China tightens drone export controls — The Nordic Times
Rain is pouring downover the night market in Hotan. Vendors pull tarps over grills and fruit stalls, visitors look for shelter, and some keep dancing despite the downpour. Here, in a city where annual. . .
Rain is pouring downover the night market in Hotan. Vendors pull tarps over grills and fruit stalls, visitors look for shelter, and some keep dancing despite the downpour. Here, in a city where annual precipitation amounts to only a few dozen millimeters, we encounter a Uyghur daily life that rarely fits into the international image of Xinjiang. Behind the market scene, a wider transformation is under way. Rural development, tourism, cultural heritage programs, education, and efforts to halt desertification are changing conditions in Xinjiang. At the center is the region’s Uyghur population, whose daily life rarely makes it into the international picture. To examine how these changes appear on the ground, The Nordic Times traveled to Uyghur villages and visited a traditional medicine hospital, the Atlas Silk operation, the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, markets, cultural sites, and other locations across the vast Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. We met farmers, craftspeople, students, entrepreneurs, patients, families with children, and retirees – people whose lives cannot be reduced either to government messaging or to the notion that an entire ethnic group lives in slavery. The Uyghurs – a Turkic people in ChinaThe Uyghurs are a Turkic-speaking people with cultural ties to Central Asia. Most are Sunni Muslims, and the Uyghur language is now written mainly in a modified Arabic script. According to China’s 2020 census, about 11. 6 million Uyghurs lived in Xinjiang, accounting for just under 45 percent of the region’s population. Smaller Uyghur communities also live elsewhere in China and abroad. Music, dance, and storytelling hold a prominent place in Uyghur culture. The best-known musical tradition isUyghur Muqam, an extensive system of songs, instrumental pieces, dances, and oral poetry that was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2008. The food culture features lamb, skewers, pilaf, noodles, bread, fruit, and nuts – flavors found throughout the markets of southern Xinjiang. At the same time, the culture is changing. Urbanization, schools, tourism, online commerce, and state development projects affect how people live and work. The change becomes visible as older traditions continue in new settings: music in the courtyards of tourist villages, atlas patterns in modern clothing, Uyghur medicine in hospitals, and religious texts in the institute’s classrooms and library. Rice fields beside the desertOn the outskirts of Hotan lies Daoxiang, the “village of fragrant rice. ” Green paddies spread near the dry landscape of the Taklamakan Desert, an unexpected sight in an area long dominated by sand. Water supply systems, irrigation, and soil improvement have made cultivation possible. The village has been developed for both farming and tourism. Homes are built around bright courtyards with features of the localayiwangarchitecture. Residents offer song and dance performances, and visitors can eat local dishes or buy products from the area. When we arrive, we do not encounter a closed settlement but families, fields, and an environment clearly designed to attract tourists. A dance performance in Daoxiang village, where rice farming and cultural tourism have become part of the village’s development. Photo: The Nordic TimesThe Chinese government describes Daoxiang as an example of “rural revitalization. ” The nationwide program is intended to improve roads, water supplies, housing, agricultural productivity, and opportunities to start businesses outside major cities. In Xinjiang, it is combined with what is known as paired assistance, under which wealthier provinces and cities finance projects in the region. Daoxiang has received support from Beijing. The fields, renovated homes, visitor facilities, and local trade show how the rural program has changed the physical environment. Agriculture, tourism, and small businesses have been woven into the same local economy. In Ximen village, we meet a 76-year-old man who has begun growing fruit and selling it dried. For him, the new venture has become a way to increase his family’s income. The vegetation also serves an ecological purpose in an area where combating desertification is present in almost every development project. A music performance in a courtyard in Ximen village. Photo: The Nordic TimesUyghur medicine beneath the hot sandAt the Uyghur medicine hospital in Shanshan, we encounter another part of the minority culture. Before sand therapy begins, patients’ blood pressure and pulse are checked. They are then placed in sun-heated sand containing minerals and salts, with only their heads left above the surface. Sand therapy at the treatment site operated by the Uyghur medicine hospital in Shanshan. Photo: The Nordic TimesThe treatment is traditionally used for rheumatic conditions, joint pain, and back problems, among other ailments. It combines the heat of the sand with the region’s dry climate. Chinese sources say the method has been documented in medical texts since the Tang dynasty and that Uyghur sand therapy was added to China’s national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2014. Sand therapy is only one part of Uyghur medicine. Inside the hospital, an extensive materia medica of dried roots, fruit, berries, seeds, and flowers is also displayed. Labels in the case identify sliced licorice root, hawthorn, mulberries, and goji berries. The ingredients are used in traditional prescriptions and can be prepared as mixtures, powders, decoctions, syrups, or granules. Dried medicinal ingredients at the Uyghur medicine hospital. Labels identify sliced licorice root, hawthorn, mulberries, and goji berries. Photo: The Nordic TimesResearch on Uyghur pharmacology has documented more than 1,000 medicinal plants and a notable use of aromatic ingredients such as rose and lavender. At the hospital, older knowledge meets a modern organization with clinics, pharmacies, packaged preparations, staff, and control procedures. The visit reveals a broader medical system in which sand treatment, plant-based remedies, and institutional