For safety reasons, I’ve avoided addressing some serious topics that are associated with this region. I have a responsibility to protect all those who’ve helped me tell this amazing story about Uyghur culture.  

My goal for making this video (and every video on my channel) is the same: to share uplifting stories about people and culture from all corners of the world — from Kyoto to Krakow to Kashgar.  And because there are hardly any positive stories about Uyghur culture and traditions on the news, I felt that I must share an encouraging perspective.  

Truth be told, Xinjiang province and Western China is an epic travel destination that reminds me of elsewhere in Central Asia (i.e. Afghanistan/Tajikistan)— and the Uyghur people hold a special place in my heart.  Everyone out here is extremely friendly, genuine and hospitable.

If you are passionate about the situation in Xinjiang and/or Uyghur culture, and you’d like to chat further, feel free to email me contact@drewbinsky.com and I’d be happy to discuss further. Be kind to one another :)

I'm confused by your statement that only a few outsiders can visit. As a foreigner living in China, I have been to Xinjiang several times, and no one has questioned me or denied my access. I also know many other foreigners who have visited the region without any issues and as far as I know any Chinese from other provinces can visit as well.

Hi Drew, in the beginning part of your video, you stated that Xinjiang is an area that "few outsiders are allowed to visit".  That perhaps might've been your perception, but it's not true.  Anyone with a tourist visa can visit Xinjiang at anytime without escort or restrictions except for a few areas near the military posts.  I've traveled there myself twice as an American expat, along with 2 other fellow Americans and a German on the 2 separate occasions, and we encountered 0 issues or resistance.  I just had to go to a local police station to register myself as a foreign visitor for a part of the trip that was close to a military base near the border.  Xinjiang is open to all visitors.

I noticed something interesting: Americans often feel uneasy when they see a policeman, even when they are in China. For Chinese people, however, the opposite is true.

Police in Xinjiang is the most armed in all of China. However, they're still not as heavily armed as a typical US policeman.

"few outsiders are allowed to visit"  - how did you get in then?  Anyone with a Chinese visa can visit Xinjiang

I am a Singaporean. Many Malaysian and Singaporean tourists hace been there. Ningxia in China is also a Muslim province. There many large Muslim areas in Qinghai, Gansu, Shanxi, Yunnan, Sichuan and etc. Muslim barrros are in Beijing and Shanghai.

This kind of blogger claims that he is the authority but in fact his information is full of mistakes which misinformed viewers. For example Xinjiang is not the only Muslim autonomous region in China. 1. The correct expression should be: Xinjiang is an autonomous region where large amount of Muslims congregated. There are many non-Muslims living there too. Ningxia Hui autonomous region is another Muslim congregated region. Also in any other provinces they also have numerous Muslim congregated autonomous prefectures, counties or communes.  Also Xinjiang does not require special permit for foreigners to enter into.

In the apartment building I live in there is a couple of Uyghur families and once a month theres a international dinner where the various nationalities from my apartment building come together sharing various food dishes 😊 this time its food from Pakistan, Somalia and syria, in one and the same dinner 😊 Xinjang province was once the short lived country of East Turkestan, or the land of the Uyghurs 😊

translation 3:25
'The tourists are more interested in marriage traditions and stuff. Our marriage customs differ from others, it includes morning feast and evening feast. Also, Xinjiang is very diverse, from North to South, even different county have their own.…'

Dude, please check your translation. You are completely distorting her original words

I’m from Saudi Arabia and love China and all its diverse cultures. In Saudi we have a minority of Saudi citizens who traces their roots back to Xinjiang. They migrated centuries ago before the discovery of oil in Saudi Arabia. They carried all the good stuff from the Silk Road. Many of them have the family names of “Al-Turkstani” and “kashgari”. They are successful people in business and trade and introduced many delicious foods such as pulao, laghman and mantu dumplings which all Saudis love and enjoy eating. The Saudi ambassador to Japan was a Saudi Arabian man from Uyghur ancestry.

The culture here looks way more vibrant and bustling than I expected

Uyghur Muslims were  not allowed to perform Eid Salah in mosque the other week

A typical Western perspective of superiority, Uyghurs, like people from other parts of the world, hope for a better life. Commercialization and tourism can bring better income to the local Uyghurs. What's wrong with Kashgar developing more prosperous than Western cities one day? Or do you just hope that these ancient cities will always be just a bonsai for you to admire?

Attempting to be neutral yet could not stop judging from a western frist world perspective.
Whenever I see Americans/British/Germans, tourists from developed countries, complaining about over tourism in developing countries, suggesting that the places they visited should keep the original third world type of infrastructures and people they saw should retain the original hard way of life, it just makes me sick.
Why don't you go back to your old way of life in the medieval times with no electricity and no running water so people from other parts of the world could go see you to satisfy their moral superiority and curiosity?
The kind of hypocrisy and double standards is disgusting.
Don't get me wrong, I hate over tourism too and I want culturals stay the way they are. But I don't claim it's for others' good. It's simply my selfish wish for poor communities staying poor before I visit so I could see their original way of life as backpacker without spending a lot of money.
The wish is immoral at its core and I can't fool myself to believe otherwise because I'm too smart to believe lies like that.

Uyghur culture is amazing, the people seems so friendly but what I love the most is the girls so pretty there 👏

1:45 such a chill guy

Bless that sweet child you met who took you to that authentic restaurant!

Her name is Katherine, her channel is Katherine’s journey to east, she is going to have a wedding in xinjiang

Uyghurs aren’t the only Muslim/Central Asian ethnicity in Xinjiang. There is the Kazakhs in and around Altay near the Kazakh/Mongol/Russian border in the far north of Xinjiang and the Pamiris (a dialect of Tajik) in and around Tashkurgan near the Tajikistan/Afghanistan border in the south of Xinjiang. Does anybody know if Xinjiang has more Muslim/Central Asian ethnicities?