A vibrant city on ancient Silk Road -- Kashgar in the eyes of foreign tourists
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E-mail Xinhua, November 7, 2023
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Already famous for many years because of its diverse and colorful culture and architecture, tourism has continued to boom in the ancient city of Kashgar in recent times, with travelers from all around the world going there.
On Oct 1 this year, the National Day in China, the single-day tourist arrival in the ancient city of Kashgar reached 120,000, while flights were almost fully booked during this year's eight-day National Day holiday period.
This thriving tourism industry has also nurtured a sound business climate and drawn young entrepreneurs from many corners of the globe.
Hadiya Msham Abulla, from Tanzania, runs a cafe in the ancient city of Kashgar with her husband Dilshat Tursun. The two met while studying at a university in East China's Fujian province seven years ago.
Bullish on China's soaring coffee consumption potential and economic prospects in Kashgar, where Dilshat Tursun was born, the couple decided to settle and start their own business in Kashgar.
"The ancient city of Kashgar is a place full of passion and fantasy. Despite living in a foreign land, I sense the feeling of home from the hospitable folks, and here I found the direction to start my own business," Abulla said.
China's coffee market is recognized by investors as a blue ocean. Though only in business for more than half a year, the couple are already planning to ship high-quality beans from Tanzania and other African countries to Kashgar and elsewhere in China.
Thanks to the BRI, African coffee beans have secured a much wider market share in China in recent years. Abulla recently imported 300 kg of Tanzanian coffee beans to Kashgar, which received a flood of positive feedback far exceeding expectations.
"There's just no way to keep up with the demand, and as business gets better, we need more beans," Abulla said. "The shipping time is too long and the cost of air freight is too high. We plan to make the logistics smoother with the help of the BRI."
Dilshat Tursun was engaged in e-commerce and international trade in Fujian. These days he is trying to transport a batch of goods to China via the China-Europe train route.
Abulla's father has visited China four times and is always amazed at how fast China develops. Passionate about Chinese culture and yearning to meet his family, her father is already planning his fifth trip to China.
