WondrousXinjiang:Projectrenovatingoldresidencesrevitalizesancientcity_GuangmingOnlineLocalresidentAbdukaderMamtiminmakesroseteaathisteahouseinahistoricandculturalcommunityinKuqaCityinnorthwestChina'sXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion,March15,2024.(Xinhua/ZhangYu)URUMQI,March16(Xinhua)--LocalmusicanddanceperformancesonFridaymarkedthestartofthisyear'sworkonaprojecttorenovateoldresidencesinKuqaCity,northwestChina'sXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion.ThecityofKuqainXinjiang'sAksuPrefecturewasanimportanttransportationhubalongtheancientSilkRoad.InMarch2012,itwasdesignatedastate-levelhistoricandculturalcity,andmanymeasureshavesincebeenrolledouttoprotectitsrichheritage.TherenovationprojectwasinitiallylaunchedinAprillastyear,andithasaparticularfocusonKuqa'solderdwellings."TheoldresidencesinKuqaholdsignificanthistoric,cultural,artisticandsocialvalue,"saidZhangXue,acitymanagementofficial.Kuqahasover100residencesdatingbackmorethan80years.Manyofthesebuildingshavedeteriorated,andsomefacetheriskofcollapse.Therenovationprojectaimstobringnewlifetothesebuildingsandrestorethemtotheirformersplendor,Zhangsaid.Inanendeavortorejuvenatethecity'soldresidenceswhileretainingtheiroriginalappearance,anumberofculturalheritageconservationexpertshavebeeninvitedtocontributetotheproject,andover150localtraditionalcraftsmenarealsoparticipating.YusupjanYasin,whowasborninthe1990sandgraduatedfromuniversityjustlastyear,saidthathedidn'thesitatetovolunteerfortheprojectafterhearingthatitwouldbeimplementedinKuqa.Hisfatherwasacarpenterandtaughthimthecraft,andhemajoredinartisticdesignatuniversity,hesaid."Theseoldhousesshowcasevividmemoriesofharmoniouscoexistenceandintegrationinthemulti-ethnic-groupcity.Iamdeeplyhonoredtobepartoftheprojectandeagertoemploymyskillstocontributetothepreservationofoldtraditionalresidences,"hesaid.IntheeyesoflocalresidentAbdukaderMamtimin,62,therenovationprojecthasnotonlyfortifiedoldhouses--ithasalsosafeguardedtraditionalculture.Asrenovatedlanesfulloflocalcharmdrawincreasingnumbersoftourists,AbdukaderMamtiminhasrecentlybeeninspiredbyyoungergenerationstoembarkonanewbusinessventure,openingateahouseinhisoldhome."Myroseteaandmilkteahavebeenwell-received.Icanearnupto7,000yuan(about986U.S.dollars)permonth.""Theprojectisnotonlyaboutrepairingbuildings;itisalsoaboutpreservingtraditionalcultureandfosteringunityamongourpeople.Wewilltakethisopportunitytoencouragewidespreadparticipationfromourresidentsandhelpmoretouristsexperienceouruniquetraditionalculture,"saidMaynurAhat,alocalofficial.TouristsbuyspeciallocalproductsatamarketinKuqaCityinnorthwestChina'sXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion,March15,2024.(Xinhua/ZhangYu)PerformersplaymusicinKuqaCityinnorthwestChina'sXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion,March15,2024.(Xinhua/ZhangYu)PeopleplaymusicandsingatateahouseinahistoricandculturalcommunityinKuqaCityinnorthwestChina'sXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion,March15,2024.(Xinhua/ZhangYu)Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.