My family and another family spent our October vacation in Xinjiang and had an amazing time. For us, it was an introduction to a new culture and it was as interesting and exciting as experiencing the incredible scenery of Northwest China.
Who are the Uyghurs?
The People’s Republic of China has 56 officially recognized ethnic groups. By far the largest ethnic group is the Han, sometimes known as Han Chinese. The other 55 are known within China as ethnic minorities. Ethnic groups in China are referred to in Mandarin as (民族 | » minzu «) and minorities have a different status.
In certain regions where the minority group is centered, the Chinese government has granted them a level of ‘autonomy’. This generally means that the highest levels of government have people of the local dominant ethnicity serving. But keep in mind that these people will always be appointed or approved by the Central Government in Beijing.
You will find this notion in the official names of your regions, and note that these are “regions” rather than “provinces”:
- Tibetan Autonomous Region – where most ethnic Tibetans live
- Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region – where most Hui people live
- Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region – where most ethnic Mongols live
- Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region – where most Zhuang people live
- Xinjiang Autonomous Region: where most ethnic Uighurs live
The Uighurs (also spelled Uighurs and Uighurs) are ethnically a mix of European and Asian peoples who settled around the Tarim Basin in what is now northwestern China. Its appearance is more Central Asian than East Asian.
Uighur culture (general)
Uighurs practice Islam. Currently under Chinese law, Uighur women are not allowed to cover their heads completely and young Uighurs are not allowed to have long beards.
The Uighur language has Turkish origins and uses the Arabic script.
Uyghur art, dance and music are very popular and the music is particularly popular throughout China. Uyghurs use special instruments for their music and it was fun while visiting the region to see some locals perform at a certain tourist attraction and it is understandable why their music is loved. The food is pretty unique too, but I’ll get into more of this in the section below.
Our experience with Uyghur culture
All of us, having lived in Shanghai for over a decade, are quite used to the dominant Han culture, which is why we are excited to venture west and experience Uighur life and culture. As part of our tour with Old Road Tours, we requested that our children interact with other children while we were there. We were hoping to visit a school, but our visit coincided with two different holidays, so school was not in session. Fortunately (and kindly!) The owner of Old Road Tours offered to invite us to his home in Kashgar for a traditional dinner, to meet his family and children.
We are very happy to do this.
A traditional meal in a Uyghur home
In a Uyghur house (as in all houses in China) one takes off his shoes before entering. Then a small jug of water was brought out with a container and we were all invited to wash our hands. It is almost a ritual wash and we were instructed to lightly brush our hands (not together like praying) while the host pours the water and then lets the drops fall into the bowl. You are not supposed to shed the drops as this is considered a poor way, but the urge to do so is hard to suppress!
Then we sat in the dining room around a long low table. Traditionally, Uyghurs sit on the floor on large cushions. The table was already filled with local specialties such as fresh fruits, dried fruits, Uighur flatbreads, fried breads, nuts and seeds. They invited us to eat something while our host introduced us to his family. Our sons were instantly intrigued by each other and our host’s daughter wanted to show our daughters everything. Their common language (aside from speaking iPad) was Mandarin, so they got along well.
Mr. Wahab told us about the history of his company while his wife prepared two traditional Uighur dishes. The first was rice pudding, a kind of pilaf with lamb and carrots. This dish is something one finds old in huge wok pans by the street in Xinjiang markets. The other dish was leghmen, which are noodles with a stew of onions, peppers, tomatoes, and spices. We drink tea, since observant Muslims do not drink alcohol.
Our hosts were extremely friendly and of course offered us more food than we could eat. We could have stayed for many hours chatting and learning about life, but we had to leave early in the morning to take the road to the Karakoram Highway.
The food was very enjoyable, even more so because of the clear fun our children were having.
