Oil city Karamay serves up tennis dreams

URUMQI — Karamay's name, derived from the Uygur language, means "black oil", reflecting the resource that shaped the city's development.

Rising from a remote stretch of the vast Gobi Desert, the city grew around its oil fields and developed into a modern industrial hub.

Beneath the vast skies of this once-isolated city, another passion has taken root. Over the decades, tennis has grown from a pastime for a small circle of enthusiasts into an established part of local sporting culture, turning Karamay into an unlikely center for the sport in inland China.

Karamay, in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, is one of modern China's most important energy bases. With a population of fewer than 500,000, the city is home to the Xinjiang Oilfield, which has maintained annual crude oil production of more than 10 million metric tons for 24 consecutive years.

Like many of his peers, Alipjan Awut grew up in a family connected to the oil industry.

Inspired by the teamwork and determination of the oil workers around him, he found joy in pursuing a common goal on the soccer pitch. As a midfielder, he led attacks and captained his primary school team.