Urumqi is the capital city of Xinjiang. It has a more modern silhouette and a significantly larger population compared to Aksu. This directly translates into different ethnicities, with different cultures and traditions, coexisting under the same sky.

The incredible part is the cohesion that these people have in their daily lives. However, a far richer example is the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar. In the first section, visitors enjoy an open-air market of traditional tools and instruments, including musical ones; it is only in the second part, however, that one can truly understand the magic of Xinjiang.

Enrico and his schoolmates at Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Here, food plays the main role. Long skewers of lamb meat, typical spicy noodles, juicy local samsa, pigeon meat, of course, are enjoyed together with the local beer and a few kinds of milk, namely camel and horse milk. Horse milk has an unforgettable taste. In this second section of the Bazaar, everyone sits at a table under the same large and tall roof, talking, singing and dancing in harmony. The people in Xinjiang have a saying: "When we can talk, we can sing; where we can walk, we can dance.

The nature has changed its appearance once more. Yining is green, fresh and vibrant. The reason behind such favorable environment is “the last tear of the Atlantic”. Have you ever heard of it? The peaks around the city are positioned in such a way to stop any cloud that comes from the far West, the Atlantic. The rain comes down quickly and in large drops, watering the vast plains, the tall pine trees, the majestic horses and ending its journey in the Sayram Lake. A true last tear of the Atlantic, protected by a ring of rocky mountains under a clear blue sky.

The closer to the lake's shore, the more detailed the view becomes. What initially appeared as a uniform deep blue, slowly transforms into a sequence of colors, from the transparent and green tones nearby, to the shades of blue toward the center, which dance together with the wind, giving the surface a dynamic and almost vivid appearance.

It is the same wind that unexpectedly brought upon us a large and aggressive dark cloud, which promptly poured upon us its oceanic water. It was disappointing. The scene was too beautiful to be ruined by rain. It was bad luck. Or so it seemed. The strong winds pushed the cloud away very rapidly, letting the sun’s rays shine once more. Then, what was a grey sky transformed into an almost miraculous event. A double rainbow appeared; a small one within a much bigger one embracing it. It was magical.

A scene of rainbow at Sayram Lake in Ili Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Peking University students on a tour of the Sayram Lake in Ili Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Such dynamism in nature is reflected in every aspect of life in Xinjiang. Yining is also an example of progress and rapid development. Due to its proximity to Kazakhstan, trade is almost an inevitable outcome. China and Kazakhstan have established a trade post on the border between the two countries. This not only demonstrates the strong initiative to promote economic exchanges with foreign countries, but also highlights how fundamentally important Xinjiang's location is and will be for the years to come.

Nowadays, maritime trade is problematic and lacks efficiency and speed. The Euro- China trains passing through Xinjiang number over 70,000 allowing the Qingdao-Rome route to be completed in just 12 days. Xinjiang serves as an example for the future of trade between the three interconnected continents of Europe, Asia and Africa.

Nowadays, the social unrest given by racial and ethnic differences in too many regions of the world is a cause for concern and uncertainty, but not here. Xinjiang is an example of successful cohesion between different ethnic groups, all integrated into society, with each being given opportunities in education and in the workplace.

Nowadays, climate change is not a terrible nightmare anymore but a scary reality. Xinjiang is an example of how nature can be beautiful, powerful but also helpful. In the early 1950s, in the proximity of the desert, the government decided to plant one specific kind of tree: the apple. This greatly reduced the desertification of land, provided green oases for human settlements, and gave all of us the deliciously sweet apples of Aksu.

Before going to Xinjiang, you might think it is just another province on the border of China. After visiting Xinjiang, you realize how economically, socially and naturally central it is, not only to China but to the whole Eurasian continent. Fortunately, the Chinese government recognized this much earlier than today, and has supported the development of an ecosystem in harmony with the nature and the people. Xinjiang is indeed "exemplary"!

Enrico is an Italian student studying at Guanghua School of Management in Peking University.

Planner : Jie Wenjin

Reviewers : Hou Weili and Cheng Li

Editor: Gvlzar Mijit