waiting for the first victim to retrieve the money from his apartment, the other two victims managed to escape the vehicle, upon which the three suspects also decided to flee. Five days after the victims reported the incident to the real police, all three perpetrators were arrested.
  • A 15 year-old girl was kidnapped on the 20th and was held hostage for a Y30,000 ransom. After the police were contacted, a rapid investigation revealed that the perpetrators were holding their hostage in a Changji hotel. The next day, the hotel was raided, the hostage was safely retrieved, and the three kidnappers were arrested.
  • A woman was murdered and robbed after withdrawing money from the bank on the 21st. The perpetrator tailed the woman after she withdrew the money, eventually shooting her and stealing the 10,000 yuan and other items the woman had with her at the time. The police conducted a rapid investigation, and on the second day the perpetrator was arrested along with a homemade pistol (!!!!), 4 bullets, and the woman’s stolen items
• 24 November 2007: As part of its spirited campaign to reduce unacceptably high levels of pollutions plaguing the metropolitan area, Urumqi has decided to ban outdoor barbecue vendors in four city center neighborhoods. That’s right, folks. Incomplete but already conclusive investigations have revealed that the impure byproducts of the barbecuing process (e.g. soot and smoke?) constitute a significant part of Urumqi’s air pollution problem. Starting from the 22nd, barbecue vendors in the above-mentioned neighborhoods will, with the assistance of authorities, begin to migrate their equipment indoors. In the future these vendors are also expected to install soot-minimizing equipment to their barbecues or switch to alternate sources of heat such as natural gas or liquid gas. A limited number of outdoor barbecues will be permitted in these neighborhoods, but only in certain authorized areas and with equipment meeting emission standards.

Other News

• 21 November 2007: More coverage of the historical victory of the epic coal fire mentioned above can be found here at China View and here at the Times Online. These English-language articles add more juicy tidbits to the firefighting saga. For example, the fire at Tielieke had been burning since the 1950s, has released more than 70,000 tons of toxic gas annually since it started, and was finally vanquished by drilling holes to the underground fields and stuffing them with water and slurry.
• 23 November 2007: An article written by a Times Online correspondent in Khotan describes the effect of the recently instated mandatory background checks for Muslim candidates interested in joining the Haj. Interested participants must now demonstrate a personal history free of criticism of the PRC and separatist tendencies before being permitted to journey to Mecca.

Blogs

• 21 November 2007: Michael at The Opposite End of China wonders if criticism of the annual ritual of cotton-picking students in Xinjiang is valid or is a knee-jerk criticism of a genuine character-building activity.

Xinhua Network News Xinjiang Channel 新华网新疆频道

• 11 November 2007: Jimusaer County (see in Google Earth) adds to the recent national park frenzy (see Sayram Lake National Wetlands Park and Kanas Geological Park) by carrying out an extensive refurbishment and improvement of the Sandbank Ecological Park, Xinjiang’s largest desert park. In the first stage of construction, 15.8 million yuan will go into a shelterbelt, an Ethnic Garden (民族特色风情园), and sand-faring and amphibious tour vehicles. In the second stage, 600 million yuan will go into making desert pastures, a botanical research center, and a wildlife viewing area.
• 12 November 2007: In order to the continue the development of bilingual education throughout Xinjiang, the regional Financial Department has allocated 70.39 million yuan to be used primarily in Kashgar, Khotan, and 7 “pastoral regions.” The money will mostly serve as subsidies to offset costs for tuition and school items and to assist in paying the incomes of participating teachers.
• 12 November 2007: As a part of this year’s effort to prevent severe air pollution over the winter, the city of Urumqi has created a “Redlist-Blacklist” system of incentives to encourage heating companies to abide by environmental regulations. Companies that violate these regulations (for example, by improperly disposing of sulfur-contaminated water, or due to a boiler accident that damages the factory’s environmental protection equipment) are placed on the publicly viewable black list, while companies that consistently uphold environmental protection are honored on the red list. Other than losing or gaining face, the article does not mention any other repercussions or rewards for being on either list.
• 12 November 2007: After a November 7 loss (104-87) to the Jiangsu Dragons in Nanjing and a home victory (115-104) against the Shanghai Sharks on November 9, the Flying Tigers rallied at home on November 11 and toppled the number 1 ranked juggernaut, the Ba Yi Rockets (116-106).
• 13 November 2007: The former director of the Regional Health Department’s Office of Financial Planning, Chen Jianguo, was sentences to 10 years imprisonment and stripped of his political rights for one year for corruption. On 16 separate occasions from 2002 to 2005, Chen accepted bribes totaling over 330 thousand yuan.
• 13 November 2007: Kanas Geological Park has closed for the winter season and the park management has completed its statistical snapshot of the this year’s tourist season. This year the park saw 929 thousand tourists, 50 million yuan from ticket sales, and 730 million yuan from general tourist revenue.
• 13 November 2007: Mother nature reminds us that Xinjiang is a geological hotspot by sending a magnitude 4.6 earthquake to Luopu County (earthquake epicenter in Google Earth) on the southern rim of the Tarim Basin. There were no casualties.
• 14 November 2007: A new international passenger route between Xinjiang and Mongolia was officially opened on October 28. The route is between Qinghe County in Xinijang and Burgan, which is located in Mongolia’s Khovd Province (see route in Google Earth). The international route between these two locations was original established in 1992, but was closed due to insufficient passenger numbers and unacceptable road conditions. A renewed interest in the route and road repairs have helped bring about this year’s reopening. (Hat tip to Michael at The Opposite End of China for alerting me of this exciting new find).
  
