Understanding Xinjiang: Unity in Diversity, Shared Pursuit of a Better Life

BEIJING, Sept. 26, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from China.org.cn on the 70^th anniversary of the establishment of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region:

On September 25^th, a grand gathering in celebration of the 70th founding anniversary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was held in Urumqi, capital of this region in northwest China. Chinese President Xi Jinping, also the general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee attended the event, which was a first of its kind in the history of both the CPC and China. He stressed that it is imperative to foster a strong sense of the Chinese nation as one community in Xinjiang and promote the construction of the community.

In Xinjiang, where all 56 ethnic groups reside, the unity among ethnic groups has always been vital.

On the door sign of a household in Haldun Community, Tacheng City, Xinjiang, six bright red pomegranate patterns are vividly painted, symbolizing that members of this family come from six ethnic groups. Across the whole community, similar door signs — each bearing a different number of pomegranate patterns — are everywhere to be seen. Local residents say that in Tacheng City, where 29 ethnic groups reside together, it's uncommon to ask someone about their ethnicity; they simply care for and support one another, and enjoy life together in unity and happiness.

The pomegranate is the perfect symbol of such unity. Local people often say they are like the seeds in a pomegranate — they stay close at heart, support and care for each other just like brothers and sisters, whatever their ethnic groups are.

The Chinese nation has always been multiethnic. For millennia, ethnic groups living in the Central Plains have continuously interacted, exchanged and integrated with other ethnic groups living in surrounding regions. In the process, a unified multiethnic nation has been shaped. Influenced by Confucianism, the ethnic groups never sought to eliminate one another, nor overemphasize their differences; instead, they believed in harmony and unity: they were culturally inclusive and economically interconnected. And influenced by the philosophy of "great unity", all the ethnic groups have fostered a strong sense of being an integral part of China.

In the 1990s, a Han dynasty armband woven in Sichuan brocade and inscribed with the seal phrase "Five Stars Rising from the East Benefits China" in Chinese characters was unearthed at the Niya Ruins in Minfeng County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang. This discovery not only confirmed the Han Dynasty's jurisdiction over the Western Regions (Xinjiang was known as Western Regions in ancient times), but also highlighted the close exchanges between Xinjiang and the Central Plains. In Shufu County, Kashi Prefecture, Xing Shi, or the "Awakening Lion", a traditional cultural activity with distinctive Lingnan features is popular among local children. Interestingly, historical records show that the lion dance was once introduced into China's Central Plains from Western Regions, and after years of development and integration, it has reentered Xinjiang in a new form. The hallmark of unity in diversity of Chinese culture has been fully exemplified in Xinjiang.

For a century or so since the mid-19th century, confronted with an unprecedented crisis of national subjugation and extinction, the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, together with their compatriots across the country, united to resist foreign aggression and fight for national survival. This shared struggle elevated the consciousness of national identity among all ethnic groups to a new height. After the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression broke out, with the CPC holding high the banner of a national united front, the people of Xinjiang have actively supported the war effort: organizing donations, ensuring the safe transport of international aid to China, and proactively engaging in movements to rescue the country from Japanese occupation. In August 1938, donations from the people of Xinjiang were used to purchase 10 fighter planes — named "Xinjiang" in their honor — to assist the front line. During the process, people in Xinjiang developed an unprecedented sense of national identity and belonging to the Chinese nation as one community.

Entering the new era, Xinjiang has embarked on a new journey of Chinese modernization, where economic prosperity is shared and livelihoods improved, bringing people of all ethnic groups even more closely together as one community. In Xinchengximen Village, Turpan City, reside people of various ethnic groups, including the Uyghur, Hui and Han. More than 4,000 km away, in Shibadong Village of Xiangxi, Hunan Province, where the Miao ethnic group makes up the majority, China's concept of "targeted poverty alleviation" philosophy was proposed. In 2020, the two villages were paired as "sister villages" in rural revitalization. Officials and villagers from both sides have supported each other, working together to develop industries concerning grapes, e-commerce live-streaming, among others. Historically, camel bells along the ancient Silk Road echoed with the coming and going of merchants and envoys from both the Western Regions and Central Plains. Nowadays, the bustling Horgos Port witnesses the "steel camel caravans" of freight trains speeding back and forth day and night, helping Xinjiang better integrate into China's overall opening-up and development, while connecting it more deeply with the global community.

Throughout history, the unity and integration among ethnic groups of the Chinese nation have stemmed from their cultural inclusiveness, economic interdependence, emotional bonds, and the common intrinsic drive to pursue solidarity and unity. 

Over the seven decades since the establishment of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, particularly the past decade or so, under the CPC guidelines for governing Xinjiang in the new era, people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have united as one and achieved remarkable progress. This is vivid proof that exchanges, integration and common progress among various ethnic groups are the prevailing trend in the development of Xinjiang, and indeed, the enduring mainstream for the development of the Chinese nation as a whole.

China Mosaic 
http://chinamosaic.china.com.cn/
Understanding Xinjiang: Unity in Diversity, Shared Pursuit of a Better Life
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2025-09/25/content_118097616.shtml

SOURCE China.org.cn