URUMQI - Yao Gang was about to leave home for a hard job at a construction site some 1,000 km away from home. Before walking out, the 46-year-old native of the northwestern city Urumqi waved a final good-bye to his son, who lay paralyzed in bed.

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Yao's son was critically wounded in riots that broke out exactly two years ago in Urumqi, the worst violence in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in decades.

The government says the riots on July 5, 2009 left 197 people dead and 1,700 others injured. The aftermath still haunts, even in a region that is no stranger to violence in its long battle against separatism, terrorism, and religious extremism.

Though overseas Uygur groups were blamed for plotting the unrest, China also looked into domestic woes that left the society vulnerable to the incitement of violence.

Policies have been implemented to address social problems sparked by the imbalance of wealth and development, and exacerbated in regions inhabited by mixed ethnic groups. Unprecedented packages of development assistance were announced by the central government and governments of affluent regions.

"The central leadership has done some thinking in the wake of the riots," said Yao Xinyong, a professor with Jinan University in south China.

"The authorities try to defuse tension among ethnic groups, maintain stability by improving social welfare, lifting living standards of all groups, and boosting economic development of the region," said Li, who is a long-time Xinjiang issue researcher.

Recovery

Two years on, the efforts to defuse tension and boost balanced development in Xinjiang are in full swing as the region recovers along with the victims, though slowly, from the riots.

The skull of Yao's son was shattered in the chaos of the mob. Doctors have to use pipes to support his head. His limbs are paralyzed, his hearing impaired, and he constantly suffers fits of epilepsy and depression.

An official in charge of dealing with the riots' aftermath said the government offers free in-hospital treatment and handed out subsidies in housing, jobs, and education for all victims.

The brain surgery for Yao's son was free and the family receives a monthly subsidy of more than 1,000 yuan (153 U.S. dollars).

"But even with that, we still struggle," Yao said. "I have to work to earn extra money for the family to survive."

"My biggest wish is that my son can recover soon, and we really need more help," Yao said.

Tourism plunged in the wake of the riots but has recovered and is poised to grow even stronger.

On Tuesday, at a unique Uygur-style bazaar in downtown Urumqi, business was brisk as waves of tourists flocked.

Booths of the sprawling four-story International Grand Bazaar are filled by vendors, mostly Uygurs, selling goods from traditional dresses and ethnic handicrafts to central Asian carpets and fur.

Managers of the bazaar estimate that more than 10,000 tourists visit the bazaar every day.

Xinjiang, with its desert-oasis sceneries and distinctive ethnic culture, reported a record 30 million tourists in 2010, including at least 1 million tourists from abroad, government statistics show.

Last year's tourism revenues topped 30 billion yuan (4.6 billion U.S. dollars), an all-time high for the region.