FILM

Picturing Xinjiang on the Big Screen

From cosmopolitan pictures to musical tourism advertisements, the Tianshan Film Studio once galvanized filmmaking in Xinjiang, but now struggles to regain its way

HISTORY

Could a Lake in Xinjiang Host China’s Loch Ness Monster?

Since the 13th century, a mysterious creature in Kanas Lake has been killing livestock and baffling researchers

SOCIETY

Jade Mining in the Kunlun Mountains: Where Life is Cheaper Than Rocks

A former Hotan jade miner looks back on a disappeared, dangerous trade

TRADITIONAL CULTURE

The Last Falconers in the Altai Mountains

Two generations of a Kazakh family recall a life of partnership with birds of prey

TRAVEL

Serendipitous Sayram

A two-day Kazakh-Han wedding transforms pastures of western Xinjiang, as change comes to local herders’ lives