Ezmet Ehmetjan works at textile factory in an industrial park in Yining county in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Photo by Zhang Yi/chinadaily.com.cn]

Ezmet Ehmetjan got a job six months ago at a textile factory that opened last year in an industrial park in Yining county in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The 24-year-old Uygur is responsible for operating machines that process cotton thread, earning him a monthly income of about 3500 yuan ($522.07).

"The factory provides us with free accommodation and meals. It is not far from home, and I give my parents part of my salary to help them," he said.

Ezmet Ehmetjan works at textile factory in an industrial park in Yining county in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Photo by Zhang Yi/chinadaily.com.cn]

The factory is located in the Yining Textile Manufacturing Industrial Park, which was built by Yining's twin city Nantong, in Jiangsu province.

There are over 20 companies in the park, engaged in spinning, weaving, textile-making and clothing, most of which have come from Nantong.

Chen Shixianxia, a businesswoman from Nantong, invested in building one of the factories, which makes home textiles like cotton quilts and bedsheets, in 2020.

Chen Shixianxia, who comes from Jiangsu, works with employees at her textile factory in Yining. [Photo by Zhang Yi/chinadaily.com.cn]

She said that she has spent 8.5 million yuan so far, with a total planned investment of 20 million yuan.

Starting operations last year, the factory employs 110 people, all of them local residents, 86 of whom belong to different ethnic groups, she added.

Despite living alone in Yining, Chen said that she doesn't feel lonely "as my employees in Xinjiang treat me like a family member".