Xinjiang explores new ways to fight terrorism
On a crisp March day in Kashgar, the biggest city on the western edge of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, men and women danced for hours to traditional music to celebrate the marriage of a young couple. The veiled bride was thrown up in the air repeatedly amid laughter, cheers and songs of best wishes. It was a typical Uygur wedding - festive, flamboyant and boisterous.
However, such a scene would have been unthinkable just three years ago when radical elements forbade singing and dancing at weddings in Muslim communities. Xinjiang, China's gateway to Central and West Asia, has borne the brunt of the growing infiltration by extremists in recent years.
Religious fanatics preaching an extreme, distorted version of Islam asked local Muslims to reject everything produced by non-Muslims, from facial tissues to government-paved roads. Some even incited violence and the killing of "infidels", which they believe is a pathway to heaven.
