Across China: Uygur businessmen reversing road of silk

To most people, the ancient Silk Road was the route by which silk products from east China would travel westward to Central Asia and Europe. For Abudujilil Halil from Kashgar City in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the other way around suits him just fine.

In 2013, he invested 3 million U.S. dollars in Uzbekistan, a landlocked country in Central Asia, and built a silk factory, rearing silkworms from China. He then sells the raw silk back to China and cooperates with designers to manufacture clothes.

His products were not for sale in China at the beginning, instead they were exported to neighboring Pakistan, Turkey and United Arab Emirates in the Middle East. But as tastes change, he now has a market in China.

"Most Uygurs pin a high value on etiquette and attire," said Isajan, a small-business owner in Kashgar specializing in silk clothes.

"Traditional dresses are mostly produced locally or in eastern Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, featuring exquisite embroidery; but more fashionable and magnificent styles are from Dubai," Isajan said.

Having identified this gap in the market, Abudujilil established a logistics company.

"China leads in silk production. But with structural changes and rising labor costs, raw silk production is shrinking and demand increasing," he said.

As one of the most important posts along the Silk Road and an interchange connecting East and West, Kashgar has attracted traders from across the world for thousands of years.

According to Abudujilil, Uygurs used to be the middlemen. "But with more and more direct flights and trains, these 'middleman' will someday be history," he said, suggesting industrial investment might be a way out.

"Uygur businessmen must change their outlook and reassess the market," he said.

Hidden in a traditional Kashgar alley, tailor Mamettursun Wuxur's shop has been there for three decades. "Business is slow. Customers have more choices today," the tailor said, adding that he was thinking of shutting up shop for good.

But Isajan is full of confidence about the future. His brother currently flies between Hangzhou city, in east China, and Dubai contacting suppliers. And Isajan, besides managing his shop, is preparing an online shop that will get them more customers. Endi