A historic, multi-ethnic neighborhood in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has turned rich culture into creative ventures, promoting business development and strengthening human connections.
With 13 ethnic groups, Yining City's Liuxing Street is a vibrant blend of cultures, whose tourism boom has created opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
One young businessperson is Wang Yixuan, who returned to her hometown of Yining three years ago after graduating from a university in Shanghai and opened a cultural and creative shop selling handicrafts that showcase Xinjiang's colorful culture.
Wang said her creative products have made the shop a popular spot.
"My business gets better every year. During this year's National Day holiday, we earned more and had many more customers than last year. The shop was packed every day, and my employee and I barely had time to eat," she said.
Her relationship with her employee and the tailors she works with goes far beyond business—they're more like family.
"We're like sisters. She's my old sister, and I'm her little sister. We get along really well," said Nadile, a staff member of Wang's shop.
Since 2009, the local government has been renovating Liuxing Street while preserving its original character, partly because the neighborhood's an attractive tourist destination.
"We adhere to the principle of preserving buildings' original character and avoiding large-scale demolition to protect the culture of historic neighborhoods. In terms of facade renovation, especially when new businesses move in, we encourage them to use a variety of vibrant colors rather than making every storefront blue," said Didar Kunayi, Party Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) branch of Liuxing Street Community.
Noting that government investment has significantly improved the street's infrastructure and that expanding tourism businesses have directly created more than 4,000 jobs, Didar said the community plans to further improve the business environment and provide more support for entrepreneurs.
Colorful multi-ethnic street in Xinjiang becomes a tourist hotspot
Colorful multi-ethnic street in Xinjiang becomes a tourist hotspot
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with Slovakia's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Juraj Blanar in Beijing on Tuesday.
Noting that in recent years, under the guidance of the two countries' leaders, the China-Slovakia strategic partnership has maintained high-level momentum, Wang said the relationship has become a model for countries of different sizes and systems to coexist in friendship, treat each other as equals and pursue win-win cooperation.
Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, briefed the Slovak side on the fifth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee. He said that China is ready to enhance experience sharing with Slovakia on party and state governance, make good use of mechanisms such as the intergovernmental cooperation committee, and increase people-to-people and grassroots exchanges.
China is ready to work with Slovakia to act on the vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and jointly build a community with a shared future for humanity, Wang said.
China always believes that China and Europe should remain committed to properly resolving frictions and differences through dialogue and consultation, and hopes Slovakia will continue to play a constructive role in the sound and steady development of China-Europe relations, Wang noted.
Blanar congratulated China on the successful convening of the fifth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, saying that the overall leadership of the Party and long-term political and social stability are the institutional strength and political guarantee behind China's sustained and rapid development. Slovakia is ready to strengthen inter-party exchanges with China, he added.
Blanar noted that Slovakia firmly adheres to the one-China policy and always regards China as an important partner. Slovakia will continue to do its utmost to provide a stable and sound environment for Chinese enterprises to invest and cooperate in the country and offer greater facilitation for personnel exchanges, he said.
Slovakia is also ready to play a constructive role in Europe-China dialogue and cooperation and will continue to support and take part in China-Central and Eastern European Countries cooperation, Blanar added.
Chinese FM holds talks with Slovak counterpart
