Planting the seeds of success in Xinjiang

Natural attraction

Rural vitalization results are also increasingly obvious at Youka'erkekakula village in Kashgar's Pahar Telik township, where a major green development project involving more than 600 residents has significantly raised incomes and living standards.

Incentives and support to develop ecotourism lodging and ethnic-style farmstays rolled out two years ago have helped attract nearly 200,000 visitors, boosting the income of each household receiving tourists by at least 20,000 yuan a year.

"Our pristine environment offers lush fields, clear streams and colorful ethnic traditions," township Party secretary Li Dumin said.

"A family here offering food and lodging can make 100,000 yuan a year from tourists."

Villager Tursunjan Khader, 33, used to work odd jobs, living in a mud hut that was prone to leaking.

Government subsidies helped him build a new home that he turned into a 12-room house, which he then began refurbishing to offer food and lodging to tourists two years ago.

The new tourism revenue, as well as the money he gets from renting out two excavators to local farmers, allows his five-member household to enjoy an annual income of about 200,000 yuan, Tursunjan said.

"You can see the improvements to our whole village just by walking around," he said.

Learning advantage

At a major cultural center and industrial park in Kashgar, young members of ethnic groups get the opportunity to upgrade their skills in baking nang flatbread, a staple of the Uygur diet, allowing them to preserve and promote their culinary traditions in the food and tourism sectors.

The complex covers 6 hectares, with at least 113 million yuan invested to boost output to half a million products a day valued at 1.5 million yuan, using more than 500 modern electric ovens and nearly 3,000 bakers and workers.

"We opened just over a year ago and already get 1,600 daily visits on average," said Lyu Yuanhong, who is responsible for the site.

"Our employees, mostly aged between 25 and 40, receive comprehensive training for the industry."

Abdu Hayney is learning to perfect his nang-baking skills at the facility after returning to Kashgar from Urumqi, the regional capital, a year ago. He first learned how to make the staple from his grandfather.

"Nang is an important part of our culture here in Xinjiang," he said.

"I hope to start my own nang brand and company in the future."

In neighboring Aksu prefecture, skills training and upgrading measures are also helping to sow seeds of progress.

The Ahmeri peach orchard, on the outskirts of Kuqa, a historic Silk Road oasis, covers about 7.5 hectares. Its annual output of 55 tons rakes in 165,000 yuan during the main harvest season from late June to early September.

Orchard owner Song Qiuping, 48, said about 15 employees tend to the fruit and help train local farmers in the latest technology, like water and soil management.

Fruit-picking tours are also attracting more local tourists, she said.

Syet Yunus, 55, said he spent more than a year learning skills at the orchard so that he can improve yields from his own 7,300-square-meter plot.

The results have been encouraging, Syet said, helping raise his fruit farming income by at least 60 percent to 80,000 yuan a year.

"Together, we learn how to manage our plots better and maximize the planting seasons," he said.