Despite tourism boom, China maintains restrictions on Uyghurs in Xinjiang

AFP reporter saw a sign in a cemetery prohibiting Islamic ‘religious activities’ such as kneeling, prostrating, praying with palms facing upwards and reciting scripture

KASHGAR, China – The Chinese government is trying to transform the historically difficult Xinjiang region, dominated by Uighur Muslims, into a tourist hub.

Kashgar, a city in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang touted as a former oasis on the Silk Road, has been the focus of Beijing’s initiatives against the Uighurs.

More recently, Beijing has invested in promoting a state-sanctioned version of Uighur culture to attract tourists.

Although tourists celebrate the region’s traditional dress, authorities have banned local Uighur women from wearing it.

Local women have been banned from wearing veils and men from wearing long beards.

Large parts of Kashgar’s historic neighborhoods, including the Grand Bazaar, have been demolished and replaced as part of government-led development.

Considering tourism as a tool to promote Xinjiang, the region’s tourism bureau plans to allocate more than 700 million yuan ($95.2 million) in 2023, doubling its 2019 budget.

A journalist representing French news agency AFP, who visited the area were told that despite these changes, there are allegations of systematic rights violations such as forced labor and religious restrictions.

Off the main tourist trail, in the mostly Uyghur town of Yengisar, AFP reporter saw a sign in a cemetery prohibiting Islamic “religious activities” such as kneeling, prostrating, praying with palms facing upwards and reciting scripture.

The same sign permitted certain offerings for the Qingming Festival, typically observed by Han but not Uyghurs.

While the security presence in tourist areas has been reduced, certain Islamic practices remain restricted, and numerous mosques have been shuttered or altered, reflecting an ongoing tension between cultural preservation and state policy.

Last month, President Xi Jinping urged authorities to “strengthen positive publicity and show the new atmosphere of openness and self-confidence in Xinjiang.”

In Kashgar, no more than two dozen mostly elderly Uighur men were seen entering the Id Kah Mosque for Friday afternoon prayers, vastly outnumbered by tourists — a stark difference from the thousands of worshippers who gathered just a decade ago.