After years of brutal repression, China’s Communist Party tries to turn Xinjiang into a tourism hotspot

On the streets of historic Kashgar, a desert oasis in Western China known as the cradle of Uyghur culture, a brand new “Ancient City” is in the midst of a tourist boom. In recent years, most of the old town’s distinctive mudbrick dwellings, which survived 2,000 years of shifting empires, have been demolished, with the government citing concerns over earthquakes and sanitation. Uyghur activist groups say the destruction of the old town amounts to “cultural genocide”. Now, souvenir stalls selling fridge magnets, cheap jewellery and traditional instruments line the streets, where visitors can take a ride in an electric buggy…