DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESS IN XINJIANG

（Part Two）

　　III. Steady Development of Social Programs

　　Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, Xinjiang had but one college, nine secondary schools and 1,355 primary schools. Only 19.8% of school-age children in the region attended primary school, and the overall illiteracy rate was a shocking 90%. Since the founding of the People’s Republic, unprecedented changes have taken place in education in the region. At present, Xinjiang has made the nine-year compulsory education basically universal and eliminated illiteracy among the young and middle-aged. Adult and vocational education started from scratch, and has been developing steadily. Since 2006, with the introduction of a new mechanism that guarantees rural education funding, Xinjiang’s primary and secondary school students have enjoyed free compulsory education. In 2008, the government granted living subsidies to all underprivileged students who live at school and exempted urban students from tuition fees during their compulsory education period. In 2007, the state introduced an annual budget of 129 million yuan for the education of 51,000 very poor university students and 95,000 secondary and higher vocational school students, 70% of whom come from ethnic minorities. In 2008, the Xinjiang autonomous region government invested a total of 18.77 billion yuan in the region’s education system, representing a year-on-year increase of 32.3%. Statistics from that year show that Xinjiang had 4,159 primary schools with 2.012 million students, and a 99.6% enrollment rate for school-age children. There were 1,973 secondary schools with 1.722 million yuan students, and 32 institutions of higher learning with 241,000 undergraduate students and 10,300 graduate students in total.

　　The state gives high priority to education for ethnic minorities and has enacted special policies to support its development. To ensure their rights to higher education, the state adopted favorable enrollment policies for ethnic minority students in the 1950s, now including further policies for proportional enrollment, separate examinations and admission scores. The state has set up primary and secondary boarding schools in farming and pastoral areas, providing free accommodation and food, as well as books and stationery. The state is committed to the cultivation of high-caliber professionals from ethnic minority backgrounds, sending promising students for overseas studies and through programs such as Specialized Training for Xinjiang Minority Sci-Tech Personnel and the High-Level Minority Talents Program. To develop education for ethnic minorities, it encourages the use of ethnic minority languages in classroom teaching. For ethnic groups with their own written languages in Xinjiang, school education is conducted in their own languages. Over the years, special state funds have been earmarked for the compilation and printing of textbooks in Uyghur, Kazak, Mongolian, Xibe and Kirgiz languages, satisfying the needs of ethnic minority students for textbooks of major courses. In Xinjiang, test papers for the annual national college entrance examinations are produced in Uyghur, Han, Kazak and Mongolian languages.

　　Thanks to social and economic development and increasing exchanges between different peoples of ethnic groups, more and more ethnic minority people wish to learn the Han Chinese language. In view that around 70% of the 10 million ethnic minority people in Xinjiang hardly understood written Han Chinese, posing challenges for ethnic minority people themselves and the region’s development, the autonomous region government decided in 2004 to promote bilingual education among ethnic minority students, requiring high school graduates to master both their mother tongue and the Han Chinese language. In 2008, as proposed by the Uyghur community, bilingual training programs for teachers and preschool children were carried out. Today, bilingual education efforts have proved to be a significant measure for better understanding and communication between different ethnic groups, and the development of relations among ethnic groups featuring equality, unity, mutual assistance and harmony, and promoting common prosperity for all peoples.

　　To provide better basic education for minority students in frontier areas, beginning in 2000 the state opened special classes for Xinjiang students in 13 high schools in 12 more-developed provinces and municipalities, including Beijing and Shanghai. By 2008, 28 cities in 12 provinces and municipalities had had altogether 50 such classes for a total of 5,000 students, quintupling the initial enrollment. These special classes have to date enrolled 24,000 students over nine years, with 90% of the graduates advancing to higher education in universities in other parts of China, 85% at key schools. Since 2003, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region government has followed suit by starting junior-high classes in eight cities, including Urumqi and Shihezi, recruiting 5,000 students each year, mainly primary school graduates from farming and pastoral areas, especially poverty-stricken or border areas. More than 80% are children from minority farming and herding families.

