BUSTLING CROWD: Foreign and Chinese visitors peruse handicraft booths at the expo (WANG FEI)

"All of the artworks here are hand-made and blend Xinjiang features with traditional Han culture," said Wang Ge, a paper-cutting artist for over 50 years. Wang runs a studio on Qifang Street, often compared to Beijing's 798 art district. She is a fourth-generation inheritor of her family's unique skills in paper cutting. Her abilities have been deemed as intangible cultural heritage by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Government.

"I integrate Xinjiang elements into my artworks and hope more people can come to know the region's special culture through the exhibition," said Wang, wearing a large Atala shawl.

The expo is not merely a platform for economic cooperation, but also a bridge for cultural exchange, said Zhang Chunxian, Secretary of the Communist Party of China Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee.

For the first time, more than 70 paintings from Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan were displayed at the expo, while a few first-class artists were invited to paint on the spot.

"The painting will add diversified elements to the expo," said Chen Ji, Deputy Director General of the Xinjiang International Expo Administration, "and enrich the spiritual life of people of all ethnic groups."

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