In a first-person account published on Monday, Steve Madgwick described a journey through the vast Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China, from the bazaars of Urumqi to the snow-capped peaks of Altay and the ancient streets of Kashgar. He wrote that he felt privileged to visit the region's lesser-touristed cities and landscapes but was perplexed to be there as a guest of the Chinese National Tourism Office.
Madgwick observed the daily opening ceremony at Kashgar Ancient City, where a camel parade and performances of the UNESCO-recognised Uyghur Muqam music unfolded under the watch of CCTV cameras and a hovering drone. He described the region's fast-developing ski industry, including Hemu Jikepulin, a resort in the Altay Mountains from which he could see Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia from the top lift.
The visit comes amid ongoing international controversy over China's treatment of its Uyghur minority. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has claimed Xinjiang is a site of "systematic human rights violations" with "credible allegations of patterns of torture or ill-treatment, including forced medical treatment and adverse conditions of detention, incidents of sexual and gender-based violence, and indications of coercive enforcement of family planning and birth control policies". The Chinese Communist Party denies all such claims.
Madgwick wrote that the faces of local people radiated a "watchful warmth" but that he instinctively questioned every interaction. "I wonder what is missing from what I've seen and heard, and just how much autonomy these folk have – in this supposedly 'autonomous' region – once tourists look away," he wrote. A sign in the Kashgar museum stated that "Xinjiang has long been an inseparable part of Chinese territory… the various ethnic groups have long been part of the Chinese nation".