XINJIANG: THE SENSITIVE BOUNDARY OF CHINA.
Written and photographed by Nanok Chida
18 October, 2015.
Tashkurgan, a small but important fortress city located on the border of three countries Tajikistan, Afganistan, and Pakistan. The uniqueness of Tashkurgan is reflected in its citizens, it’s food and it’s environment which are completely different from the other Chinese-like ethnics.
Due to having the greatest population in the world split among 56 different ethnicities, it’s not surprising that some ethnicities in China are overlooked. The Tajik people of the Pamir Mountains are a prime example.
The Tajiks here are very different from the Kyrgyz people whose culture reflects their own country of Kyrgyzstan.
The Tajik people living in China aren’t the same as the Tajiks in Tajikistan. The Tajik people in China use the mountain Tajik Pamiri language for speaking and the Uyghur alphabet when writing.
....In the land of chaos and violence, the first class citizen became the second class before they were blamed to be an alien of their own space. Behind those harshness and mistrust, their faces are always painted with the hint of smiles, a hand is still waiting for hand shaking, a glass of drinking water is still handed to us, their hands are still placed on their chests and they bow with respect anyway.
This is the original Uyghur before the violation of their personal space and conformity come and ruin their own identity.
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