HUANGPU SHANGHAI

Kucha county, called Qiuci in ancient times, was one of the 36 states in the Western Region. It is now a famous national historical and cultural city in Aksu prefecture of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region with an ancient street - Resitan Street - boasting unique ethnic folk customs.

Resitan means shopping mall and market in the Uygur language and Resitan Street, stretching 3.5 kilometers, has the greatest concentration of Uygur-style stores and shops in the county.

There are blacksmith workshops, tailor shops, calabash drawing shop, and dried food stores, as well as Xingjiang nang cake stores, mutton stores, and beef soup restaurants. The street is also famous for its weekly bazaar held every Friday and run exclusively by people of Uygur ethnicity.

Because the color of green is auspicious in Uygur culture, the local people are used to wearing it. Uygur women like to wear green skirts decorated with flowers and some stores paint green along the bottom of their doors. [Photo/IC]

Kucha was an important town along the ancient Silk Road in the Han Dynasty (206 BC - AD 220). The four ancient cultures of Indian culture, Persian culture, Greek culture and Chinese culture interacted and fused with each other in the area, which resulted in the Qiuci culture.

The local residents are keen on decorating their timber doors to demonstrate the economic power of a family and showcase their sensitive appreciation. Every store is beautifully colored with its own unique characteristics and the colors of green, red, yellow, white and blue are used most frequently.

Many traditional Uygur-style buildings decorated with large areas of colors remain in this area, showing the unique Uygur culture, which is totally different from the Han. [Photo/IC]

There are many nang cake stores within a few meters of each other on Resitan Street. Nang is a staple food and also a snack presented to entertain guests in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. [Photo/IC]