Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporter Song Haibo) news: On July 12, 2024, when the sun caught the sunlight at the streets of Artux City, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, it was as if time stood still in a quiet hotel room.

Ayatikhan Bektu, a young woman in a wheelchair with round glasses on her face, was intently reading in the front of the desk piled with books.

Photo shows Ayatikhan Bektu reading. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/ Song Haibo）

Tale of Seagull is her autobiography, and there is a sentence written on its title page: “Aklay loves the boundless sea, and the seagulls flying freely over it, but she was born in the farthest place from the sea...”

Photo shows Ayatikhan Bektu (third from right) in performance at an event in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily/ Song Haibo）

A “seagull poet” who has never seen the sea

“My childhood was all spent in a wheelchair.” She was born in Sarekbayi Village, Urukqati Township, Wuqia County, which is near Artux City, and the small village is embraced by the blue sky and majestic peaks of the Pamir Plateau.

At the age of eight, Ayatikhan could no longer support her body with her legs. Her grandma bought her a wheelchair, and as she sat in it, with her hands on the wheels, driving it fast on the cement road of the building composition they live in, she felt being reborn. “Wheelchair has become my wings, and it means that I can do a lot of things on my own.”

Because of her physical condition, she lives harder than normal, and it also makes her sensitive and vulnerable. At the age of 13, Ayatikhan did not want to go to school anymore, "At that time, I was stressed out and depressed, I did not want to meet anyone, and I was very irritable. Every morning, when I woke up and looked at myself in the mirror, I would always ask, 'Why me? '"

She closed her mind up in a world made of words. "I was in bed almost all day, and reading became my way for passing time. I would lie in bed and read one book after another from morning to night. At first, it was just a way to kill time, but gradually, I found myself enjoying being immersed in the sea of words," Ayatikhan recalled.

"The epic Manas is my favorite book, and I am greatly encouraged by the tenacious character of the heroes depicted in the book."

“One day, I happened to open my cousin's textbook, and my eyes were attracted by Gorky's Petrel, which was like a picture scroll unfolding slowly in front of me. Seagulls, wind and rain, thunder and lightning..., these things became vivid," Ayatikhan said, "When I read that the seagulls fly through the raging storm, and still being brave and free, I saw myself become the seagulls. From that day on, I started writing. I gave myself a pen name - Seagull. Although I have never seen the sea, I hope I can fly high in the wind and waves of life like seagulls."

Photo shows Ayatikhan Bektu (second from left in the front row) and her friends. (Photo courtesy of Ayatikhan Bektu)

Approaching adulthood forced me to learn being independent

"Books and words are my solace, but they do not lighten the burden of life. When my grandparents passed away when I was 17, my world fell apart. That's when I realized that adulthood was approaching and I had to learn to be independent," said Ayatikhan.

The tide of fate propelled her into a whole new world, and she went back to her parents and began a pastoral life in Yuqitash grassland, about 200 kilometers west of Wuqia County. It is a beautiful land with rolling mountains and green grass. "Pastoral life has changed me and truly made me grow up," said Ayatikhan with a faint smile emerging on her face.

Photo shows Ayatikhan Bektu (R) and her friend at the Yuqitash scenic spot in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo courtesy of Ayatikhan Bektu)

Although the grassland is magnificent, for Ayatikhan, her physical condition prevents her from fully enjoying this natural beauty. Her father worked as a forest ranger, and in addition to his job, he herded cattle with Ayatikhan’s mother and took care of their daughter.

"I saw how hard they work every day and realized that I should share some of the family's burden." She wondered if she could find a job to alleviate the pressure on her parents. Although she had never written letters of help before, she got up the courage and wrote a letter of application to the Party Committee of Urukqati Township, Wuqia County. In the letter, she sincerely expressed her desire and determination to have a job.

The letter was like a stone, creating a circle of ripples. At that time, Li Xinfeng, the secretary of the Party Committee of Urukqati Township in Wuqia County, received Ayatikhan's letter of application and went to her home to offer condolences. After learning about the situation, she was advised to run a supermarket in the village. In 2017, Ayatikhan successfully started her business of opening a supermarket. In order to support her entrepreneurial dream, her parents applied for a small interest-free loan of 50,000 yuan (about 6,888 U.S. dollars) to help her pay for the daily expenses of the small supermarket.

"With villagers’ support and help, Seagull Huimin Supermarket successfully opened," said Ayatikhan. Every day, her mother helped her stock the shelves. Seeing her mother's busy figure, she was full of gratitude, "I am determined to let my family live a better life."

While running the supermarket, Ayatikhan was constantly seeking development opportunities. Learning the good prospects of e-commerce in rural areas, she took the initiative to contact the e-commerce service center of Wuqia County. Through coordination from others and her own efforts, she successfully passed the assessment, and became the head of the e-commerce service station in Sarekbayi village, Urukqati Township.

In 2019, Ayatikhan began to try live streaming to help farmers sell products, further expanding the scope of her business and opening up new channels for local agricultural product sales.

With unremitting efforts, Ayatikhan bought a house for her parents in Wuqia County. "This is my wish for many years, so that our family can be together and no longer separated."

Writing makes her life more meaningful

In the eye of Ayatikhan, the love for literature has always been getting stronger. Since the age of 12, she has been writing, and now, at 27, it has been 15 years. So far, she has written more than 100 poems and two novels.

In 2021, Ayatikhan joined the Xinjiang Writers Association and won the second prize at a national poetry competition in the same year. The following year, based on her own experience, the novel Tale of Seagull, after four years of writing, was published; in 2024, she won the gold medal at a national large-scale TV gala singing competition.

As time goes on, Ayatikhan's life and career have been getting better. This year, she and her cousin Aiganbaldi Tukul established a culture media studio, which covers many fields such as video shooting, publicity and promotion. Aiganbaldi said: "She is a very strong-willed person who never flinches in the face of difficulties. We are excited to work together to realize our dreams together."

Photo shows Ayatikhan Bektu (L) and her friend. (Photo courtesy of Ayatikhan Bektu)

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