care exist side by side. China’s program for traditional medicine becomes visible here in practice. Uyghur treatments have been given dedicated facilities and a place within modern healthcare. The operation also attracts visitors who want to learn about or try medical traditions in the environment where they developed. Atlas Silk – from cocoon to colorful fabricIn Hotan, atlas silk, also known as etles, is one of the clearest expressions of Uyghur craftsmanship. The patterns are vivid, often in red, blue, yellow, and green. They are created through a form of ikat dyeing in which the warp threads are tied and dyed before weaving. When the threads are brought together, they form the characteristic, gently flowing shapes. At Atlas Silk, production runs from the silkworm cocoon to the finished fabric. Cocoons are processed at a low workstation, while dyeing, thread work, and weaving take place in other parts of the operation. The craft has long been passed down within families in southern Xinjiang, but today it is also an industry, a tourist attraction, and a fashion product. The visit takes place during the wheat harvest, which is why several workstations are empty. According to information provided on site, many families have their own wheat fields and combine farming with other sources of income. That detail says something about a labor market that does not always fit simple categories. The same person may be a farmer during one part of the year, a craftsperson during another, and a vendor when the tourist season is at its busiest. Part of the silk production process at Atlas Silk in Hotan. Photo: The Nordic TimesThe Atlas operation is also part of China’s program to link cultural heritage with employment. The craft is passed on through training and workshop jobs, while the store, fashion shows, and e-commerce create routes to customers. Family tradition, wage labor, tourism, and modern retail therefore meet in the same place. In the presentation area, models walk in clothes that combine atlas patterns with modern design. Visitors stand around them with phone cameras. The show is clearly staged, but it is not meaningless. The Uyghur patterns are treated not as relics of a vanished people but as material that is used, sold, and reshaped in the present. Models present clothes combining traditional atlas patterns with modern design. Photo: The Nordic TimesIslamic education under state supervisionThe Xinjiang Islamic Institute in Ürümqi contains classrooms, a library, student facilities, and a mosque. The institute was founded in 1983, while the current campus opened in 2017 to expand education significantly. According to official figures, it has capacity for about 1,000 students. The education is intended to prepare imams and other religious personnel. Students study the Quran, Islamic theology, and Arabic, as well as standard Chinese, law, and civics. The library contains religious texts in Uyghur and Arabic. The mosque is used for instruction and prayer. A class at the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, with Arabic writing visible on the board. Photo: The Nordic TimesIslamic education takes place openly and on a large scale on the campus. In the classrooms, we see lessons conducted before boards with Arabic writing. Religious works in Uyghur and Arabic line the library shelves, and in the mosque students receive practical preparation for work as imams and other religious personnel. The program follows a fixed curriculum in which theology and Arabic are combined with standard Chinese, law, and civics. Students are trained to serve within China’s system of registered mosques. The institute therefore functions as a theological college, a language environment, and a practical vocational program. One personal observation from the visit was that the Islam we encountered at the institute appeared ordinary and non-extremist. We saw women among the teachers, and headscarves or hijabs were uncommon in the educational environment through which we moved. This gave the campus a different character from the images of strictly religious settings often associated with Islamic education. The environment is orderly and built for a large number of students. Classrooms, student facilities, the library, and the mosque are gathered on one campus. It offers a clear picture of how the formal education of Muslim religious representatives is organized in Xinjiang. The mosque on the campus of the Xinjiang Islamic Institute in Ürümqi. Photo: The Nordic TimesMarkets where everyday life takes center stageAt the markets, Xinjiang becomes less institutional. In Hotan, skewers, bread, fruit, tea, sweets, and handicrafts share the space with music and dance. People shop, eat, and take photographs. When the downpour arrives over the night market, the kind of unplanned moments that are difficult to stage emerge: vendors save goods from the water, children run between stalls, and visitors laugh at the unusual weather. A food vendor works in front of two phone cameras at a market in Hotan. Photo: The Nordic TimesAn unusual downpour over the market district in Hotan. Photo: The Nordic TimesIn the Ancient City of Yotkan near Hotan, the same passion for music and dance takes a theatrical form. During an evening performance, dancers in colorful costumes present a choreographed show before illuminated gates and walls. It is tourism and cultural heritage in one, but also a clear expression of the Uyghur dance and music tradition that followed us throughout the journey. Dancers in colorful costumes during an evening performance in the Ancient City of Yotkan outside Hotan. Photo: The Nordic TimesIn Ürümqi, the International Grand Bazaar is more monumental. Minarets, domes, souvenir stores, food stalls, and stages make the area a showcase for Xinjiang’s different cultures. Here, too, is the duality found in many tourist environments. The bazaar is a genuine marketplace and meeting place, but it is also carefully designed for visitors. The International Grand Bazaar in Ürümqi at dusk. The area is a marketplace, tourist destination, and cultural showcase. Photo: The Nordic TimesThe decisive question may not be whether something is “authentic” or “staged. ” Tourist settings around the world are both lived places and curated images of a culture. The question in Xinjiang is how much room residents themselves have