A fleet of six flower-decorated wedding cars passed a downtown street in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Sunday, where police have eased traffic restrictions in wake of public protests.

Such a scene was hardly seen in the city several days ago when protests broke out in the past week after hundreds of residents reported that they were stabbed by syringes.

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest against the syringe attacks and demand security guarantees.

Five people were dead and at least 14 people hospitalized over injuries in the protests.

The protests took place about two months after a riot which left nearly 200 people dead, mostly Han ethnic people.

Ba Bayisilong, a Uygur student in Xinjiang Education Institute, came back to school on Sunday, after two months of summer vacation.

"I come from my home in southern part of Xinjiang. All students in my class have returned," said the student who majors in computer sciences.

China Mobile, China's largest telecom carrier, opened a sales booth on the school campus. A large crowd of students, including both Han and Uygur students, patronized the stall to buy phone cards.

Vehicles and streams of people in the city's downtown area got back to normal. Tianshan Shopping Mall and Carrefour on Jiefang Road were thronged, while public security staff demanded passers-by to open their bags for security checking.

Security presence in the city remains heavy. Hundreds of Armed Police were seen in the People Square. Police were still blocking Xinmin Road, which links to a viaduct leading to the southern part of the city, an area densely populated by Uygur people.

Public Security Minister Meng Jianzhu, who is overseeing security work in Xinjiang, said on Friday the situation in Urumqi City had come under control.

(Xinhua News Agency September 6, 2009)