A bunch of vacationers from Osaka, Japan arrives at Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest China, June 19, 2023. /Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka
The first Japanese tour group to go to northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region after the comfort of COVID-19 journey restrictions accomplished their journey and flew again to Japan on Tuesday.Â
The nine-day go to was organized by the Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka, which issued a discover on December 2, 2021, inviting folks from Japan to journey to Xinjiang after the tip of COVID-19. Though the journey value 350,000 yen (about $2,465) per individual, the invitation nonetheless attracted 1,028 functions in lower than a month.
The first tour group comprised 20 Japanese vacationers. During their keep in Xinjiang since June 19, they visited 5 cities: Urumqi, Turpan, Korla, Aksu and Kashgar, the place they visited scenic spots, museums, cotton fields, factories, colleges, mosques and houses of a number of residents.
Many Japanese guests mentioned on social media that their private expertise was very completely different from how the area is projected in Japanese and Western media.
Ryugo Moritaka, 66, had appeared ahead to visiting Xinjiang for a very long time. In December 2021, after listening to in regards to the journey plan, he had instantly utilized. Before his arrival, his spouse was very involved in regards to the safety state of affairs in Xinjiang, however after he arrived within the area, he advised his spouse that he felt very secure.
During his keep in Urumqi, Moritaka visited a sq. close to his lodge, the place he noticed residents training tai chi, dancing, strolling their canines and taking part in with shuttlecocks. As a photographer, Moritaka likes to take footage of individuals as he believes their facial expressions and physique postures replicate their emotions. Moritaka described what he noticed as “true happiness and satisfaction.”
Akihiko Inoue, one other Japanese vacationer, visited a textile manufacturing facility the place staff operated automated machines, and a cotton discipline, the place sowing of 303 acres of cotton fields took two days and spraying pesticides solely took 5 hours. He was amazed by the extremely mechanized farmland and mentioned it’s totally completely different from the “forced labor” claims puffed up by Japanese and Western media. He will share his expertise on social media, he mentioned, letting extra folks find out about Xinjiang.
A screenshot from the Twitter account of Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian, which reveals Japanese vacationers visiting a cotton discipline and a textile manufacturing facility in Aksu, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. /@xuejianosaka
Yumi Watabe, 33, a snowboarding coach from Hakuba, Japan, was additionally a member of the tour group. She recorded her journey on her Twitter account by posting movies and images of assorted fruits, roasted lamb, the Huoyan Mountain in Turpan and the corpse of Loulan Beauty that remained buried within the desert for hundreds of years and is now displayed at a neighborhood museum.
The scrumptious meals and splendid landscapes attracted many netizens, although a few of them known as Watabe’s posts “propaganda” for the Chinese authorities. In response, Watabe clarified that she solely shared her personal views and what she noticed through the journey, and people netizens couldn’t show her fallacious with inaccurate media experiences on the area.
Watabe mentioned that some Japanese folks have considerations about China’s ethnic minority teams however they need to categorical their opinions based mostly on what they see with their very own eyes.
Over the previous few years, greater than 1,000 diplomats and journalists from over 100 nations and areas have visited Xinjiang, and knowledge offers robust proof of Xinjiang’s improvement and prosperity.
According to official statistics, the area eradicated absolute poverty by the tip of 2020. The area’s GDP reached 414.952 billion yuan (about $57.5 billion) within the first quarter of this 12 months, a year-on-year development of 4.9 %. It obtained 72.7046 million vacationers within the first 5 months of this 12 months, a year-on-year enhance of 34.91 %.
Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian mentioned he hopes such journeys will grow to be a window for the Japanese to know extra about Xinjiang as some Western and Japanese media’s experiences on Xinjiang are opposite to the reality. He additionally hopes for extra people-to-people exchanges between China and Japan, which he believes will enhance bilateral relations.
Source: CGTN