Fascinating exploration of Xinjiang
Travel vloggers like Mishra are a window for overseas audiences to know about a real China.
Before traveling to China, international tourists might have some concerns about this seemingly remote Eastern country, usually portrayed negatively by the West. However, when they visit China and have in-person experiences, they find that the vast majority of their previous concerns about China are entirely unfounded. Flora and Note said that initially they worried about filming in China, as they thought they would face some resistance from local people. But later they found that filming and taking photos is a common practice, and, “as long as we weren’t disrupting others, there were no issues,” said the couple. In February, Ken Abroad uploaded a video on YouTube,
Canadian travel vlogger Alina Mcleod enjoys hotpot in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province. Photo: Courtesy of Mcleod which showed his trip to Urumqi, the capital of Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a name constantly spotlighted by some Western media outlets and politicians.
“This region is all over Western media for not so good reasons. But as usual, I am curious to see things with my own eyes. So, I booked a flight to Urumqi,” Ken Abroad wrote in the introduction page of the video. “According to some comments on my channel, I would not be allowed to enter, as the region is apparently closed to foreigners. Well, I was able to enter without any problems and soon after I found myself exploring the city center of Urumqi.”
In this vlog, Ken Abroad walks on the snowy streets of Urumqi. He sees many mosques across the city, and asks local residents the opening time of the mosques, receiving friendly responses.
“[An] interesting fact about the mosques here, as I read before, is that Xinjiang, this region of China, has more mosques than the US or any Western countries in Europe do,” he says to the camera while walking alone on the street.
“And, ...do you have the impression so far that the majority of people that we spoke to today, we interacted with, we saw, were Muslims?” he asks. “Yet the Western media are trying to tell us that the Muslims are being oppressed here by the Chinese government; that they don’t live a normal life. I don’t want to judge now, but just asking you, what is your impression of the people that we have seen so far?”
“I am happy to see that so many people watched my China videos, and the responses I got were overall mostly positive,” Ken Abroad said.
China, on Tuesday, announced the extension of the visa exemption entry for citizens from 12 countries, including France and Germany, on short-term visits to China until the end of 2025. That will offer many foreign tourists like Ken Abroad greater ease when visiting or revisiting this country.
“It’s a huge country and there are so many more places that I would like to see,” Ken Abroad said. “I will probably return at the end of this year.”
Obviously, there will be more travel vlogs flooding social media in the near future, as we have seen visitors from different countries excitedly declaring into the camera, “China, we are coming!”