On August 19th, the cultural and sports exchange delegation of youth from Guangdong Province, Hong Kong, and Macao Special Administrative Regions (SARs) continued its itinerary with a visit to key sites demonstrating the outcomes of Guangdong's aid program in Xinjiang.
The group toured the Xinhua bookstore in Kashgar, a recently renovated cultural venue supported by Guangdong, and later visited Guangdong's aid headquarters in Xinjiang to gain a deeper understanding of the 28-year cooperation between the two regions.
Since 1998, Guangdong has been a primary supporter of Xinjiang under a national policy, dispatching ten teams of officials and professionals to the region. The aid program focuses on improving livelihoods, industrial development, education, and cultural exchange. The current, tenth team, which arrived in April 2023, is overseeing 137 projects backed by a cumulative investment of 4.449 billion yuan.
In a discussion with the youth delegation, officials highlighted one of the team's most impactful achievements in Xinjiang: creating a platform that connects Xinjiang's agricultural products with consumers in Guangdong. By coordinating with airlines and transport firms, the team reduced fresh produce shipping time by three days and cut costs by 15%, allowing goods like apricots from Shufu County to reach Guangdong markets in under 24 hours.
The initiative significantly boosted local earnings; online marketing drove a 672% sales increase for Xinjiang apricots, raising farmers' incomes by over 2 million yuan. Meanwhile, with technical support and training from Guangdong, the local prune industry now produces 70% of national output, generating 7 billion yuan annually and substantially improving livelihoods in the region.
Reporter: Zeng Xiangxing
Photo: Zeng Xiangxing
Editor: Hu Nan, James Campion, Shen He