to decide what will be displayed, sold, and changed. Traditional stringed instruments and other crafts in a store at the International Grand Bazaar in Ürümqi. Photo: The Nordic TimesThe programs transforming XinjiangSeveral Chinese development programs operate in parallel in Xinjiang: rural revitalization, paired assistance between richer and poorer regions, vocational training, cultural heritage protection, tourism, traditional medicine, and efforts to combat desertification. They are often woven together in the same local projects. A road is intended to support farming, a renovated house can become a family-run guesthouse, and a traditional craft can become heritage, education, and a livelihood at the same time. Daoxiang is a concrete example. Through Beijing’s paired assistance to Hotan, the village has, according to Chinese sources, received improvements to water, electricity, roads, and gas supplies. Rice farming has been combined with walking paths, visitor facilities, food service, and cultural performances. The aim is for households to earn income from both agriculture and visitors who come to see the rice fields beside the desert. In Ximen village, the model relies more on homestay tourism. Families receive guests in their courtyards, serve food, present music and crafts, or sell local products. Spare rooms and homes can thus become part of the village economy. A guest room with a Uyghur family cost about SEK 200 (€18) per night during The Nordic Times’ visit. The 76-year-old fruit grower we meet fits the same model: the raw material is grown locally, processed through drying, and then sold directly or ordered for delivery. Companies such as Desert Jujube Industry show how the same logic has grown into an industry around nuts, jujubes, and other dryland fruit from the edge of the desert. A guest room with a Uyghur family in Ximen village. The room cost about SEK 200 (€18) per night during The Nordic Times’ visit. Photo: The Nordic TimesPackaged nuts, jujubes, and other fruit products from Desert Jujube Industry show how dryland farming at the desert edge has developed into a local food industry. Photo: The Nordic TimesAtlas Silk shows how the intangible cultural heritage program is linked to work. Traditional atlas weaving has been placed on China’s national heritage list. Through workshops, apprenticeships, product development, fashion shows, stores, and online sales, the craft is intended to be preserved while also becoming economically viable. Sand therapy has similarly been incorporated into an institutional system in which Uyghur healing practices are combined with hospital operations, standardized treatment procedures, and health tourism. According to Chinese sources, 13 Uyghur medical techniques were incorporated into national standards for traditional medicine in 2024. Finished atlas fabrics in the Atlas Silk store in Hotan. The colors and ikat patterns show how the traditional craft has developed into modern products. Photo: The Nordic TimesReligious education is also a state-funded program. When the new campus for the Xinjiang Islamic Institute and eight local branches was built, Chinese media reported an investment of more than CNY 100 million (€12. 9 million). The campus was designed for about 1,000 students and combines theology and Arabic with language studies, law, and civics. The model is intended to provide mosques with formally educated imams and other religious personnel. The effort to combat desertification is geographically the largest program. In November 2024, China said the 3,046-kilometer protective belt around the Taklamakan Desert had been completed. It consists of plantings, straw grids that bind the sand, and solar power facilities combined with vegetation. The same approach can be seen on a smaller scale in the villages: fruit trees, rice fields, and other crops are intended both to generate income and slow the movement of sand. The older man in Ximen is therefore not only a small entrepreneur but also part of a wider effort to make the desert edge greener and more habitable. Shrubs and trees planted at the desert edge outside Hotan are part of efforts to bind the sand and slow desertification. Photo: The Nordic TimesAn Uyghur daily life in transitionThe Uyghurs we met received us with a hospitality that became one of the journey’s strongest impressions. In village courtyards, along the markets, and during the various visits, music and dance returned again and again. The singing, the instruments, and the desire to invite guests into the dance meant that a passion for music and movement permeated the entire stay. The journey offers a series of concrete images of Uyghur daily life. At Atlas Silk, women work with cocoons, threads, and fabrics while the harvest leaves several workstations empty. At the Xinjiang Islamic Institute, students sit in classrooms with Arabic writing on the board and religious books in the library. In the villages, we encounter rice fields, renovated homes, music, homestay tourism, and small businesses. At the hospital, patients’ blood pressure and pulse are checked before sand therapy begins. At the markets, vendors sell skewers, bread, fruit, instruments, and handicrafts. When rain moves over Hotan, sellers continue working beneath tarps and umbrellas. It is a daily life of work, study, trade, farming, religion, healthcare, and family. This report is based on The Nordic Times’ observations during a limited trip and does not claim to cover the entire region or all conditions there. Within that framework, the team independently examined and documented the environments, people, and operations described in the article. A different picture – not the only pictureThe Nordic Times’ report offers a different image of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang from the one that most often dominates Western headlines. Here, the minority population appears as people in a society marked by a living and resilient culture, modernization, state development programs, and strong local entrepreneurship. At the night market in Hotan, the rain has begun to ease. Water runs along the ground between the stalls. The music can be heard again, and vendors lift away the tarps. The scene captures a side of Xinjiang rarely seen in international headlines: people continuing with everyday life even when the desert suddenly fills with rain.