• 14 November 2007: The Management of Safety Production Goals Meeting convened on the morning of the 13th and commissioned 6 Inspection Teams that will travel throughout Xinjiang investigating safety standards in spheres ranging from coal mining to traffic to fire prevention.
• 14 November 2007: The dates of the 34th meeting of the XUAR 10th Standing Committee has been set from the 20th to the 23rd of November.
• 14 November 2007: The success of the “Deliver Warmth and Compassion with One Day’s Wages” program has prompted Xinjiang’s party organs to declare November “Donation Month,” with the hope that donation efforts in subsequent Novembers will continue to aid low-income residents of Xinjiang battle the imminent cold weather.
• 14 November 2007: Surgeons of the Aksu’s Number 1 People’s Hospital’s Gynecological Department have successfully removed a 30 kg (66 lbs) ovarian tumor from a 55 year old woman. The patient, who hails from Wushi County, discovered that she had a 6.7 inch diameter tumor two years ago, but was unable to treat it for economic reasons. This year, within a period of two months, the tumor experienced abnormally rapid growth, giving the patient a waist circumference of 149 cm (58.6 inches). The new growth affected her daily living so much that she decided to visit Aksu, and on arrival doctors sent her immediately to the operating table, which implies that the patient had the ironic fortune of having an ailment so bad the doctors would treat it for its own sake, in spite of the costs involved.
• 14 November 2007: A six member international team for the Xinjiang Przewalski’s Horses Propagation Research Center has hired 3 Kazakhs to track wild horses in the Qaramay Mountains Ungulate Natural Reserve during the winter season on the Center’s behalf. Kazakh nomadic herders migrate with their flocks to the mountain pastures of the reserve during the winter, making them the most likely candidates for monitoring wild horses. The three choices chosen from 128 candidates, and all are around 30 years old and have enough education as to be able to submit written progress reports to the Center.
• 15 November 2007: The preliminary stages of a project to build a protective structure over the ruins of an ancient Buddhist temple in Jimusaer county have been completed. Beiting’s “West Temple” was constructed sometime between the 11th and 13th century and at that time served as a prominent center for Buddhist art. Preserved at the ruins are a number of Buddhist figures and frescoes.
• 15 November 2007: A punitive element has been added to efforts to help protect and conserve Przewalski’s horses in Northern Xinjiang. Drivers involved in collisions with wild horses face up to 810 thousand yuan in fines. Przewalski’s horses are classified as level one protected wildlife, and according to wildlife protection laws, their “value” is to be calculated as 12.5 times whatever administrative costs are spent to protect them – which under current calculations is 65 thousand renminbi. There have been 5 collisions in the past 8 months, and in response the Forestry Police posted a 20 thousand yuan reward for any information leading to the arrest of the hit-and-run drivers. After the reward was posted, three drivers have been arrested.
• 15 November 2007: The Flying Tigers defeated the Fujian SBS team in Urumqi on the 15th, 110 – 91.
• 16 November 2007: According to statistical data from the Regional Foreign Trade Department, the total value of foreign trade for the past 10 months has surpassed 1 billion American dollars in 5 regions: Urumqi ($2.96 billion, an increase of 61.2% compared with last year), Yili Prefecture ($1.92 billion, 3.3% increase), Changji Prefecture ($1.74 billion, 100.4% increase), Bortala Prefecture ($1.52 billion, 13.4% increase), and, for the first time, Kashgar Prefecture ($1.05 billion, 300% increase).
• 16 November 2007: Xinhua Xinjiang issues a “special report” on XUAR’s Chairman, Ismail Tiliwaldi, which includes some biographical details and information on Tiliwaldi’s philosophy when it comes to governing Xinjiang. The main points of the report can be summarized in its title: Development, stability, and harmony have all along been the primary pursuits of Xinjiang.
• 16 November 2007: This year, the total value of foreign trade imports and exports surpassed 10 billion US dollars, a milestone which Xinhua attributes to Xinjiang’s superior geographic location and abundant natural resources. Xinjiang by far is a net exporter: exports amounted to $8.57 billion, whereas imports totaled almost $2 billion.
• 17 November 2007: As a part of its National “Building the Future: CCB’s Maturation Plan for Providing Financial Aid to Low-Income High School Students” project, the China Construction Bank has 4 high schools in Urumqi 360 thousand yuan each. The program will continue on for 6 years, eventually providing 3300 low-income students at 15 Xinjiang High Schools and 840 low-income students at 4 Bingtuan High Schools financial aid totaling 6.21 million yuan.

Other News

• 9 November 2007: The UCLA Asia Institute’s AsiaMedia site runs a fascinating piece by Tim Hathaway describing his year and a half stint as a journalist and writer for the state-run Xinjiang Economic Daily in Urumqi. Hathaway’s unique position as a foreigner hired by a state run publication in China’s most sensitive region gave him a unique vantage point through which to explore Xinjiang’s social issues and current events.
• 12 November 2007: The English Edition of Xinhua Net runs an English language version of the article linked above discussing the selection of 3 Kazakh herdsmen to track Przewalski’s horses in northern Xinjiang.

Blogs

• 15 November 2007: Davesgonechina at Mutant Palm writes about the 13th century legendary Sufi mystic Nasreddin Appendi and the different ways he has been reinvented in China. He also shares a vintage claymation “Afanti” episode posted at Tudou and the news that producers in Chongqing are working on a newer cartoon incarnation of the ancient master.