Festive cheer

Housing renovation plan makes this year's Eid-al-Adha more joyful in Xinjiang

Parhat Turson's hat shop is just across the street from Id Kah Mosque in Kashgar, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, but he prays at China's largest mosque only during major Islamic festivals like Eid-al-Adha, which took place on Tuesday.

At 7:20 am, Parhat put on his finest suit for the biggest occasion of the year, which is also called Corban Festival by Uygurs. Although everyone in Xinjiang gets a five-day holiday, the 54-year-old shop owner decided to work as usual, putting handmade fur hats on the shelves outside his house in the old town of Kashgar.