Aid from across China aims for sustainable improvements in Xinjiang

As in many parts of rural China, women in Shule County of remote Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region stay behind as their menfolk migrate to cities for low-paid laboring work.

Without proper education or training, ethnic Uygur girls who venture out of rural Xinjiang to larger cities outside the region often find themselves lost with few suitable, decent jobs.

But a range of new initiatives is aiming to provide more opportunities at home.

Nurbiya Tohu, 16, was among 1,800 who enrolled in vocational training classes to be launched in this month.

She chose a tailoring course from 20 subjects that include clothing design, catering, ethnic knitting, and rug weaving.

"After graduation, I want to open a tailor's store," says Nurbiya Tohu. "I want to be a good tailor, so I won't be a burden to the family."

She says the vocational school is good news for teenage girls like her who in the past could only learn by experience at small, private stores.

The training scheme, costing an estimated 30 million yuan, was co-financed by Shule's treasury and that of the eastern coastal city of Dongying, Shandong Province with the latter covering most of the expense.

In late March, China's central government mobilized a new round of support packages from 19 provincial or municipal governments across the country to help develop Xinjiang's economy.

As of the end of May, 71 assistance programs had been drawn up with a committed investment of 2.2 billion yuan, including 1.4 billion from outside Xinjiang.

Analysts say the new round of support focuses more on livelihood programs such as job training, medical care, and education that could make Xinjiang attractive to local talent and outside investors.

Previously, they said, assistance tended to flood the region with money and educated people, but contributed relatively little to the long-term sustainable development of the region.

To Shule, a state-listed impoverished county with a large population but little land, job creation is a paramount concern.

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