中国のこの側面を誰も見せない

中国のこの側面を誰も見せない

Today, two friendly weaguer men offered to take me with them to a Kazak village. A Kazak family invited me to their house and I had a unique country living homeay experience and an insight in the lifestyle of a Kazak family in Shinjang. During the ride, we had a fair share of talk about Shing Jang locals and their satisfaction with the [Music] government has destroyed all the towns to build, you know, the new high buildings. But now we stopped to destroy old buildings or old houses. Why were they destroying the old buildings then? Uh before because you know economy for development but our new president he supported the tourism. You mean Chinping or you mean the president from the province if that’s also okay cuz you know everything besides from central government. And so then he supported the tourism very much. So now we are keeping the old towns and the old things. Do you notice more tourism in the last few years? Oh yes, a lot more. A lot. Our tourism here is just booming. And also we have very easy transportations. Before we didn’t have connected flights or trains from city to city or town to town, but we have now. Were you born in Yi? Oh yes. Did you I imagine you saw a lot change over the years then? I lived in Kashkar for about 25 years. I went to Tashorgan for a job. After September 11, I came back Kashkar. Tashorgan. Kashkar is about 300 km. Tashorgan is the border between Pakistan and China. So that time in 1995 to 2001, oh the tourism was so good. After September 11, you know, the America attacked you, they made a big mess every year. Then, you know, the border tourists and the hotel closed. Would you say that the tourism is now back at the same level as if it was in the ’90s? Oh, much better than that. Much better. Yeah. Especially the local tourists. From the tourists, everyone can benefit. Mhm. I know the car drivers and the restaurants, hotels, guys, everyone. So in in Ili, the majority is Kazak and in Kashkar the majority weaker. Yes. And you’re also weaker. Oh yes. Far in the desert we have electricity and most of the villages we have running water system. So we don’t have any problem that you know the living now. Mhm. the health care you know we pay some insurance every every person and then we can get back this money when we are in the hospital it’s really good we are so happy when did that start uh changing like this just recent years I think especially bad five six [Music] The people here they live near the mountain so they kind of love the nature. So they make, you know, the house is like, you know, more blue. Oh yeah. See a lot of pink houses too. Yeah. Just paint make it more nicer. It, you know, more comfortable because, you know, we are so near to Russia. We got influences because we have good friends, you know. Yeah. [Music] [Music] We are negotiating. They’re negotiating uh the terms of entering the house. Yeah. She’s so nice. This is the if you want to stay. Yeah. Yeah. If you like. Wow. So if I can stay here then I say it’s probably cold now. Yeah. Yeah. Please come. [Music] Okay. Perfect. Yeah. No, no fire, but they bring cool and something. You can just sleep here in the night. Yeah. Perfect. It’s super soft as well. I can just sleep here. Yeah. Do they do they usually sleep here or they sleep here? Yeah. Right. A very beautiful place. The Kazak are one of Chinese recognized ethnic minorities with over 1.5 million living mostly in the Ili region in Shing Jang. Their presence have dated back centuries but increased in the 18th and the 19th century after conflict with the Zungar Kat, a Mongol Empire that once controlled much of this region. After the Zungar were defeated, the area was depopulated and Kazak groups moved in either through migration or resettlement. Traditionally nomadic, Kazak herded livestock and moved seasonally across mountain pastures. Today, while many have transitioned to more settled lives in towns and villages, some still practice nomadism in rural areas. Their culture remains strong, centered around family, hospitality, and traditional skills like horsemanship and felt making. Do you want to eat something? Yeah, please go. Okay. Oh, that is Kazak style pil. Oh, okay. You know, with that is the potato and some uh meat. I think horse meat maybe the rice. It’s like the polo in wigger. Yeah, the same. So in Kazak style so as soon as he offer the tea so you should receive by two hands mostly use your right hand and if you just touch on your head you do like this then they don’t never offer the tea it means you don’t have enough so just you do like this and they just offer it to him [Music] the room the place to live in the grassland in the summertime. Ah yeah, she goes uh they they all go there in the summer. Younger people to go into the mountain and older people live here for sending the children to school. Oh, so the children always stay here to go to school. Yeah. You know, the government arranged very well. For example, they just move in summertime, but uh they have nice houses here, easy transportation to the school for the kids. Mhm. And if they go high schools, they can go into the city for it was so hard. So so many, you know, ignorant people. But now the our government is very strict for the education cuz we drink tea very hot. Yeah. Yeah. I noticed. Very good. [Music] Do you speak Kazak too or do you speak now weaguer together? Are you speaking weaker? Yeah, but I can speak Kazak. And do most Kazak then speak weaguer? Yeah. Yeah, they speak. And this is a self-made butter. Yeah. Yeah. Wow. [Music] Oh yeah. Very salty. They’re very good. The best butter I ever had. Wow, this is fresh made berry jam. It’s so good. Wild from the mountains. How long have they lived here? So, the parents built this house. Do they do they follow a specific religion? Yeah, they are in Islam. But in China, it’s you know, free to trust any