Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Song Haibo) news: Going to school on horses and camels? "The class representative in charge of the camels" and "horse parking security"? And what does the "eyebrow keeper" do? Teacher Ilham and his students from Hotan Technician College went viral with their funny videos such as "If Xinjiang students do go to school on horses and camels", "What kind of class representative can you find in Xinjiang's classroom?"

"Is it true that you Xinjiang students ride horses or camels to school?", "Is it true that good looking girls can be seen everywhere in Xinjiang?"... Questions like these were asked from time to time when Ilham Urmutulla studied at a university in Beijing. Ilham became a teacher after returning to his hometown, and the idea of filming videos on these well-intentioned yet stereotypical "misunderstandings" came to his mind. When the open-minded teacher encounters outgoing students, their amusing short videos never fail to elicit hearty laughter from the viewers. With exaggerated techniques and exquisite acting skills, they manage to create a completely different school life. The contrasting scenes create hilarious effects. Since October, 2023, their works have gained them almost two million followers, and the total number of views has exceeded 100 million.

As one of the "A-lister" in Xinjiang on the Internet, "Teacher Ilham" remains clear-headed. "These videos are actually a kind of funny interpretation of our local customs. And I hope friends from all over the country can come to the beautiful Xinjiang after watching them. I want to let more people understand the beauty of Xinjiang, enabling them to perceive the contrast between past impressions and present reality."

Photo taken on January 4, 2024 shows Ilham Urmutulla takes photos with his students at Hotan Technician College in Hotan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Ilham Urmutulla)

The joy of observing and recording life

After wiping away the last traces of chalk on the blackboard, Ilham Urmutulla put down the eraser and turned to face the expectant students. He smiled and asked the students, "The final exam is coming up, do you have any good ideas for making a video and sharing it with netizens during the winter vacation?" The students' eyes lit up with excitement, and the topic of the final exam sparked a lively discussion.

Ilham is an e-commerce teacher at Hotan Technician College. He likes to film and edit videos in his spare time. He shared the videos, which record his and his students' daily lives, on his social media accounts named "Teacher Ilham" on platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou. These videos are followed and loved by many netizens. After class, he gets along well with the students, giving them ideas and helping them solve problems. He is like an enthusiastic big brother to the students.

Ilham was born in a small village in Yiliqi Township, Hotan City. After graduating from university in 2019, he returned to his hometown and became a primary school teacher. He found the children's eyes sparkling with a desire for knowledge, "It's a joy to be with the children, they have a lot of questions, and I'm trying to use different teaching methods and let the children learn more knowledge."

He befriends the children, listens to their stories and imparts knowledge through games. At the end of the first semester, the class he taught came first in mathematics. "I am aware of the duty to teach and educate people. Through education, students can undergo a transformation in their cognition and thinking," Ilham recalled.

Two years later, Ilham came to Hotan Advanced Technical School (now Hotan Technician College) to work as an e-commerce specialist teacher. From primary school to vocational school, the teaching content and methods have changed a lot. His students are no longer little children, but teenagers with dreams of learning professional skills. He has to constantly update his knowledge to adapt to the changes in teaching.

He turned to a more creative and interactive way of teaching, and through short videos he could convey the richness and diversity of school life to a wider audience. He used his camera to capture every vivid detail of the school, capturing wonderful moments of the students, "My hobby is to make videos in my daily life". The videos on his Douyin account are either directed and acted by himself, showing interesting things in the school through one person playing multiple roles; or some random interviews in the school or teacher-student interaction. The videos he makes not only show the vitality of the students, but also convey the positive atmosphere of the school.

"It’s very joyful to observe life and record it in my daily life. And ordinary days can be interpreted in an interesting way," Ilham said with a smile.

Photo taken on January 20, 2024 shows Ilham Urmutulla films short videos with his students at Hotan Technician College in Hotan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/Song Haibo)

Beautiful Xinjiang in camera

"In October 2023, the short videos I filmed with my students on 'Xinjiang Students Riding Horses', 'The class representative in charge of the camels', 'Horse parking security', etc. went viral, which surprised me a lot. These videos quickly attracted the attention of many netizens, far above my expectations." Ilham said, what was behind the creation of those short videos was the efforts made by him and his students. The videos they worked together to conceive and create not only broke away from conventional forms of expression but also presented the audience with a novel and interesting perspective.

