Chongqing: Opportunities and Identity on the Move

Beyond the Headlines: How Language and Entrepreneurship are Shaping the Real Lives of China’s Minorities.

I recently met a Uyghur man in the bustling megacity of Chongqing. With a population of over 30 million, he’s found that he can sell far more ice cream here than back home in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. He’s an entrepreneur at heart; rather than just waiting for customers at his booth, he’s invented an entertaining “show” to draw them in. Watch it here:

While he studied the Uyghur language in school as a child, he also mastered Mandarin, the national language. This fluency is a vital tool for minorities, opening up better job opportunities across China—and that is exactly what happened in his case.

Mandarin is equally essential for the Han Chinese, who make up over 90% of the population. Regional dialects can be so distinct that people from different parts of the country often cannot understand one another without a common tongue.

The Western claim that Uyghurs and other minorities are forced to learn Mandarin while being prohibited from studying their mother tongue in school is simply false. Likewise, the narrative that Uyghurs are unable to travel outside of Xinjiang is contradicted by the many individuals, like this businessman, who are building successful lives throughout China.

👉 Must read:

Past the Propaganda: Xinjiang as It Really Is

An on-the-ground account challenging stereotypes — meeting Uyghurs, experiencing traditions, and seeing a region beyond the narrative

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Felix Abt is an entrepreneur, author and travel blogger living in Asia.

With his articles, he tries to make a modest contribution to debunking the omnipresent propaganda of the mainstream media for those who don’t have the time (and that’s most people) to do the research to see through it.

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