Sands of time shifting for desert community

With just 1,347 residents, Daliyabuyi is the smallest township in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, and until recently it was also the most remote. Now times are changing, thanks to the introduction of satellite TV and cellphones, report Cui Jia and Mao Weihua in Hotan prefecture.

Editor's note: This is the first in a series of special reports to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Over the coming weeks, China Daily will brings its readers in-depth stories about the lives of the people who live in China's "Wild West", outlining their aspirations and concerns, and the changes in the region during the past six decades.

Memet Turson's face split into a huge grin as he stood in front of the house he built next to the sand dunes of the Taklimakan Desert. As a resident of Daliyabuyi, hidden deep in the world's second-largest desert in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the sight of an outsider is "a luxury", according to the 60-year-old herder.