Kurbanjan Samat works on his project of photographing 120 Xinjiang people who live elsewhere in the country and getting their stories. Xiao Wei / For China Daily

Q5: According to reports from other media, in a place as traditional and conventional as Hotan, for example, it is hard to find any family like Kurbanjan’s. What are the common families and your family like? How did your family background and your experience in Xinjiang have an impact on your career and life?

A5: Families like us do exist but are probably rare in Hotan. Most families do business or go to other places to work, instead of being employed locally. When most residents are farmers, they will go out for work to earn more as long as they get a chance.

In my family, my father provided a good education for us and makes us realize that it is the most important. In addition, my father taught me tolerance and my mother taught me to fight for what I want. By seeing a lot in Xinjiang, I have learned to respect my culture and tradition.

Q6: What draws Xinjiang people to pursue a career in other parts of China? What problems do they run into?

A6: In my opinion, Xinjiang has no big difference from other provinces and regions in China. That is what I would like to point out first concerning this issue. People are of different ethnic groups, but the requirements for living are the same. We leave Xinjiang for better chances in big cities. But it doesn’t mean the ones staying in Xinjiang are not open-minded. It is great to live well in your hometown, too.

What I want to say is that Xinjiang is not different from other parts of China. Xinjiang seems different or mysterious due to the ethnic and religious backgrounds. But all of us are a part of the society, so we are all the same.

If there are any problems, it could be about the food, (It it hard to find halal food outside Xinjiang, but of course non-Muslims from Xinjiang don’t have this problem), accommodation (It is common to see guests being rejected at hotels when checking in, because they are from ethnic groups or from Xinjiang.) And the dot between the names can be troublesome when buying a ticket, or using Alipay.

Q7: If a tourist, especially a foreigner, wishes to visit Xinjiang, what are some of the places, local delicacies and customs you would recommend them?

A7: It is just the same as going to any other place. When you are away from home, you are representing your family and nation. It is everyone's responsibility to be a good Chinese tourist.

Concerning customs, please behave well and do not feel at ease as if you were at your own home! One needs to behave himself wherever he goes.

Q8: In your opinion, what changes have Xinjiang gone through since the establishment of the autonomous region 60 years ago? Are you planning to launch a new project similar to I'm From Xinjiang, to show Xinjiang's historical changes?

A8: The book I'm From Xinjiang included people from 92-years-old to 7-years-old, and tells about their lives in the past, at the present and in the future. It almost covers all the changes in Xinjiang. My new project is another book, a photo album based on documentaries.

Q9: I've noticed that you are undertaking some philanthropic activities, for example, raising money for the needy, and setting up libraries in rural areas in your hometown. Could you please tell us something about that? Is there a specific experience that made a deep impression?

A9: In 2006, I took six students from Communication University of China to Heishan village in Hotan in Xinjiang, to set up a library at the only school in the village and donated more than 100 books. During that time we filmed a documentary whose screening encouraged more book donations to the village from more universities in Beijing. In 2007, we donated 900,000 yuan worth of solar generators for the villagers. What we have done after that is not worth mentioning. As a saying goes that you do the good things with the left hand, and then forget them with the right hand. You don’t have to keep mentioning such things. But what happened at Heishan village impressed me most.