the Uyghur Autonomous Region

These selected compositions depict different topographical and urban landscapes in the northwest desert region of China, most commonly referred to as Xinjiang. Having visited the region a handful of times before, this visit left a different impression on me. It was my first trip back since the Chinese goverment’s “reeducation campaign,” whereby a “crackdown” on “displays of extremism” changed the tone, expression, and acceptance of the region’s historically diverse coexistence of ethnic groups and tribes. These photographs were taken in Bole, a border town next to Kazahkstan; Turpan, a desert oasis city known for the origins of Uyghur identity; and Urumqi, the region’s capital and largest trading hub.