PHOTOJOURNALISM

PHOTO ESSAY: THE UIGHURS

In the far-western Chinese province of Xinjiang, on one of the most barren spots along the old Silk Road, is the city of Kashgar, which has for centuries been the home of an ethnic group called the Uighurs.  Descendants of the Turks, the Uighurs have little in common culturally and economically with modern, mainstream China: they speak their own language, follow Muslim traditions and maintain a basic and traditional self-sufficient economy.

In recent years, the Beijing government has encouraged economic expansion in Xinjiang fueled by a migration of millions of ethnic Han Chinese. These changes are gradually diluting the Uighurs’ distinctive mark on the cultural map of Central Asia

Related Exhibition:
"China", Fifty Years Inside the People's Republic
> View website


Related Publication:
"Inside China" a new book by National Geographic containing historical and contemporary photos by Butow and others


>  View book info.