Xinjiang's riot hits tourism in Silk Road city

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-12 09:38

KASHGAR, Xinjiang: It would have been a booming weekend for businessman Kadejiang Abduxiku if a deadly riot hadn't taken place in the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi, but now he had to sit idly in his shop, expecting no customers.

"I can earn 2,000 yuan (US$294) a day before Sunday's riot, but from Monday till Saturday, I only earned altogether 500 yuan," said Kadejiang, a 43-year-old shop owner of Uygur ethnic group who sells silk scarf mainly to tourists at the largest wholesale market in Kashgar, a major town along the ancient Silk Road.

As a historic city in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Kashgar, whose population is mostly of Uygur ethnic group, attracts millions of tourists from home and abroad every year. The tourism industry plays an important role in boosting the city's economic growth. But the riot on July 5 in the Xinjiang regional capital of Urumqi 1,500 km away, which left 184 people dead and more than 1,000 others injured, has nevertheless exerted a negative impact on the tourism industry in Kashgar.

This can be seen from the depression at Kadejiang's market as most of the owners of the 3,000 stalls had to kill time by chatting, playing chess or just sitting with bored looks. More than 2,000 customers, mostly tourists, came to the market before the riot a day, but now, very few people visited here.

Kadejiang's shop has been in operation since 1994. He needn't pay any taxes except for a 400-yuan rent a month to the market administration authorities.

"The rioters' actions are not good and caused losses to us. I dislike them," he said while shaking his head.

But religious life has not been affected, said Kadejiang, a devout Muslim.

"I went to the mosque to attend the Friday prayer yesterday. I don't want to listen to any rumors (about ethnic conflicts). It's meaningless," he added.

Several scenic spots in the city also witnessed a sharp decline of visitors, such as Apakh Hoja Mazar, a mausoleum for an imperial concubine during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

"We used to receive about 800 visitors a day, but now the number has been less than one tenth over the past several days," said Ayixianmu Guli, a tourist guide at the mausoleum.

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