　　Xinjiang’s scientific pursuits did not really start up until after the People’s Republic was founded in 1949. Six decades of efforts have basically established a well-structured scientific research and development system and professional teams with high achievements to support regional scientific development. By the end of 2007, a total of 1,972,000 professionals had been working in Xinjiang, and by the end of 2008 these people had produced over 6,000 major scientific achievements, winning nearly 200 national awards and registering 200,000 patents. Scientific and high-tech enterprises continue to explore an innovative development path, drawing global attention with well-known names such as Gold Wind Technology and TBEA.

　　Before 1949, Xinjiang had no professional art troupes or academic research institutes for arts. In the past six decades, with extensive support from the government, art and cultural facilities of all types have been established step by step, providing rich and colorful cultural activities to local communities. Statistics show that, by 2008 the region had had 119 arts and performance groups, two literature and art research institutes, two art creation centers, 15 mass art galleries, 94 cultural centers, and 1,034 village and town cultural stations. A total of 4,355 individuals became creative and performance professionals. The region has 93 public libraries and 47 museums. In addition, it has six radio stations and eight TV stations at the autonomous regional level, and 93.5% of the local population has access to radio and TV programs. By 2008 households subscribing to cable TV services reached 1.6389 million, while those with digital cable TV exceeded 324,200. Since the introduction of the strategy of large-scale development of the western region, the state has invested a total of 2.484 billion yuan in developing Xinjiang’s cultural facilities. In recent years, the Xinjiang government has initiated a series of cultural programs for the general public, including organizing cultural and recreation activities in city squares and rural villages. The government also schedules professionals to go on tour to rural villages, publicizing cultural, scientific and medical knowledge. Public cultural development projects have also boomed, introducing different cultures and promoting diverse folk cultures as well as Silk Road border cultures. The government has also set up village libraries, and radio and TV stations all over the autonomous region, to connect local peoples with the rest of the world. Other key projects include sending books and other publications to Xinjiang and establishing information centers to share resources with other parts of the country. These measures have significantly promoted the development of Xinjiang’s cultural programs and endeavors.

　　Before 1949 outbreaks of endemic and epidemic diseases were frequent in Xinjiang due to the region’s low level of health and medical services. The overall mortality rate was 20.82 for every 1,000 people, while infant mortality rate was an astonishing 420-600 for every 1,000 births. The average life expectancy was below 30 years. In 1949 Xinjiang had only 54 medical centers, which were located in a few cities and towns, with a total of 696 beds. Every 10,000 persons had to share 1.6 beds and 0.19 doctors. Over the past 60 years, the central government has increased investment in Xinjiang’s medical services. By 2008, Xinjiang had had altogether 7,238 medical service centers, including 1,629 hospitals with a total of 93,600 beds, and 43,800 doctors. That means 36 hospital beds and 21 doctors for every 10,000 people. Health and epidemic prevention institutions have been established out of nothing, and a systematic urban and rural health and disease-control network has been formed. Local disease control and prevention capabilities have greatly improved; some endemic diseases, such as smallpox, have been eradicated, and the incidence of other endemic and epidemic diseases has been significantly reduced.

　　Since the mid-1970s, Xinjiang has been implementing a planned immunization program, with the vaccination rate rising steadily over the years. The improvement of healthcare services has greatly improved people’s health conditions and quality of life. According to 2008 statistics, the general mortality rate was 4.88 for every 1,000 persons, and infant mortality was 29.76 per 1,000 births. The population’s average life expectancy has reached 72 years. Health services in farming and pastoral areas have significantly improved, and a three-tier disease-prevention and healthcare network has been established in counties, townships and villages. Xinjiang implemented the new rural cooperative medical care system in 2003, and 89 cities and counties, or 94.6% of the rural areas, were included in the system by 2008, covering 10.059 million farmers and herders, and those who actually participated in the program were 9.503 million, or 94.5% of the population covered by the program.

