International Sharp Review | What is the Real Xinjiang Like? Listen to what these Japanese tourists say about the media | Xinjiang | International
"Goodbye, Xinjiang!" On the afternoon of the 27th, Japanese girl Meimei Watanabe and her companions reluctantly concluded their trip to Xinjiang. During the 9-day period, this Japanese tour group consisting of 20 people visited Urumqi, Turpan, Korla, Kashgar, and other places to deeply experience the local customs and ethnic culture of Xinjiang. "It's so beautiful!" "It's really amazing!" "The people here are very friendly"... The members live streamed the entire process on social media, sharing their Xinjiang experiences with global netizens and receiving many likes.
What exactly does Xinjiang look like in the picture? The Chinese Embassy in Japan has previously launched a recruitment campaign to visit Xinjiang, and Japanese people have enthusiastically signed up and participated at their own expense, including Meimei Watanabe and her delegation. In this Japanese tour group visiting Xinjiang, there are both elderly people in their seventies and eighties, as well as elementary school students; There are both office workers and retirees. Before they set off, they were all puzzled by the negative reports from Japanese media about Xinjiang: is that what Xinjiang really looks like? With such doubts, these ordinary Japanese tourists came to Xinjiang.
Enterprises, scenic spots, old streets of ancient cities... The tour group had a tight schedule and had a "zero distance contact" with Xinjiang. When visiting high standard cotton fields, Japanese tourist Akihiko Inoue was shocked to learn that planting 303 acres of cotton fields only takes 2 days and professional drones can complete pesticide spraying and other tasks in 5 hours. He said this was completely different from the so-called "forced labor" hyped up by Japanese media, as Xinjiang has already achieved high mechanization. At the cotton textile factory, when she saw efficient automated spinning equipment and confident and composed workers, Meimei Watanabe questioned the so-called "human rights issues in Xinjiang" hyped up by Japanese media. She said she must share the facts she saw on social media to "let more people understand the real Xinjiang.".
Japanese tourists visit cotton fields and spinning factories in Aksu, Xinjiang. Screenshot of Chinese Consul General Xue Jian's tweet in Osaka, Japan
In addition, many members of the tour group also had morning exercises with the people of Xinjiang, attended weddings together, and sang and danced together, experiencing their daily lives. Japanese elderly man Momotaro fell deeply in love with Xinjiang as a result. Before returning to China, he specially purchased a Uyghur "flower hat" at the local night market to commemorate this unforgettable journey. Another Japanese tourist, Junzo Sugiyama, said that this visit to Xinjiang feels like a return to the ancient Silk Road. "It is meaningful to feel the weight of history," he said. Seeing their sharing on social media, many Japanese netizens left comments saying that Xinjiang is "completely different" from what some Western media have described, and they look forward to visiting China in the future.
More and more people are seeing what the real Xinjiang looks like. In the past few years, over 1000 diplomats and journalists from over 100 countries and regions have entered Xinjiang, experiencing firsthand the beauty, harmony, and development of Xinjiang. French writer and journalist Maxim Vivas visited Xinjiang three times and wrote the book "The End of Uyghur Fake News". He said that more and more people have realized that the statements made by Western media are all lies, and that their "demonization" of China is for political purposes.
At the same time, the data also strongly proves the prosperous development of Xinjiang. By the end of 2020, Xinjiang will eliminate absolute poverty. In the first quarter of this year, the gross domestic product of Xinjiang region was 414.952 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.9%. In the first five months of this year, Xinjiang received 72.7046 million tourists, a year-on-year increase of 34.91%. Currently, Xinjiang's economy is continuously developing, society is harmonious and stable, and the development of human rights is at its best in history. This has been recognized by the international community. In recent years, at the United Nations Human Rights Council meetings, nearly a hundred countries have continuously supported China's just stance and condemned the political intentions of Western countries on issues such as Xinjiang, which fully demonstrates the popular support of the international community.
There is a saying in both Japan and China, "It's better to see than to hear a hundred times.". This time, the Japanese tour group once again proved with their own eyes and experiences that the real Xinjiang is completely different from what some Western media reported. This allows those malicious rumors related to Xinjiang to be self destructed. In the future, we welcome more foreign friends to visit Xinjiang and take a look. That beautiful, prosperous, harmonious and peaceful Xinjiang is the real Xinjiang.
