Textile park tackles poverty in Kashgar

Ruyi Group is responsible for teaching residents how to use the machines to make socks and collecting the socks to be sold.

The textile project developed by Ruyi Group is one of 74 projects that Shandong has introduced to Kashgar in the past three years in a bid to promote the development of the area and provide more jobs for local Uygur people.

Statistics provided by the Shandong government show the projects have created jobs formore than 60,000 people.

For example, a glove-making project invested in by Jining Zhongxing Garments has involved the development of 19 workshops in villages in Kashgar and has seen more than 2,700 women taught glove-making skills.

"We are developing town and village manufacturing bases to reach more people who are confined to their home, such as seniors and women who have to take care of their children," said Lian Gang, an official with Shandong government's department for assisting Xinjiang.

In the seventh village of Mangxin town in Yengisar county, a stage which was used by residents for dancing is now also used as a place to lock-stitch carpets.

Reziwangul Yiming, 33, works with more than 50 fellow villagers at the stage almost every day.

She earns 3 yuan by lock-stitching 1 meter of carpet for Kashgar New Yinhe Carpet, a company invested in by Shandong Yinhe, which is based in Shandong's Zibo.

Before, Reziwangul had to stay at home to look after her two children.

"I can earn over 1,000 yuan a month. With the money, I buy clothes and books for my children," she said.

"More than 140 women in the village have applied for the job of lock-stitching carpets, of which 70 percent are from impoverished families. They need to be trained before starting work," said Yin Junwei, an official in the village, adding that lock-stitching carpets will substantially improve their quality of life.

In a residential area of Yopurga county, Bilikezi Sayimu manages a cross-stitch cooperative.

"The cooperative has been expanded to cover 1,000 square meters from the original 20 sq m, thanks to 2 million yuan in funding from Taian city's department for assisting Xinjiang," Bilikezi said.

As a part of the 1,000-sq-m compound, there is a kindergarten where two teachers take care of children of workers at the cooperative.

To date, the kindergarten has 18 children.

Products from the cooperative are sold to cities including Beijing, and generated sales revenue of 330,000 yuan last year.

Shandong is working on introducing more projects to the four counties of Kashgar that fit local situations and can promote the area's development in the long run.

"By stretching production lines to villages and homes, we provide places where people can work close to home and make a better living with their own hands, rather than just relying on assistance. It's a sustainable strategy," Lian said.