religion. But they are not fasting. No. So you know the celebration the people fast without fast. Okay. Some of the Muslims in Shinjang they fast and some they don’t. Yeah. No. So it’s free to do. Okay. I can do translation on my phone to Kazak. Let’s see if it’s correct. No Kazak. It’s not it’s Russian language. They can Oh, that’s Kazak. That’s Russian Kazak. Yeah. Let’s If I pick weaguer, do they understand that? H. Yes. Uh yeah, that’s correct. Yes. We have to leave. Okay. Just feel at your home, you know. Maybe I don’t know. You register here for the local police. I don’t know. I didn’t register last time yet. Someone coming and then you just leave. No one coming just don’t care. Need help? Call us. Thank you. Thank you. It’s very safe here. Don’t worry. You know, people are so safe, very friendly. Let’s see where the toilet is. Ah, so you have to go in the field here. Oh. Oh, already. The white building. Uhhuh. Oh, this is really funny. Yeah. Is just Yeah. Don’t Why they are doing that? Maybe he bites. Oh yeah. So much. Thank you so much. Yeah. Have a nice trip here. Thank you. See you. Bye-bye. Yeah. Bye Ahmed. [Music] These two weaguer men have helped me so much now to uh find a stay where I could stay with Kazak people. I wanted to find a local family that I could stay with. But in the summer they go in the mountains and now in the winter they stay here in the village. It’s not that common to stay with them here in the village. So it was difficult to find but with their help it now worked. But now they left and now I don’t speak Kazak of course. So now I have to manage with translating software and Kazak doesn’t translate in any translating software. So uh I have to either talk weer or Chinese and they also do not speak perfect Chinese a little bit of weaker. So it will be um interesting to communicate in this day. Maybe I should start by asking their name. Let me test if they understand it in Chinese. And you both the same name. Gi. Okay. Gi and ky mine. [Music] You’re going to cook some food. And I think they make this in animal [Music] fat. Okay. I have to go to the toilet. But now I have to uh pass this horse here. I hope it’s not going to attack me. Okay. Kind little horse. You’re eyeing me in a very angry way. And you’re not on the leash. Okay. Interesting toilet. Okay. I’m right now in the toilet and I just saw that there’s some police coming uh at the entrance of the house and normally they’re very strict with uh letting foreigners stay in people’s houses. Definitely if you’re like Kazak or we or a Tajik. So, I don’t know what to do now. Do I have to get out of the toilet and go back there or just hide here until they’re gone? Okay, I’ll just go there because I don’t know how long they will stay [Music] here. Okay, they’re just left. I think [Music] I think she’s video calling with her friend telling her about for staying here. [Music] Hello. Are these noodles? Yeah, noodles. I will go around. I’ll come back. More authentic than this. It doesn’t get but only. There’s also really no communication at all. If I’m lucky, then their son or daughter will come later where I heard speaks English. But in the meantime, I’m going to explore the village here a bit more because the surrounding is very pretty [Music] here. In the summer when it’s warmer, they go all the way up in the mountains over there and all the way over there because now it’s too snowy there and too cold. And then they take this dirt with them and they just go there with animals because up there in the mountain there’s a very big uh grasslands and they just as nomads go around then for the whole [Music] summer. Right next to the village is a small uh Muslim graveyard and all the graves are just humps. So it’s just uh as if they put the body on the floor and then put sand over it instead of making a hole in the ground. Islam began spreading among the Kazaks between the 8th and the 12th centuries through contact with Arab traders and Central Asian missionaries. By the 18th century, most Kazak tribes had adopted Sunni Islam. In China, Kazak Islam remained community- based and moderate, often centered around village mosques and oral traditions rather than formal institutions. Today, Islam continues to shape their cultural values, family life, and seasonal [Music] celebrations. I think this is a railroad above here. this uh part of Shinjzhang is at this po moment still not very connected but uh as you know China builds very quickly and they’re modernizing a lot of the parts of the remote parts of the country like Inner Mongolia and in Shinjang in Tibet. Go in the graveyard. [Music] [Music] Now here you see the different types of houses they have. So they you have the mud and the clay over there and then the stone here with the metal on the top and then the wooden one. So I think that the wood one that you see is probably uh the traditional Kazak from Kazakhstan and then the stone ones is probably like the Russian type of Kazak. Look, there’s an animal there that is crawling out of a hole, but I have no idea what this animal is. They told me that you have foxes here and wolves, but I have no idea what this is. If someone can recognize this from this, then uh tell me. Hello. Hello. Oh, yes. So, uh you know the the lady, she will take you to local police office to register. I have to register here. Yeah, you have to register if you, you know, if you stay in the house. Oh, okay. Okay. Okay. That’s good. Thank you. