Tahir Un

Tahir Un follow Turkish

Lives in Izmir, Turkey

Projects/Portfolios

xinjiang: Re-Construction

Introduction

This is an ongoing conceptual project at Uygur Autonomous Region in China. The region has a population of about 25 million, among whom 60 percent are ethnic minorities. I had a chance to visit the Uyghur Autonomous Region including Urumchi, Ili, Bortala, Altay, Changji, Aksu, Avati, Kasgar, Tashkurgan, Aksu, Kizilsu autonomous administration, speak with and photograph many people with diverse ethnic origins like Uyghur, Han, Kazak, Hui, Xibo, Tajik, Kirghiz and Mongol, who lived in these regions.

In an interview I studied, a member of Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, sociologist Turgunjan Tursun noted that the development programs focusing on market economy were creating a gap between better-educated and socially close Han and Uyghur peoples[1]. However, it is possible to see serious investments by the government that could help grow the economic prosperity and fair sharing of the wealth, which I think could significantly help close the gap noted by Tursun.

Vast energy and mineral resources in the region have made the Xinjiang an important part of China's "Great Western Development" campaign, and increased its importance to China's modernization goals. But in spite of the country's official policy of religious freedom and the cultural-preservation programs enshrined in Chinese law, the Uighurs' main challenge in the 21st century will be to maintain cultural and religious continuity with those vibrant institutions and traditions of the past. Increasing Han Chinese migration to the region, developing cross-border trade with the new Central Asian states and growing international tourism—the modern continuation of the themes of Xinjiang’s 2000-year history—have once again opened the region to an array of international influences. One can only hope that Uighur and other local cultures will continue to flourish and develop in this new period of globalization.

Can the people of the region adapt to this situation? Maybe, it can be most important question.

[1]“Xinjiang’s Social Unrest Not Always Terrorism”, Tungunjan Tursun, Global Times, 26 Sep 2011