Tourism to Xinjiang booms as China gives the region a makeover

When Anna was planning her first visit to Xinjiang in 2015, her friends were confused.

“They could not understand why I was visiting a place that was considered at the time one of the most dangerous areas in China.”

The 35-year-old Chinese national, who did not want to reveal her real name, said one of her friends pulled out of the trip and began “ghosting” her on WeChat.

“She said her parents forbade her from going anywhere near Xinjiang and did not want to get involved further.”

Anna went anyway and returned in June of this year. But she says that has changed.

“Xinjiang was as beautiful as I remember it, but now there are too many tourists, especially in the main attractions,” he added.

For years, Xinjiang remained under Beijing’s rule, occasionally erupting into violence, alienating many local Chinese tourists. It then became notorious for some of the worst allegations of Chinese authoritarianism, from the detention of more than a million people Uighur Muslims In so-called “re-education camps”. Allegations of crimes against humanityby the United Nations.

China denies these accusations, but the region is largely isolated from the media and international observers, while Uighurs in exile continue to tell stories of their terrified or disappeared relatives.

However, in recent years, Xinjiang has emerged as a tourist destination – within China, and increasingly outside the country. Beijing has poured billions of dollars into developing infrastructure, helping produce TV dramas set in its extraordinary landscape, and occasionally welcoming foreign media on carefully coordinated tours.

It has rezoned the controversial area and turned it into a tourist haven, not only for its beauty but also for the local “racial” experiences that rights groups say it is trying to erase.

The Xinjiang region extends across northwest China, bordering eight countries. Located along the Silk Road, which fueled trade between East and West for centuries, some of its cities are full of history. It is also home to rugged remote mountains, majestic valleys, green pastures and pristine lakes.

“The views exceeded my expectations by miles,” says Singaporean Sun Chengyao, who visited the country in May 2024 and describes it as New Zealand, Switzerland and Mongolia all in one place.

Unlike most of China which has a Han majority, Xinjiang has mostly Turkic-speaking Muslims, with Uyghurs being the largest ethnic group. Tensions rose throughout the 1990s and 2000s, as Uyghur allegations of marginalization by Han Chinese sparked separatist sentiment and deadly attacks, intensifying Beijing’s crackdown.

But under Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party has begun to tighten its control like never before, sparking allegations of forced assimilation of Uyghurs into Han Chinese culture. On a visit in September, he praised the region’s “amazing” development and called for the “Sinicization of religion” — transforming beliefs to reflect Chinese culture and society.

At the same time, investments began to flow into the region. About 200 international hotels, including prominent names such as Hilton and Marriott, are already operating or planning to open in Xinjiang.

In 2024, the region received about 300 million visitors, more than double the number in 2018, according to Chinese authorities. Tourism revenues from Xinjiang grew by about 40% during this period, reaching 360 billion yuan ($51 billion, £39 billion). In the first half of this year, about 130 million tourists visited the region, contributing about 143 billion yuan in revenue.

While foreign tourism is growing, the vast majority of it is domestic visitors.

Beijing now has an ambitious goal: more than 400 million visitors annually and tourism revenues of 1 trillion yuan by 2030.

Some people are still afraid to go. Mr Sun says it took some time to gather friends for a trip in May 2024, as many of them saw Xinjiang as unsafe. The 23-year-old was experiencing a bout of stress, but as the flight continued, it disappeared.

They cruised through the crowded streets of the regional capital, Urumqi. They then spent eight days on the road with a Chinese driver, traveling through mountains and steppes, which left Mr. Sun in awe.

It is common for drivers and tour guides in Xinjiang to be Han Chinese, who now make up about 40% of the region’s population. Mr. Sun’s group did not interact extensively with local Uyghurs, but the few who were able to initiate conversations with them were “very welcoming,” Mr. Sun says.

Since his return, Sun has become somewhat of a defender of Xinjiang, which he says has been “misunderstood” as dangerous and tense. “If I could inspire just one person to learn more about the county, I would have helped reduce the stigma a little bit.”

For him, the stunning views he enjoyed as a tourist seem a far cry from the disturbing claims that have put Xinjiang in global headlines. All he saw was evidence that Xinjiang remains heavily surveilled, with police checkpoints and security cameras a common sight, and foreigners being asked to stay in certain hotels.

But Sun was not bothered by this: “There is a heavy police presence, but that does not mean that this is a big problem.”

Not every tourist is convinced that what he sees is the “real” Xinjiang.

