A Chinese documentary about the real lives of two cotton-growing families in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region premiered on Tuesday, portraying their everyday challenges and triumphs in Awati County.
The premier of the documentary Fabric of Lives took place outdoors against the backdrop of cotton fields in Awati, where the two featured local families in the documentary, Zhang Qiang and Arkin, have toiled for decades.
"For me, the most important thing about taking part in this film is to show people that this is our real life and our real emotions. I get emotional when I watch it now, and I'm sure when I watch it again," said Barna Arkin, the daughter of the Arkin Family.
Her father, a stoic farmer, also expressed gratitude for the shared moments with the crew.
"The film crew went through great ordeals to shoot this film here for three years," said Arkin Talip.
Scheduled for screening on Wednesday, the documentary took genuine efforts to complete, and it is not a scripted narrative but rather a genuine attempt to capture the daily lives of the local people, according to the filmmakers.
"We didn't come to tell a 'story.' We came to discover and listen to what their life was like. What we learned was a different way of living, and though we often didn't speak the same language, by the time we finished filming, we had a heart-to-heart connection," said Liu Guoyi, the documentary's director.
The film emphasizes the power of real-life stories, woven together not by scriptwriters but by the resilience and positive attitude of the people themselves.
"When I saw the film for the first time, it moved me too, to see these families who have been writing this 'script' with their calluses for generations. But they also have a very upbeat attitude about life—after a long day of work and dinner, they would get up dance and sing," said Liu Yang, the film's producer.
Documentary shows real cotton-growing families in China's Xinjiang
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a proclamation expanding the list of countries subject to full or partial entry restrictions to cover around 40 countries, effective on Jan. 1, 2026.
Trump "signed a Proclamation expanding and strengthening entry restrictions on nationals from countries with demonstrated, persistent, and severe deficiencies in screening, vetting, and information-sharing to protect the nation from national security and public safety threats," the White House said in a fact sheet.
In June, the White House fully restricted and limited the entry of citizens from 12 countries "found to be deficient with regards to screening and vetting and determined to pose a very high risk to the United States." These are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The U.S. administration also partially restricted and limited the entry of nationals from seven countries "who also pose a high level of risk to the United States": Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
The newly signed proclamation adds full restrictions and entry limitations on five additional countries based on recent analysis: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria. It also adds full restrictions and entry limitations on individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents.
The administration also imposed full restrictions and entry limitations on two countries that were previously subject to partial restrictions: Laos and Sierra Leone.
Thus under the latest policy, the list of countries subject to full entry restrictions has been expanded from the previous 12 to approximately 20.
The proclamation continues partial restrictions on nationals from four of the seven originally "high-risk" countries: Burundi, Cuba, Togo, and Venezuela. It lifts partial entry restrictions on Turkmenistan nonimmigrant visas but maintains the suspension of entry for immigrant visas.
It adds partial restrictions and entry limitations on 15 additional countries: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Dominica, Gabon, the Gambia, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Tonga, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Under the latest policy, the number of countries subject to partial entry restrictions has increased from the previous seven to 20.
The latest move is part of the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to tighten U.S. entry standards for foreign nationals, following a shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C. during Thanksgiving week. The suspect was identified as a 29-year-old Afghan who had obtained asylum in April.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced last month the launch of renewed reviews of green card holders from 19 "countries of concern." Those are the 19 countries placed on the entry restriction list in June.
Late last month, Trump said in a social media post that he would permanently suspend immigration from "Third World countries." The U.S. State Department also announced a suspension of visa issuance to holders of Afghan passports.
Trump administration expands list of countries subject to entry restrictions
