Xinjiang residents tell stories of success

Residents of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region shared their personal experiences with the region's process of rural development at a news conference on Monday.

Tursun Kawooz, director of a pomegranate cultivation cooperative in Hotan prefecture's Pishan county, shared stories of how he has strived to increase the yield of the fruit and promote it to more consumers.

"The pomegranate in Hotan was not well-known to others," he recalled.

The turning point came in January 2018, when nine households in his town combined to run a cooperative together. Experts were dispatched by the local government to help them improve the fruit's quality, to scientifically fertilize the field and to design packaging.

"We've also been selling the fruit online, trying to get more customers from across the country," he said. Last year, Tursun earned an income of 270,000 yuan ($41,800).

Shapqat Jurat, 24, a graduate of Xinjiang University in finance and economics, opened a photography studio in Hotan's Lop county. His customers dress fashionably and hold various props provided by Shapqat to take selfies using a remote control.

During his university years, Shapqat was a part-time model for companies to pose for posters promoting their products, including garments and accessories. That sparked his interest in photography and the fashion industry.

After his graduation last year, he decided to go back to his hometown to launch a business featuring vigorous, fashionable, modern elements. He applied for a interest-free loan of 50,000 yuan for entrepreneurial graduates and successfully opened the studio.

"The studio is a fresh thing in the county, and I was not sure if the business would go smoothly," he said. To his surprise, the studio quickly gained popularity among young people in Lop county.

"Revenue in the first month reached 10,000 yuan," Shapqat added.

He also landed a stable job as an accountant in an agriculture and technology company, where he can apply what he's learned from school and work.