Kashgar natives open homes, hearts to immersive travelers

It's only just begun

Immersive travel isn't just for accommodation pioneers like Khari, who can earn 8,000 yuan a day in high season. For Tursun Zunun, a renowned potter, the nascent sector has brought him students to whom he can pass on the centuries-old craft.

Proud of his rustic pottery, Zunun, 60, is the only person in the family who continues to practice his dying craft. To ensure his ancestral legacy lives on, the master needs an apprentice.

Part of his workshop is a gallery, which is open to passersby. To his surprise, one day, two tourists from South Korea came to his door, hoping to learn the old craft.

"Traditionally we avoid teaching the family craft to strangers. But I don't mind breaking this rule," Zunun said. "I gave them Uygur names, Yishajan and Yumitijan. They are now my apprentices."

More workshops have opened their doors to tourists, and people can spend half a day learning how to make a copper bracelet or a wooden bowl.

"We'll keep maintaining the old town so that our residents can benefit from tourism," said Deng Zhiyong, deputy director of Kashgar's tourism bureau.

According to the bureau, in the first half of this year, tourists visited the city 1.57 million times, up 29.8 percent yearon-year.

As a key region on the Silk Road Economic Belt, Xinjiang has seen a boom in tourism since China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. Last year, the region received more than 100 million tourists, the highest number in its history, while spending by tourists hit 180 billion yuan. "The development of tourism in Kashgar's old town means that young people like us now have more opportunities," Khari said. "We can choose different paths from our ancestors.
We can create better conditions for our children to grow up."

She plans to open more bedrooms on the second floor of her homestay as more people turn to online rental platforms like Airbnb.

"By meeting people from so many places, I've made many friends and broadened my horizons," Khari said. "What's next for the travelers? I'm working on it."