　　Employment has a vital bearing on people’s livelihood. Over the years the Xinjiang government has been committed to the implementation of proactive employment policies and the promotion of employment growth through sustainable economic development. The government has taken effective measures to increase job opportunities and expand the scale of employment. In 2008, a total of 8.4758 million people in Xinjiang were employed, and the registered unemployment rate in urban areas was 3.7%. Since the introduction of the strategy of large-scale development of the western region development, over 300,000 people in Xinjiang have been employed or reemployed each year. Local human resources agencies have been set up and on the increase; and market forces are playing a fundamental role in allocating human resources. A public employment services system has taken shape, comprising of comprehensive services centers at county and district levels, primary-level services posts in communities, townships and villages, along with other types of services entities. In 2008, there were altogether 107 public services centers, with 3,944 employees providing resident services and other services.

　　In recent years, export of labor services has become a new channel through which Xinjiang expands employment. For many years people living in the remote southern areas of Xinjiang experienced hardships, since they mainly relied on not very profitable farming and animal husbandry for a living. Since 2006, the Xinjiang government has launched a labor-export program first in southern Xinjiang’s Jiashi County and then throughout the autonomous region. Through the program local rural residents could apply for positions at companies in other parts of China after signing up and going through training courses that give them the necessary qualifications. The local government is required to appoint one or more leaders who supervise the migrant workers in their new company, and also take along with them Halal cooks to cater to their needs. Since 2006, Jiashi County has exported some 19,000 person-times of labor services to enterprises in other parts of China, making a total profit of almost 200 million yuan. The migrant workers enjoy an average per capita yearly net income of 7,000 yuan, double that of local farmers and herders in 2008. The Xinjiang government attaches importance to professional training for migrant workers, spending 300 million to 400 million yuan each year on such trainings.

　　Since the introduction of the reform and opening up policy at the end of 1978, Xinjiang’s social security system has gradually taken shape, providing basic living guarantees for the people. The 2008 figures show that Xinjiang has 799 community services facilities in urban areas. About 9.6457 million people have taken part in the five major insurance programs, of basic old-age insurance, unemployment insurance, medical insurance, workers’ compensation, and maternity insurance. A total of 638,000 urban residents are receiving the minimum living allowance from the government. Social welfare institutions of various types had had 19,000 beds by the end of 2008, taking in 14,000 residents under their care. From July 2007, the rural minimum living allowance system was introduced, providing subsidies for farmers and herders with annual average per capita income lower than 700 yuan. In 2008, 1.31 million farmers and herders in extreme poverty received the subsidies. By the end of 2007, medical aid services were available in every city, district and county. In 2008 the government invested 310 million yuan in medical assistance services for a total of 2.164 million users, including 938,000 receiving medical services and 1.226 million persons who have participated in medical insurance programs or cooperative medical care programs.

　　Economic development in such a large region is not balanced. Since the mid-1980s, the local government has launched a large-scale poverty-alleviation campaign, aimed at ensuring basic subsistence for the impoverished rural population, and with a major focus on the promotion of economic and cultural development. The program also underwent changes, from providing money and food, to well-planned poverty reduction and development efforts with good organization and clear goals. Over the period from 1978 to 2008, Xinjiang’s impoverished population decreased from 5.32 million to 2.53 million, and their living and working conditions have significantly improved. In recent years the state has put more efforts into poverty alleviation in southern Xinjiang, where the situation is the most severe. From 2001 to 2007, 78% of the central and local governments’ poverty alleviation funds, work relief subsidies and subsidized loans were invested in southern Xinjiang, where 70% of the total poverty alleviation programs were based. Since 2004, earthquake-resistant housing programs have been carried out in quake-prone areas, a six-year plan to provide safe housing for people in these areas. The state had invested 41.2 billion yuan in these programs by the end of 2008, constructing and fortifying 1.895 million houses. In southern Xinjiang, 742,300 impoverished farming families have since moved into quakeproof housing.

　　IV. Preserve Ethnic Cultures

　　The people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang have created rich and vibrant cultures which have made unique contributions to the development of Chinese culture. Originating out of a pivotal region along the ancient Silk Road, Xinjiang culture acquires strong regional and ethnic characteristics, featuring profound heritage, varied forms as well as rich and diverse folk arts. For many years, China has been continually devoted to collecting, collating, translating and publishing the cultural heritage of the ethnic minorities, protecting their places of historical interest and scenic beauty and other valuable cultural and historical heritages. A preservation system combining government guidance, academic support and public participation has been established, which has ensured the inheritance and development of the fine cultural heritage of all ethnic groups.

