Since beginning my master's degree at Zhejiang University in 2016, I have visited the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region four times. My frequent visits were due to my research on Xinjiang for both my master's and doctoral theses. Each visit to Xinjiang has revealed different beauties.

Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang, has a name of Mongolian origin meaning "beautiful grasslands and fertile lands". Throughout history, Urumqi has been home to various ethnic groups, and it is among the most colorful, multicultural, and historically rich cities I have seen in China.

My journey continued with a visit to the Xinjiang Museum, which showcases the history of various ethnic groups, including Uygur, Kazakh, Han, Kirgizs, and Mongol, and their contributions to the enrichment of Xinjiang's culture. The museum is vibrant and worthy of visit.

After touring the museum, I visited the "Grand Bazaar" in Urumqi, a historic and bustling hub of the city. The bazaar was indeed crowded. A kind Uygur woman offered me a drink with some ice in it. Hesitantly, I tasted it and realized it was nothing but ayran (a drink made in Türkiye by adding water and salt to yogurt). It was just a bit more sour. Curiously, I asked its name and she said "On Doğ." It reminded me of Diyarbakir, where the sourest yogurt-based ayran is believed to be the tastiest.

The bazaar is a place where you can taste foods and drinks from various ethnic groups, especially Uygur, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz. In the middle of the market stands a large mosque, Erdaoqiao, stunning both day and night.

Beside the square, the perpetual sound of Uygur music and sight of hundreds dancing caught my attention. I moved closer to observe. Young and old, women and men, Uygur and Han alike, were all dancing. I have never been so moved by a scene.

An elderly Uygur woman was helping a young Han man learn Uygur dance. I later learned that this is a common practice in Xinjiang, with many people learning Uygur dance by joining in. Everyone around was either dancing or watching. Suddenly, a Uygur girl invited me to dance. Regardless of my dancing skills, I couldn't refuse such a lovely invitation. We leaped onto the stage together. Everyone watched intently, wondering how I would dance. As the music started, I began to dance, and the young girl beautifully performed Uygur dance figures. We danced around each other, sharing smiles, and completed our dance to applause from those around us. What a loving, rich experience!

While tasting various Uygur and Kazakh dishes, a sudden rain shower caught me and hundreds of others unprepared. Everyone, in a state of confusion, clung to each other, trying to stay dry under the sunshades set up for protection. That was when I realized: when it rains, we all huddle under the same umbrella, helping each other.

In Urumqi, almost everyone smiles and thanks each other upon receiving an answer. Guests do not start eating until after the host has begun. I once tried waiting for five minutes without eating. When I said, "I'll eat later, please go ahead," and just drank tea, everyone else also drank tea and waited for five minutes with me. Xinjiang hospitality dictates that the guest should be the first to try each different dish on the table. This custom is prevalent across all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

On my journey, I also saw the high-speed rail lines stretching from Lanzhou to Urumqi. But what caught my eye was the several-meter-high concrete walls built alongside the rails. Curiously, I asked and received the answer. Especially in winter, the strong winds from the Tianshan Mountains can affect the high-speed trains, so these walls were constructed to break the wind's speed and prevent it from impacting the trains.

About 1,300 years ago, during the Tang Dynasty, Xi'an (formerly known as Chang'an) was the capital of China. The journey of Xuanzang, a Buddhist monk in Xi'an who traveled to India to bring back sacred Buddhist texts, is well-documented. The Monkey King volunteered to protect him on his perilous journey, with one of their stops being Turpan. About 32 km from Turpan's city center, structures representing the priest and his protectors' visit have been built at the foot of the Flaming Mountains. This journey, immortalized in the novel Journey to the West and adapted into series and films, has become a significant work. At the same site, the world's largest thermometer, recognized by the Guinness Book of Records, has been installed.

Turpan is a swelteringly hot city, with average temperatures ranging from 40 to 44 degrees Celsius and has a notably dry climate. Just 130 km away, the desert begins, testament to the intense heat. Despite this, Turpan is famed for its delicious fruits. As I mentioned before, I find Xinjiang's fruits to be the tastiest I've eaten in China. Particularly notable are the grape vineyards in Turpan, visible everywhere. These grapes are sold fresh, dried, or made into wine, both domestically and internationally. I recall eating a kilo of grapes in one sitting.

The mountains surrounding Turpan were barren and extremely hot, so much so that some are named “Flaming Mountains”. There's not a tree or a puddle in sight as far as the eye can see. The outskirts of Urumqi are somewhat better but still quite arid. However, upon seeing the foothills of the Tianshan Mountains on my last day, I couldn't believe my eyes. Here was a mountain range covered with forests, just 50 km from Urumqi and 300 km from the desert, adorned with waterfalls, crystal clear rivers, squirrels, and weasels scampering through the trees, all under a brilliantly blue sky. I witnessed the temperature dropping to 15 degrees Celsius, whereas it had been 45 degrees in Turpan just a day before.

In such a vast and challenging geography, with deserts, forests, and mountains under a blue sky, experiencing all shades of heat and cold, Uygurs, Hans, Kazakhs, Huis, Kyrgyz, Mongols, and others live in harmony. In Xinjiang, geography harmoniously accommodates the yellow of the desert, the brown of the mountains, the green of the forests, the blue of the sky, and the white of the clouds, despite all odds, and people embrace diversity. Here, geography coexists, and so do humans. People here breathe under the same sky, seek shelter from the same rain, and spread love among their neighbors and their brethren.

A Uygur once told me, “Many years ago, Hans were not allowed to attend our weddings. The extremists had forbidden it. They might not do anything openly, but there was nothing they couldn't do in secret. We were not allowed to cry at our funerals. Our women couldn't perform Uygur dances at our weddings because it was considered haram.” Can you see what extremism does to people? An extremism alienates a person from themselves, their spouse, their family, and their community. I am glad that era has passed, and now I could see a Uygur teaching a Han dance moves. I danced heartily with a young Uygur beauty.

Serdar Yurtcicek, a postdoctoral researcher at Shanghai University in China.

Planner: Jie Wenjin

Reviewers: Hou Weili and Cheng Li