If you like mutton and segregation...

Trip Start May 29, 2007
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Trip End Jun 28, 2007


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Flag of China  ,
Tuesday, June 5, 2007

... you'll love Xinjiang province.  (Did that sound like a Parfums de Couer ad? If you like Calvin Klein's Obsession (TM), you'll love Parfums de Couer's Stalker.) Every town I've been to seems to be split into a Uighur old town and a Chinese "new town," with the new meaning boxy 70s communist architecture covered in white tiles and a thick coat of settled smog and dust.  I know most people would rather live in a newer building than an adobe hut with no water or electricity, but goddamn those buildings are ugly.  The old towns have all been infinitely more interesting to walk around in and see what people are up to.  I suppose what happened is that the old town was there, then the Chinese government encouraged Han Chinese to move into Xinjiang so as to dillute separatist sentiment, and they built up their new shops and housing next to the Uighur town they found when they arrived.  But you would think that after 40 years or so there would be some moving around, right?  No, it's like there's a dividing line that the Chinese residents won't cross that separates their part of town from the Uighur part of town. 

Some of you have already heard this, but some organization did a survey of Chinese college students asking them whether they thought racism was a problem in China.  Most of them said that it was most definitely not a problem because China doesn't have any black people. So it's cool for Han Chinese to discriminate against Uighurs and try to wipe out their culture because they aren't black, I guess. 

There's mutton in everything, and if you don't like it, too bad. I got some lamian yesterday and there was mutton all over the place in it. It wasn't that bad, but I was trying to pick the meat out and it didn't really work.  I guess I'm no longer a vegetarian. If you walk around the old towns here long enough your clothes will all smell like mutton and lamb from all the kebab guys on the street. 

More later on the Chinese college extrance exams, which are taking place this week. 
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