“I was very curious about Uyghur culture and wanted to see how different things were there,” says Singaporean Thenmuly Selvadori, who visited with friends in May for 10 days. “But we were very disappointed.”

She and her friends were wearing hijab, and she says Uighur food vendors approached them, saying they “envy us that we can wear the hijab freely…but we couldn’t have very deep conversations.” She adds that they were not allowed to visit most local mosques.

However, the appeal for foreign visitors is strong. China itself is a very popular destination, and Xinjiang has emerged as an “untouched” and less commercialized option.

China’s state-run Global Times newspaper wrote in May that a growing number of foreigners “are approaching Xinjiang with open minds and a genuine desire to see and evaluate the truth for themselves.”

The party has also been quick to promote Xinjiang-specific content by foreign influencers that is consistent with the state’s narrative. Among them is German blogger Ken Abroad, who said in one of his videos that he saw “more mosques.” [in Xinjiang] “than it is in the United States or any country in Europe.”

But others have a different point of view. Writer Josh Summers, who lived in Xinjiang in the 2000s, tells the BBC that the ancient city of Kashgar “has been completely demolished, reimagined and rebuilt in a way that does not reflect Uyghur culture in any way.”

According to a 2024 Human Rights Watch report, hundreds of villages in Xinjiang bear their names — which were linked to Uyghur religion, history, or culture — replacing Between 2009 and 2023. The group also accused the authorities of committing murders Closing, destroying and reusing mosques In Xinjiang and throughout China to limit the practice of Islam.

Serious human rights violations have also been documented by other international organizations, including the United Nations. BBC reports for 2021 and 2022 found evidence to support the existence of concentration camps, and allegations of sexual abuse and forced sterilization.

But Beijing denies all of this. Inside the country, the party has been reshaping the image of what was once seen as a troubled province to attract more domestic tourists. And it seems to be working.

When Anna went for the second time, she was with her mother, who was keen to visit after watching a drama set in the mountainous Altai province in the north. To the Wonder was funded by the government and promoted in state media.

Altay has a lot of fans on the Chinese Internet. “Who knew that I would wander into God’s secret garden in Altai? At Lake Ka Nasi, I finally understood what it means to be in paradise. This is the place where the romance of mountains, rivers, lakes and seas are woven together in one frame,” reads one comment on RedNote.

Another says: “At dawn, from the guest house I watch the cattle grazing the fields. The golden birch forests glow in the sunlight, and even the air seems enveloped in sweetness – such serene beauty is the Altai I have longed for.”

Travel agencies describe the region as “exotic” and “mysterious.” It offers “a magical fusion of nature and culture that you won’t experience anywhere else in China,” says one such agency, The Wandering Lens. Prices for these tours vary. A 10-day trip can cost you between US$1,500 and US$2,500 (£1,100-1,900), excluding flights.

A typical itinerary for the north includes Kanas National Park, with hikes to alpine lakes and the famous five-colored beach, and a visit to a Uyghur village where you can ride a carriage and spend some time with a Uyghur family.

Things get more adventurous in the south, where trips often include drives through the desert, various lake excursions, and a visit to Kashgar, a 2,000-year-old Silk Road city.

Visitors share their itineraries online, complete with color-coded road maps and snapshots of Uyghur delicacies, such as spicy soup, the “big chicken dish,” grilled lamb skewers, and wine made from horse milk. Some even mention “hours-long performances recreating the splendor of the Silk Road.”

If you search for Xinjiang on social media platforms RedNote and Weibo, as you might expect, you’ll get posts praising its beauty and distinctive architecture. There is no mention of allegations that contradict this poetic appeal.

At this time of year, Chinese social media is filled with images of Xinjiang’s poplar forests bathed in the amber glow of autumn.

Uyghur American Irad Kashgari, who left the region in 1998, says the Communist Party “is selling its own version of Uyghur culture by presenting the Uyghur people as a tourist attraction.”

“They’re telling the world that we’re nothing more than colorful, dancing folk who look good on social media.”

Watching her birthplace’s popularity grow across the Pacific, Uyghur activist Kashgari urges tourists to “acknowledge the serious issues” in Xinjiang.

“It’s not my place to tell people not to visit, but they need to realize that what they experience there is a white version of… [Xinjiang]”, she says.

“Meanwhile, people like me will never be able to return because of our activity. It’s too dangerous… However, why can’t I? This is my homeland.”