When photos fall short: The emotional pull of Xinjiang

Since moving to China, I experience life much in the way I assume a small child might. People around me talk; I don't know what they're saying. People ask me questions; I don't know the answer. Because my surroundings are still so new to me, every day has the potential to be an adventure.

Unlike a small child, however, I do have a job. This adventure began at the office, with a blinking orange light notifying me of a new message.

"Hi, Thomas, would you like to visit Xinjiang?" wrote someone several steps above me on the corporate ladder — who, if she is reading this, is a very lovely woman, I might add.

As has become my modus operandi, I said yes before I even knew what I was agreeing to. I have a big map of China hanging up in my apartment, I guess I should look at it more because where Xinjiang is located didn't immediately spring to mind. A quick internet search refreshed my memory and — after seeing Xinjiang's marvelous landscapes — hyped me up.

So I joined the "A Date with China — Meet Xinjiang" International Media Tour, where I, alongside a cadre of other media professionals and social media personalities, would discover the real Xinjiang through its capital city of Urumqi.