Pang Zijian  

Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) branch of Bageawati Township in Shache County, Kashi (Kashgar) Prefecture  

Working in grassroot communities in south Xinjiang for more than a decade, I have witnessed great changes in the region. Seven decades ago, Xinjiang's GDP was only 1.23 billion yuan ($172.9 million). The region had less than 10,000 km of highways, and the illiteracy rate was over 90 percent. Today, Xinjiang's GDP has exceeded 2 trillion yuan ($280.9 billion). Highways connect the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and the four prefectures in south Xinjiang have shaken off absolute poverty. Average life expectancy in Xinjiang has increased from 30 to 77 years.

When I first arrived in Kashi in 2014, people used donkey carts for transportation and had to travel far to get medical care. Over the past decade, a growing number of government staff were sent to work in villages, and targeted poverty alleviation practices were launched. I have witnessed the construction of asphalt roads, bilingual kindergartens with more and more children seeking admission, and more and more standardized rural clinics. The implementation of 15 years of free education has enabled a great many students to pursue further education and work.

I have participated in major tasks such as poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, and prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic and they made me understand that grassroots community practices are indispensable for missions to succeed.

Today, Xinjiang is experiencing a critical phase of high-quality development. The region's authorities have proposed major strategies such as building 10 infrastructure networks covering transportation, energy and logistics, and a new energy base around the Tarim Basin in south Xinjiang with a capacity of over 10 million kilowatts. All these will bring new opportunities for the development of south Xinjiang.

Government officials should guide the people to develop distinctive industries to consolidate achievements of poverty alleviation. They should focus on addressing issues related to people's wellbeing so that everyone has access to the fruits of

development.

Standing at a new historical starting point, Xinjiang sees promising prospects. The local authorities should develop an environment where all ethnic groups live and thrive together, seize the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative, and leverage Kashi's regional advantages. Key industries such as cultural tourism, hi-tech industries, modern commerce and logistics, new energy and new materials should be developed with favorable policies and services to create a dynamic environment.

The government needs to increase input in education, medical care and employment, and improve vocational skills training for the rural labor forces in south Xinjiang to stabilize employment and improve their income. Misconduct by officials should be rectified to gain public support and trust.

The grassroots communities, on their part, need to improve governance and self-discipline.

Gulimila Dawulieti  

Secretary of the CPC branch of Xiaerhete Village in Jimunai (Jeminay) County, Altay Prefecture, and director of the villagers' committee 

Over the past decades, my hometown has seen great transformation. In the past, there was no clinic in the village, and the elderly had to walk more than 10 km to see a doctor. Today, the village clinic has professional doctors, and medical insurance reimburses over 90 percent of costs. Nutritious meals are provided for children and families are given heating equipment in winter that runs on clean energy.

The significance of grassroot work lies in the details. Whether helping villagers apply for subsidies or mediating in conflicts over grazing livestock, each task is a direct link to their wellbeing and hearts.

Developing agritourism in the village not only increases villagers' income but also protects the ecological environment of the pastures, which is an essential task for rural revitalization. The local authorities need to increase support for ecological industries in agriculture and pasture to balance increasing income and protecting the ecological environment. Although agritourism has boosted people's income in Xiaerhete, pasture protection faces pressure. The regional government should introduce special policies to provide ecological restoration funds for villages with eco-friendly industries and train ecological tourism management professionals, so that villagers can earn dividends while ensuring ecological preservation. 

The authorities also need to improve the mechanism for cultivating, attracting and retaining talents at grassroot communities. Lack of technology and talents in agriculture and grazing is a common issue. Xiaerhete is also facing talent shortage while seeking to promote smart agriculture and e-commerce. Therefore, it is necessary to increase technical training (in the village) and invite experts to teach in rural areas.

To attract and retain professionals and see their businesses thrive, the government needs to provide subsidies and housing for college students returning to their hometowns to start their own businesses.

Minawaer Aibibula  

Associate Senior Editor of the Ancient Books Office of the Ethnic Affairs Commission (Religious Affairs Bureau) of Xinjiang  

For me, as an editor of ancient books of ethnic minorities, the past years have been a conversation across time where ancient civilizations met the vibrant energy of modern Xinjiang. It is a story of preservation and transmission, ensuring that the foundational spirit endures.

I have been involved in ancient books for over 30 years. While compiling an ancient book in the Chagatai language (a literary language of Central Asia, named after Chagatai Khan, a son of Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire), I would often work till late night in the Ancient Books Preservation Center and wonder how the special collections recording the region's history, culture, literature, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, agriculture, technology, folklore and etiquette, and preserved in climate-controlled archives would be accessible to readers. 

In recent years, the Central Government has been digitalizing the ancient books of ethnic minorities. The center has established a database (of them) and over the past decades, the ancient books that were once close to fading away have been revived through digitalization. This showcases how Xinjiang has shifted from rescue and preservation of cultural relics to creative transformation.

Xinjiang's ancient books are the heritage of not one single ethnic group alone; they are epics co-authored by all ethnic groups in the region. They are like silent witnesses, recording millennia of the history of coexistence, mutual learning and common prosperity among all ethnic groups in the region.

In the past, researchers delved into ancient books to trace the past. Today, their research also provides insights for future development. As Xinjiang promotes distinctive agriculture, the grape cultivation techniques and cotton irrigation methods recorded in the ancient books provide traditional solutions for modern agriculture. In advancing the Belt and Road Initiative, the trade routes and cultural exchange stories along the ancient Silk Road recorded in the ancient books have become cultural bridges connecting China and other countries participating in the initiative. The mission of ancient book researchers is not only to interpret the texts but also to connect ancient records to modern Xinjiang.

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