Six decades on, mysterious border corps opens up

Six decades ago, a huge paramilitary corps that now administers eight cities with a combined population of 2.7 million did not even exist on maps.

"We used to be called the 'mysterious corps.' The exact locations of our regiment could not be revealed to outsiders," said Xiong Ying, a woman who works in the third division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, or XPCC, a paramilitary organization established to reclaim land from desert, build cities and guard the borders.

The XPCC still maintains military organizational classifications such as divisions and regiments, but it also has its own administrative and judicial bodies. XPCC runs more than 4,000 companies, 14 of which are listed on the stock exchange.

Xinjiang is preparing to celebrate its 60th anniversary as an autonomous region next month. Over the past six decades, the XPCC has opened up and spearheaded regional economic development.

Two decades ago, Xinjiang Tianye Group was a failing plastics company. Now it is XPCC's biggest enterprise, which exports chemicals, food, irrigation and water-saving equipment to over 60 countries and regions.

A water-saving irrigation system, which proved successful on parched land in Xinjiang, has been used on four million hectares of land across China. It is also marketed to farmers in countries such as Kazakhstan and Pakistan, where it has been installed on more than 10,000 hectares of land.

"Central Asian and African countries are dry like Xinjiang. We will continue to promote our equipment and technology in these countries," said Chen Lin, deputy manager-in-general of Tianye.

At an international expo held by XPCC last week, officials and companies from five neighboring countries were invited to discuss cooperation.

Liu Xinqi, deputy Party secretary, told his guests that "XPCC has unique advantages, solid industrial infrastructure, and a strong urge to open up."

"It needs to deepen cooperation with both domestic and overseas businesses. We will create more opportunities for cooperation," he said.

Political commissar Han Yong made similar comments last week.

"Although the corps is located in the western borderlands and constrained by military rules, it cannot cut itself off from the rest of the world," he said.

"We will seek to use opportunities brought by the Belt and Road initiative and China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to make progress in opening up to central Asia and Europe," he said.

The CPEC is a 3,000-km economic corridor, a planned network of roads, railways and energy infrastructure, between the ports of Gwadar in Pakistan and Kashgar in Xinjiang. It was established to help lift Pakistan out of its economic slumber and boost growth for the Chinese border economy.

"We should elevate the level and quality of opening up," he added.

XPCC has established trade relations with 135 countries.

"Russia is looking to strengthen cooperation with XPCC in agriculture. We have been given great opportunities as the two countries build the Silk Road Economic Belt," said Russian State Duma member Svetlana Maximova, who participated in the expo.

Generations of change

XPCC now administers eight cities: Kokdala, Shihezi, Wujiaqu, Alaer, Tumushuke, Beitun, Tiemenguan and Shuanghe.

Jin Maofang, 82, a Shihezi resident, is respected in her community as part of a first generation of "military explorers."

But 54 years ago, Jin, a young soldier from a well-off family in eastern China's Shandong Province, was not sure about her fate when she was dispatched to the remote borders of Xinjiang.

"I fell ill on my trip to Xinjiang, and when I arrived, I saw nothing but sand, desert and flying dust," Jin recalled.

Over the decades, millions of people like Jin have overcome hardship and witnessed great changes in the region.

"I remember working 12 hours plowing the field non-stop. When I was so tired that I could barely stand, I would lie down on the ground to sleep a few minutes," she recalled.

"But we were firmly committed to changing the landscape of the desert, using our own hands to plant trees, reclaim farm fields and build our lives," the gray-haired widow said.

Jin, also the nation's first female tractor driver, had her image appear on the one-yuan note published in the 1960s -- a proud symbol of industrialization.

"The image is not only me. It tells the tale of that generation," she said.