| Actual Image
Silk Road: Ürümqi (2)
meyerd
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 97 W: 15 N: 608]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-s-g.gif) (1490) | Silkroad travels: Ürümqi
This is one of several mosques in Ürümqi (I put the mark of "View: map" right at it). In 1949, 90% of the inhabitants were Uighurs and Islam was the religion that had come with the Silk Road from the West. Xinjiang province was occupied by the Soviet Union. At that time the governement of China decided to send in many Han Chinese as workers and as settlers. They built the many great works, highways, railways, channels, river dams, mines, cities, military places. Today Han Chinese dominate in numbers, in wealth and they occupy many key posts. They brought with them not only their work ethic and lifestyle but also the age-old Chinese culture and traditions. Taken all together this is a source of a simmering ethnic conflict not visible to the simple traveller like me. The same process leads to the same kind of conflicts elsewhere in the world. As an extreme example of potential conflict building I recall the road and tunnel construction company engaged in Tajikistan to improve the Anzob pass: all construction vehicles had licence plates from Bejing, many hundred workers and engineers were Han Chinese, Tajiks were just watching on the sideline. |
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