Ordinary Japanese: I have a wish to visit Xinjiang

亚太日报 Eric

As part of the Xinjiang Culture and Tourism Week "Xinjiang is a Good Place", the Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka hosted an Open Day of "Xinjiang by My Side" in connection with the Department of Culture and Tourism of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on July 7. About 28 people attended the event, including Shi Zeyi, Director of The Chinese Tourism Office in Osaka, Yasuyuya Kojima, a Japanese friend who has been to Xinjiang for more than 150 times, Overseas Chinese living in Xinjiang in Japan, representatives of the Japanese people who signed up for the "Post-COVID-19 Visit to Xinjiang" activity and staff of the Consulate General.

The Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka held an Open Day of "Xinjiang around me" in connection with the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Culture and Tourism Department on July 7. Photo provided by The Chinese Consulate General in Osaka

"Xinjiang is a Good Place" Xinjiang Culture and Tourism Week in Japan will be held online and offline from March 25 to April 10. An important opportunity for this culture and Tourism Week is the campaign "Xinjiang is a Good Place -- Recruitment for Post-EPIDEMIC Tourism to Xinjiang, China" launched by The Chinese Consulate General in Osaka in 2021. Since its launch, the campaign has attracted widespread attention between China and Japan, with a total of 1,028 Japanese people signing up. In his speech at the launch ceremony and Open Day of Xinjiang Culture and Tourism Week, Xue Jian, Consul General of The People's Republic of China in Osaka, said many times that the Japanese people's keen interest in traveling to Xinjiang after the epidemic made him feel their keen expectation to get to know the real Xinjiang. Xinjiang Culture and Tourism Week is an excellent opportunity to get to know, experience and feel Xinjiang against the backdrop of the epidemic. I hope you can deepen your understanding and understanding of Xinjiang through this event, turn your long-accumulated enthusiasm into the motivation for trans-ocean travel after the epidemic, go to Xinjiang, eat Xinjiang food, make Xinjiang friends, tell the most authentic stories of Xinjiang with your own experiences, and become non-governmental ambassadors for spreading China-japan friendship.

As long as a visit to Xinjiang, many rumors will be dispelled

"I love Xinjiang. This is my second hometown. I will always be a good friend of xinjiang people. One day when I die, I hope to bury my ashes in the Taklimakan Desert to continue to protect Xinjiang's civilization and cultural heritage." Koyuyu Kojima is a cultural adviser to the People's government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, known as "a Japanese who moved the whole Xinjiang".

Koyuya kojima accepted the People's Daily online interview said that the initiative of this activity is very praised. He pointed out that there are some false information about Xinjiang circulating in Japanese society, and some of it is released by people who have never been to Xinjiang. They make it impossible for the public to judge whether it is true or not. He hopes that more Japanese will travel to Xinjiang in the future to discover a real and beautiful Xinjiang with their own eyes. He fully recognized the appeal of the Chinese Consulate General in Osaka in the message: "Come to Xinjiang, see with your own eyes, hear with your own ears and feel with your heart." Xiaodao said that xinjiang has undergone earth-shaking changes and development, and many of the rumors spread by the European and American media can be dispelled after a visit to Xinjiang. He hopes Japanese people will visit Xinjiang and pass on what they see and feel to their neighbors.

Xiaodao has visited Xinjiang more than 150 times since his first visit in 1982. He wrote in the preface to the Chinese, Japanese and British editions of his Book "The Record of 36 Years of International Cooperation in Xinjiang, China" that "it is very difficult to understand each other, so we need to strive for mutual understanding, and I think international cooperation as a part of it is of great significance." Xiao Dao not only publishes books, but also introduces Xinjiang through lectures and TV programs. He told the People's Daily Online that he has not been to Xinjiang for more than two years since the outbreak of the epidemic. Xinjiang is a vast region with beautiful natural environment and honest, warm and hospitable people. When conditions permit, he plans to continue to visit Xinjiang to practice international cooperation with xinjiang's multi-ethnic groups and contribute to mutual understanding between the two peoples.

Be sure to travel to Xinjiang and see the real Xinjiang with your own eyes

After the announcement of "Xinjiang is a good place -- Recruitment for post-epidemic travel to Xinjiang, China" was released, Japanese media such as Sports Tokyo and TBS reported the event, and "Xinjiang Travel" became a topic on social media. The comments section was full of Japanese netizens' expectations for their trip to Xinjiang. Or they expressed their expectations for post-epidemic travel to Xinjiang: "How wonderful! I really want to go to Xinjiang!" "I want to go not only to Xinjiang, but also to Beijing and Shanghai. There are so many places I want to visit!" ", "I want to visit China and Xinjiang after the epidemic is over," or "If the whole world travels to Xinjiang, the lies of the West will be exposed one day."

（Sources:Global Times）