China promotes tourism in the Uyghur region (XUAR) while hiding human rights abuses and erasing Uyghur culture.
Published: Nov 8, 2025 – 11:40 AM EST
By: Alp Uyghur
Key Points:
- Uyghur region (XUAR) saw 300 million visitors in 2024, more than double 2018 figures.
- Most tourists are domestic; foreign access is tightly controlled.
- Human rights groups warn China promotes a sanitized version of Uyghur culture.
China’s Uyghur region (XUAR), home to the Uyghur population, received 300 million tourists in 2024, according to official figures. Human rights organizations say the tourism surge is part of a state campaign to whitewash ongoing repression, presenting Uyghur culture as a curated spectacle while concealing mass surveillance, cultural erasure, and human rights abuses.
Tourists report scenic landscapes, Silk Road towns, and staged cultural experiences, but interactions with Uyghurs are limited and tightly managed. Uyghur-American activist Irade Kashgary said the Chinese government “turns Uyghurs into tourist attractions” while denying exiled Uyghurs access to their homeland.
Tourism revenue has risen to 360 billion yuan ($51 billion), and Beijing targets 400 million visitors annually by 2030. Rights groups note the stark contrast between the Uyghur region’s marketed beauty and the reality of mass detentions, forced assimilation, and destruction of mosques and cultural sites.
Despite the influx of visitors, most are domestic, and foreign tourists are carefully monitored. Advocacy groups stress that the Uyghur narrative and lived reality remain largely invisible to outsiders.
This article is summarized based on a BBC report on the subject.
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