They will not allow us to dance tomorrow. For five years, we have not been allowed to dance to celebrate Eid al-Fitr.” – Uighur Tour Guide commenting on religious repression. Since riots in 2009 in Urumqi, the Chinese government has severely restricted religious expression. Though the government has not ended the sermon at the …
“During this time, I have witnessed many of the so-called great national events; but, in my heart, they left little impression…but there was one small matter which did mean something to me.” – Lu Xun, A Call to Arms, “A Small Matter” The mother was short, but she wore strappy, light blue wedges to …
I’ll be giving a presentation on some of our trip at UGA’s Tate Reception Hall in the Tate Student Center tomorrow, Thursday, September 4th at lunch, from 12-1. If you are in Athens, stop by.
Today’s post is a little pedantic, but the background is necessary so that you can understand the posts following this one. Xinjiang, the region we had just entered, is a vast territory, almost as large as Alaska. Though China has had an on-again, off-again presence for the past two millennia, the name, Xinjiang, is Chinese …
Xining has a very Silk Road feel to the city. Qinghai, the province of which Xining is the capital of, is largely a Tibetan land, underpopulated, with vast stretches of wild, high deserts pockmarked with many mountains and almost no cities. However, Xining is dominated not by Tibetans but by Hui Muslims, the Chinese speakers …