"At first, students didn't know anything about making short videos." Ilham said, students majoring in e-commerce need to master this skill. "Many students want me to teach them to learn the technique of filming and editing the videos, which is also what I want to do. Now, me and my students create the script together. I offer the idea, while my students prepare the jokes and plots under it, everyone is very involved." Before launching a video, the "director" and "actors" come together for brainstorming. Imperfect ideas ultimately evolve into captivating "big productions" that entertain thousands of netizens.

In the early days of video creation, students faced problems such as being afraid to express themselves in front of the camera, unable to remember their lines, and not knowing how to do the camera movement. But they gradually grew up, and became more confident in front of the camera. Student Adil Nur said, "Teacher Ilham taught us step by step, and now almost all of us can do filming and acting."

After continuous attempts, the short videos made by Ilham and the students gained more and more praise, and their wonderful imagination spawned memes that were hotly debated by netizens. "Do Xinjiang students really ride horses to school?" "I really want to see the camels there!" "Why are the students' eyebrows so thick?" While the short videos have attracted widespread attention, they have also raised doubts among some students' parents, with some people questioning, "Why don't you just let the students study, rather than invest their time in making videos?"

Ilham did not avoid those question. "I understand why they think that way. Misunderstandings need to be cleared up through communication. E-commerce is closely related to the Internet, and making short videos is also part of the professional knowledge". He explained to the parents the educational value behind making their short videos, emphasizing the skills and teamwork experience the students gain during the filming process. "We are not out to become famous, but to record our lives. We want the students to use the skills they have learnt and show the beauty of their hometown. To show the outside world the scenery, cuisine and cultural customs of their hometown". Gradually, the voices of doubt diminished and the number of supporters increased. The number of likes on each video grew from one or two thousand to tens or even hundreds of thousands, with the highest reaching 3.365 million.

In the videos they created together, camels stroll leisurely, the towering Kunlun Mountains stand, and the campus is filled with laughter and joy. The lighthearted and humorous way of expression left a deep impression on the viewers. All these elements were derived from their hometown and served as a wellspring of inspiration for their creations.

"Over the past six months, I have noticed that the students have gradually opened up during the process of making short videos, with more smiles on their faces. They have a better understanding of the importance of teamwork and have become more confident in expressing themselves". Ilham said that he and the students will continue to update their videos and continue on this journey.

Photo shows Ilham Urmutulla with primary school students of Tushala Town Central Primary School in Hotan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo offered by Ilham Urmutulla)

To give people fish and you only provide them with one meal; to teach them to fish and they can benefit throughout their lives.

"In August last year, a team called Sanzhiyang came to Hotan to do a public benefit livestreaming to help farmers. At that time, I had a small wish, hoping that one day I could also have more fans to show more people the beautiful scenery, food, culture, history and rich tourism resources of Hotan," said Ilham. In December of the same year, he came to the Sanzhiyang team's headquarters in Hefei City to learn more about video production, "In that conversation, I realized that in this era, we not only need innovation in the form of short video production, but also high-quality content.

"I have more than two million fans on the entire network, and the number of fans of my students who make videos with me is also increasing," Ilham introduced, "Lamu (rural people)" is the account of his graduate student Abdusalam Abdurezajin, and the videos mainly depict rural life; "Camel Girl" is the account of student Aderye Mattursun, who is known to the public for her character as the "class representative in charge of the camels" in the videos. Abdusalam Abdurezajin said, "The number of fans of our two accounts is more than 200,000, mainly focusing on introducing the local customs and practices of Xinjiang. In the future, we will jointly create content as a team and continue to introduce the beauty of Xinjiang."

Photo shows Ilham Urmutulla with students of Hotan Technician College in Hotan City, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo offered by Ilham Urmutulla)

According to the profile, 90 percent of the followers of "Teacher Ilham" are from outside Xinjiang. "I often receive messages from followers. They are very curious about Xinjiang," Ilham shared. "Are there many camels in Xinjiang?" "Is Hotan's kebab delicious?" "Why do Xinjiang people have such thick eyebrows?"... These diverse questions reflect the curiosity and longing of followers from all over the country for the unique local customs and culture of Xinjiang. "Last year, several fans traveled from Inner Mongolia to Hotan. They told me that the Hotan they saw in person was even more beautiful than what we presented in the videos. And there are several followers have already planned to visit Hotan this year," Ilham said. Good interaction has brought distant scenery closer and opened a window for more people to understand Xinjiang.

"I will continue to work with the students to create short videos with higher-quality content and use this form to show everyone the real and interesting Xinjiang," Ilham said. "Perhaps in the past, Xinjiang was just a distant place in the minds of many netizens, but after watching our videos, some of them are already on the way!"

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