TIANSHANNET   ›   News   ›   Xinjiang News

Profile: With a foreign face, Chinese veteran prospector finds invaluable life in Xinjiang

by Xinhua writers Zhang Zhongkai and Pan Ying

URUMQI, April 27 (Xinhua) -- One would have to refrain from the impulse to speak English when talking with Li Yizu, an 83-year-old man with curly white hair, blue eyes and other classic Western features.

While Li is genetically a foreigner, he was adopted and raised by a Chinese family in China's capital of Beijing, which is evident by his prominent Beijing dialect.

"Don't call me a foreigner. I'm Chinese, and more specifically, a Xinjianger," Li tells anyone who mentions his foreign looks.

Li spent his childhood and finished his education in Beijing. Out of love for adventure, he chose to study geological surveying and prospecting in college.

Upon graduation in 1961, Li applied to work in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, one of the country's biggest hubs for mineral resources. He came to Xinjiang one year later, and since then, he has stayed in the far west Chinese region.

He worked on the prospecting team of the local coal mine geological bureau, traveling over mountains, the Gobi desert and other landscapes across Xinjiang to search for valuable minerals. Li joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 1981.

After retirement, Li refused to sit idle and volunteered to give public lectures on Xinjiang's diverse geology and big changes.

He has given some 900 lectures colored with his personal experiences in schools, government organizations and communities. At 73, he even accompanied a geographical documentary team to travel across Xinjiang.

Long years of fieldwork have impacted one of Li's knees, and he has to use a walking stick for support. Despite that, he gets very talkative when it comes to Xinjiang.

"The natural scenery in Xinjiang is impressive, and local people's kindness is even more so. I'm happy living here," Li said, explaining his decision to stay in Xinjiang before sharing memorable stories of receiving timely help from the locals during his trips such as free meals and voluntary tour guides.

Li is an avid fan of photography. He has taken over 10,000 pictures of sceneries and daily life in Xinjiang which recorded the sea of changes in the past six decades.

"I have documented the four-year-long reconstruction of a training center for women leadership just across the street of my community in Urumqi. It used to be a three-floor building, but now it's a high rise," Li told Xinhua, attributing the change to the CPC and the government's efforts to raise women's standing in society.

Despite being in his 80s, Li still has a sharp mind. He has even picked up some digital skills to upload his photos to online albums and share them on his WeChat. He called himself the "Chinese tamarisk on the plateau" on the online album platform, referring to a drought-resilient plant popular in Xinjiang.

"These photos show the real Xinjiang, a beautiful, hospitable place worthy of life-long exploration," Li said, dismissing some fake Western reports on Xinjiang as rumors with ulterior motives.

His foreign looks still draw strangers' attention, but Li has no interest in tracing his origin. "I have never applied for a passport nor been abroad. I enjoy my life in my motherland China."

When asked about his future wishes, Li smiled. "I'm pretty grateful for what I have now. I would like to share my experiences in Xinjiang with more people as long as my health permits." Enditem