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You’re welcome. Yeah. If you’re as a foreigner traveling in China, that’s a bit of an annoying part is that you always have to register with the police in every single place you stay. So, sometimes I manage to not do that because um just like in the middle of nowhere and there’s not really anyone who cares. But apparently even here now they um asked me to now go to the police office to register there. So we’ll just do [Music] that. Okay. [Music] We’re now driving on the highway with a small scooter in between all the trucks. [Music] Okay, that was very straightforward, very easy. I just had to give my passport and take a picture of me and that was it. No problem at all. I think a local woman with a Belgian on the back is probably not a common sight here. I’m going to warm up next to that fireplace. Oh, she has done a lot of work in the meantime. [Music] Wow. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So, it’s not noodles. It’s a type of bread, too. [Music] [Music] [Music] Afternoons here are very relaxing and meditative. People usually gather inside to warm up from the harsh cold while chatting, making bread, and taking care of the [Music] cattle. Next. Oh, look. They have a small puppy here. Hello. Oh, such a cutie. I’m passing all these. Uh-oh. This one is following me now. Stay there. And they’re going to milk the cow here. [Music] Back outside. The sheep want to come inside so badly. Stay out. And they want to go outside so [Music] badly. Oh, you got a lot. She still needs to do [Music] something. She gave birth. Sheeps are checking out for the first [Music] time. It’s trying to walk now. [Music] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Take your child. Here they really do a sustainable way of farming because now in the winter these are these animals are all in here. But then uh as soon as the summer as soon as the spring comes or the autumn and the in the summer they go on the mountain and they take all these animals with them and they can just roam freely there. She’s cutting off some charcoal for inside. [Music] yellow. Now you can enter. Okay. Not everyone all at once. [Music] this too. [Music] Look, now they’re all going to storm here. Oh, I have to go get away from [Music] here. Oh my god, it’s so cold. I need to film again. [Music] got this. What they made? Very good. But I can only use this app to translate. After a long day, Gulimai’s husband came back from work to have dinner with his family. What do you mean with play games? Like this? No, I didn’t play games. I used to play Pokémon. [Laughter] long time ago. He says, “Are you going to live in this house now? I’ll stay here for the night.” Nice. The food is [Music] ready. Someone has been working on the food the whole day. then you appreciate it a lot more and it’s also much better. I love this big table full of bread. We got some milk tea with fresh milk from the very good. I think if you eat all this food every day, it’s very healthy. I wish my mom could cook as good as your mom. Mom wants you to go for hot. Does my mom think this meal is delicious? I think it’s good, too. Yeah. Not impressed. At the dinner table, I’m the only one who is not on his phone. After we were done with dinner, the son started doing his homework while everyone started getting ready for sleep. [Music] I think he means that they want to go to sleep. Okay. Yeah. Okay. [Music] Okay. We’ll go sleep here. I think he takes the bed and then we sleep here on the floor. She bringing all the blankets. [Music] My mother wishes you a pleasant sleep and she also said not to go out at night. At night we have wild dogs that might bite us. Okay, that’s okay. Okay. Good. Good to know. I’m definitely not going out at night. Okay, I’m in my bed. They uh have made a bed for me here in this room and uh I have this room all for myself. Normally that this is their bedroom, but now they are going to sleep in the living room. Um, this room is a little bit colder because it doesn’t have a heating like the other one, but it has a lot of blankets. I’m sleeping on blankets and underneath blankets, and there’s blankets everywhere. So, I think this will be very good, actually. It lays very well. It’s very soft. See you in the morning. [Music] Good morning. I had an amazing sleep. It was actually very warm underneath those blankets. And here it is very cold and it has snow the whole night. Look at the [Music] landscape. Let’s see if that puppy is still here. Oh, aren’t you cold? Hm. It [Music] seems as soon as we all woke up, we gathered in the living room, cozing up to a warm breakfast. [Music] There’s some rice pudding for breakfast. It also has egg in there and milk. Nice. After we were done with our breakfast, time has sadly come for me to leave this welcoming family. Okay, I’m going to go now because I have to catch a ride to the next place that I’m going to. But this was an amazing stay. Thank you very much, Rhett. Reach through here. Bye-bye. So today I’m going to hitchhike all the way to Kucha. Long drive from here. And it’s snowing and it’s – 10. It’s even colder than yesterday. But I’m uh destined to do it. You’ll see that in the next video. See you next time. Bye-bye. [Music]

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I traveled deep into the mountains of Xinjiang, China, to stay with a Kazakh family on their remote winter farm. This is a rare look into the everyday reality of Kazakh herders in one of the most remote corners of the world.

Travel Date: March 2025

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Travel gear:
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0:00 – what does the government do?;
3:50 – welcomed by the Kazakh;
10:43 – life on the farm;
12:01 – exploring the village;
15:03 – Dealing with Chinese police;
16:48 – Cooking with the family;
17:53 – farm animals;
20:57 – Dinner;
23:00 – sleep, Beware of the wild dogs!;
24:30 – Saying goodbye;

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Hi, I’m Jonathan Le Blanc. I’m a full-time traveler who wants to show the human side of traveling and give another perspective on how the mass media portrays certain locations to us.

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💟Edited by: @Ajjouche on IG

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