　　Ethnic minority folk music and dances are a major component of Xinjiang culture. Since the founding of People’s Republic, art troupes at various levels, art schools and institutes have been established in Xinjiang; they have rescued, collected, compiled and preserved large numbers of folk music and dance works, and trained one generation after another of art workers to pass on and develop further traditional folk music and dances. In the 1990s, some books or book series related to art, including the Collection of Chinese Ethnic and Folk Musical Instruments Compositions (Xinjiang Volume), Collection of Chinese Drama Music (Xinjiang Volume), Collection of Chinese Folk Songs (Xinjiang Volume) and Collection of Chinese Ethnic and Folk Dances (Xinjiang Volume), were published, thus effectively guaranteeing the preservation of all categories of fine traditional music and dances of the ethnic groups in the form of music, music scores and images, as well as text and audiovisual form.

　　Twelve Muqams, known as the mother of Uyghur music, is a group of classical music pieces combining Uyghur singing, dancing and music, considered a treasure of Chinese ethnic music. Before the founding of the People’s Republic, Twelve Muqams had almost become lost. In August 1951, it was listed at the top of arts that called for rescue by the people’s government of the then Xinjiang Province, which mobilized efforts for systematic research, collection and compilation. In 1955, music recording along with notation and lyric collation of Twelve Muqams was completed; and the music score of Twelve Muqams was published in 1960, marking the turning point from a purely oral legacy to a textual heritage. After the 1980s, the government of the autonomous region established a muqam research institute and a Muqam art troupe, both of which specialize in collecting, collating, researching and performing Uyghur classical music, folk songs and dances, especially the muqams, thus further promoting the rescue, preservation and development of the muqam arts. In 2003, Xinjiang Uyghur muqam arts were included in the first group of pilot projects in the Chinese Ethnic and Folk Cultural Preservation Program. In 2005, Xinjiang Uyghur Muqam Arts of China was approved by UNESCO as a “masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity.”

　　The Sixty-two Kongeri (62 melodious divertimentos) is a comprehensive art form mainly composed of kui (instrumental music composition) while combining folk songs, dances and ballad-singing, representing the finest of Kazak folk culture. Since the 1990s, the government has set up special organizations for the collection, compilation and publication of Akku Kongeri (White Swan Divertimento).

　　Xinjiang boasts a wealth of folk literary resources of all ethnic minorities. With state support over the years, the government of the autonomous region has formulated plans and organized efforts to systematically rescue and preserve the folk literary works of the ethnic minorities, resulting in the collection, compilation, translation and publication of a large number of folk literary heritages of the Uyghur, Kazak, Mongolian, Kirgiz, Tajik, Xibe, Uzbek and other peoples, including folk song lyrics, myths and legends, humorous anecdotes and stories, fables and proverbs. Great achievements have been made in collecting, editing, translating, publishing and researching folk epics, including Manas, Janger and Life of King Gesar. A Comprehensive Turkic Dictionary and other exceptional minority historical and cultural heritages have been effectively preserved. The Uyghur literary classics Rabiya and Se’idi and Ferhad and Sherin, and the Kazak long poem “Seliha and Semen” were edited and translated into Chinese and published. The compilation of the Collection of Chinese Folk Literature (Xinjiang Volume) has also been completed.

　　Ancient books of Xinjiang minorities, in multiple languages with extensive distribution, represent a major component of China’s traditional cultural heritage. In the early 1980s, a planning and leading team, along with an office in charge of collecting, editing and publishing ancient ethnic minority books, was established in Xinjiang. Similar organizations were successively established in four autonomous prefectures, eight other prefectures, one prefecture-level city and several counties. Since then, the work to rescue, collect, edit and publish such ancient books have been in full swing throughout the autonomous region. By 2008, the Xinjiang Minorities Ancient Books Editing Office had collected and registered 20,518 volumes (or pieces), with over 100 titles published, including facsimiles of three handwritten copies of the Uyghur classic Kutadgu Bilig, the Kazak medical opus Annals of Medicine, and the Xibe Shamanist classic Shaman Divine Songs, among others.

