SUN Junbin:Harmony Southern Xinjiang

《Harmony Southern Xinjiang》

SUN Junbin

“Harmony Southern Xinjiang” is inspired bythe Russian novel Quietly Flows the Don. Southern Xinjiang is the mostconcentrated area where the Uyghurs live. It was the most active place for theancient Silk Road. Here, the Islamic tradition has continued for millennia. Nowthe place looks harmonious, but rivalry simmers below the surface.

I started this project when I first startedpaying close attention to the “Eliminate the Extreme Religion” action inSouthern Xinjiang. The situation of anti-terrorism in Xinjiang province beganin earnest starting from July 5th, 2009. In January 2012, The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomousregion first proposed the “Eliminate the Extreme Religion” action in HetianRegion, which meant that anti-terrorist action would no longer affect just thephysical world but would go deeper into the realm of thought and spirit.I triedto document this period of history, and to tell a serious story from a humaneperspective.

This project is divided in three parts,documenting the “Eliminate the Extreme Religion” action, the Uyghur 's dailylife, and landscapes and culture in Southern Xinjiang, in order to show thegreat efforts and contribution that the Uyghur people have made for a peacefullife. I hope this project will help to promote more communication andreconciliation between different ethnic groups.

SUN Junbin was born in 1986, Chaozhou, Guangdongprovince. Since graduating from the photography department of South ChinaNormal University, he once worked as a team member of the in-depth reportproject for the Daily Visual Center of Southern Metropolis, and was thedirector of News photo in Wujie media in Beijing. Now he is a senior reporterof the investigation team in Jiemian media. He has been learning to tell stories using a combination of writing,photography, and video.