STORY: Uygur woman forges friendship, prospers in business in jade town in China's Henan
DATELINE: Oct. 17, 2023
LENGTH: 0:03:06
LOCATION: NANYANG, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Shifosi
2. SOUNDIBTE 1 (Chinese): AZATIGULI, Jade shop owner
3. SOUNDIBTE 2 (Chinese)
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): LIU XIAOQIANG, Master of Arts and Crafts in Henan Province

STORYLINE:

Shifosi, a town in China's Henan Province traditionally known for its jade business, is gaining a new reputation in the region for ethnic unity.

In recent years, more than 1,000 ethnic Uygurs have settled here and made a living with the jade business.

Azatiguli from Xinjiang has lived in Shifosi for over a decade and regarded this town as their second home long ago.

She has found her love here, and worked her way up from being a laundry worker to becoming the owner of a jade shop.

SOUNDIBTE 1 (Chinese): AZATIGULI, Jade shop owner
"Today is the first day of opening, and there are many discounts. We are old friends, and you are my VIP customer, so we will definitely give you a lot of discounts. May you be prosperous!
(Customer: I wish you the same.)
Wow, Look, today's income, more than 2,000 yuan (about 270 U.S. dollars)."

To ensure better living conditions, as early as 2016, the local government invested more than 40 million yuan (about 5.5 million U.S. dollars) to build 408 units of public rental housing for Uygur people, and the rent is less than half of the market rate.

Every spring, the community organizes a residents' sports meet, and Azatiguli's family is always one of the most enthusiastic participants.

SOUNDIBTE 2 (Chinese)
"Exchange venues. The team of the third building won the first place in the tug-of-war competition, and the team of the sixth building won the second place."

In order to broaden the horizons of jade merchants from Xinjiang, the community organized a visit to a jade carving master studio, which is the cradle for training jade carving masters.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): LIU XIAOQIANG, Jade craftsman
"How long have you been here?
(More than ten years.)
Ten years, so you can understand the local dialect, right?
(Just so so.)
This is the original stone, unprocessed. And this is the processed one.
(Oh, so this is it.)
This is the natural Dushan jade.
(Can I learn carving?)
Of course.
Grind away the unwanted parts little by little. The cutter head of this abrasive tool can be changed, if you will. Carving jade is just like writing, grinding casually. Apply some pressure. That's good, that's good.
Drop by whenever you have time. I'll see you off."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nanyang, China.
(XHTV)