　　The Xinjiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Preservation Research Center was established in order to promote the rescue, compilation, research and preservation of intangible cultural heritage in the autonomous region. It formulated and promulgated regulations on how to administer intangible cultural heritage preservation projects and provisional rules on applying for and appraisal of masterpieces of intangible cultural heritages. In 2006 and 2008, 63 intangible cultural heritage projects in Xinjiang, including the Kirgiz epic Manas, Mongolian epic Janger and Kazak Aytes, were listed in the first and second groups of national intangible cultural heritage.

　　Xinjiang is a region very rich in historical sites. By 2008, over 4,000 of its cultural relics sites had been found, of which 58 were listed as key spots of cultural relics under state protection. The state has always attached great importance to the conservation and renovation of historical sites in Xinjiang, and significant achievements have been made in legislation on preserving cultural relics, conducting archeological studies and excavating, renovating and conserving cultural relics, and exhibiting them. Under the guiding principle of giving high priority to both conservation and rescue, a large-scale renovation has been carried out at the region’s key cultural relics sites, including the Kizil Thousand Buddha Caves, Kumtura Thousand Buddha Caves, Simsim Thousand Buddha Caves, Bezkilik Thousand Buddha Caves, Gaochang Ancient City Ruins, Hami King’s Tomb, and Former Residence of Ili General. A number of renowned architectures representing the preeminent historical and cultural heritages of the Uyghur, Mongolian, Hui, Xibe and other peoples have been properly renovated and preserved, including the Tomb of Afak Hoja in Kashi, Tomb of Tughluk Tumur in Huocheng, Zhaosu Lamasery, Former Residence of a Mongolian Prince in Hejing, and Chimtoghrak Manor. In 2009, the “Key Cultural Relics Rescue and Conservation Program for the Silk Road (Xinjiang Section)” was launched in the autonomous region. Extensive financial and human resources have been mobilized for the comprehensive rescue and preservation of large historical sites and key cultural heritages along the main route of the ancient Silk Road in Xinjiang.

　　In recent years, significant progress has been made in the conservation of Kashi and other famous historical and cultural cities. Kashi was historically a place of strategic importance on the Silk Road. The city and its culture have distinctive ethnic characteristics. But the city is located in an area frequently hit by earthquakes, and houses in the old city of Kashi are mostly old and dilapidated, extremely vulnerable to earthquakes or fire. To protect people’s lives and property, and improve their living conditions, while making old houses more quake-resistant and preserving the original appearance of the ancient city, China officially undertook the comprehensive restoration of dilapidated houses in old Kashi city in February 2009. Three billion yuan will be spent on the renovation work which will be done in line with the national conservation standards for historical and cultural cities. During the renovation efforts will be made to maintain Kashi’s original appearance, so the structures will keep their original architectural and cultural characteristics after the renovation.

　　Folk cultures and arts in Xinjiang have been further developed on the basis of inheriting past legacy. Traditional cultural events, such as the Uyghur’s “Meshrep,” the Kazak’s “Aytes,” the Kirgiz’s “Kobuz ballad singing fair,” the Mongolian “Nadam fair,” the Xibe’s “west moving festival” and the Han people’s “lantern festival,” have been widely held. A number of impressive dramas with rich ethnic and regional characteristics have been staged, such as the modern drama Ghunchem, the Uyghur play Gherip and Senem, the acrobatics show Darwaz, as well as the Kazak Aytes, Kirgiz Manaschi ballad drama Manas. In the 21st century, more than 20 folk song and dance performances, including “The Good Place Called Xinjiang,” “Joyous Songs of Tianshan Mountain” and “Kashgar,” have won national prizes.

　　To ensure ethnic minority languages keep pace with the development of the times, China has set up the Work Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region on Languages and Scripts of Ethnic Minorities and research institutes of ethnic minority languages at different levels, responsible for regulating, standardizing and scientifically researching and managing ethnic minority languages. With government support, software such as the Bogda Uyghur-Kazak-Kirgiz languages typesetting system, the Xibe and Manchu languages processing and efficient printing system, the Xinjiang 2000 and the Arabic and multiple languages typesetting system has been developed. They provide clues to the standards and software development methods for ethnic minority languages in terms of software code, keyboard layout and input methods.(To be continued)