我们新疆好地方 | 维吾尔族姑娘吐尔逊古丽告诉你

千百年前，曾经的楼兰、尼雅、若羌和且末等古城在古代丝绸之路上闪闪发光，而这些神秘且耀眼的古国在历史的长河中都被人们口中的“死亡之海”-塔克拉玛干大沙漠一一吞噬。尽管难以有生命迹象残延在塔克拉玛干，然而在其南缘上却有一片绿洲——于田县就位于此。

于田县位于南疆四地州最为贫困的和田地区。在资源短缺和恶劣气候的条件下，这里鲜有人迹。几十年来，只有探险家和游客为了探寻克里雅河下游古城的神秘在这里留下匆忙的脚印。直到近年来, 一些企业因这里廉价的劳动力和政府税收优惠才开始青睐这片土地。部分服装纺织商，逐步将工厂从东部沿海地区转移到这里，这也为于田县的贫困人口创造了就业机会。

我们从和田市驱车前往于田县城，目睹了那里真实的情况。

Far into the western hinterland of China, the epic towns of Loulan, Niya, Charklik and Qiemo once shimmered on the ancient silk road. Over millennia, the legends of these crossroads were devoured by the rolling sand dunes in the Taklamakan – China's largest desert. Apart from city ruins, countless small settlements disappeared in the ever-moving sands in the "sea of death."

Much of the land is lifeless. But there are exceptions – Yutian is one of them. A county nestled in the oasis on the southern rim of the Taklamakan, is one of the remotest and poorest places in China.

The poverty in the county, under the administration of Hotan – the least developed prefecture in southern Xinjiang – has been exacerbated by a grievous lack of resources and frequent dust storms.

For decades, only tourists left their footprints in the county, seeking mystery from the Keriya River, looking for the former home of Uncle Kurban, who had wanted to ride a donkey thousands of kilometers to meet Chairman Mao 50 years ago. It's only in recent years that businesses started favoring this land for its cheap labor and tax incentives. Labor-intensive industries, in particular textile manufacturers, from eastern coastal areas relocated their factories to this bleak town.

“我们的就业机会增加了，可以靠自己的收入撑起一半家”

在沙丘中行车将近四个小时，我们到达了县城中心的一个服装工业园。目前有三家工厂已经进驻园内，已创造了3200多个工作岗位。仅一家来自浙江的手套工厂就为当地人带来了约1200个就业机会。27岁的吐尔逊古丽就在这儿工作。进入工厂工作前，她是一位农民。

After rattling almost four hours along the endless sand dunes, we arrived at a garment industrial park in the middle of the town. The park houses three plants that have so far created over 3,200 jobs.

The glove factory of a Zhejiang textile company alone brought about 1,200 jobs for locals, including Tursungul – a 27-year-old woman who was a farmer before the industrial park was built in August 2016.

“我初中毕业，之前一直在农地里做农活。那时候全家的收入来源只能依靠我丈夫。”吐尔逊古丽告诉我们。进入工厂工作的第一个月，吐尔逊古丽拿到工资800元，随着熟练程度的提高，她的工资也提高到每个月1600-1800元。这比她在田地里种植水果和蔬菜获得的收益要高出不少。现在她的家庭年收入可达三万元，足够抚养她的两个孩子。“现在和我丈夫挣的几乎相差无几了，” 吐尔逊古丽说到这儿的时候嘴角不禁微微上扬。

"I only have a middle school diploma and used to be a farmer, working the field. Back then, my whole family had to rely solely on my husband's income," Tursungul told us. In the first month after she started the factory job, she took home 800 yuan. Now an experienced worker, she earns 1,600-1,800 yuan every month. That's several times higher than what she got from growing fruits and vegetables on the dry, barren land. Other places in the region are known for growing high-quality fruit, but poor soil quality and sandstorms have made agriculture here next to impossible.

“工厂里给我们带来的不仅是收入，我们学会了化妆，学会了如何变美”

吐尔逊古丽讲道：“我的同事们大多来自维吾尔族的贫困家庭，我们之前在地里做农活的时候对化妆一无所知，但来了这里之后，我们开始学会打扮，学习如何变美。”在吐尔逊古丽看来，工厂工作不仅充实了他们的收入，也让他们追求起了更完美的生活。

Most of the factory’s other workers are Uygur women who had stayed home and worked the infertile field in the past. "Everyone working here used to live below the poverty line. Now our annual household income can reach 30,000 yuan," said Tursungul, a mother of two kids.

The factory job offers more than a financial cushion. "When we were farmers, we knew nothing about wearing make-up. After working here, we began learning how to dress up."

吐尔逊古丽和她的两个孩子。/吐尔逊古丽供图

 “孩子们上大学不再是一个梦”

趁工作午休的时候吐尔逊古丽带我们去了她的家。她三岁的女儿塞北热在我们面前显得有些害羞，但在我们采访她的祖母沙拉麦提汗（吐尔逊古丽的婆婆）时，小家伙就和我们打成了一片。

78岁的祖母告诉我们，她有三个外孙已经长大成人，一个在乌鲁木齐读大学，另外两个在自治区以外的地区读书 。“我年轻的时候从未想过可以上大学。” 说到这里祖母表现得颇为孩子们骄傲。

Living nearby, Tursungul took us to her home during the noon break. The house is quite humble and even dilapidated according to modern standards.

Her three-year-old daughter Sabira was shy around strangers but got acquainted with us pretty soon. She kept circling around us when we interviewed her grandmother Salamethan – Tursungul's mother-in-law.

"Two of my grandchildren are attending universities outside of Xinjiang and one in Urumqi. I’m proud of them," Salamathan, now in her late 70s, told us, adding that going to college is something that she never imagined when she was younger.

“民生条件得到了改善，我们每天的饮用水不再浑浊”

在祖母眼中，教育质量的提高使得孩子们受益，而生活质量的提高却惠及每一个人。 “上世纪五六十年代的时候，我们喝的是混着杂草和昆虫的湖水。如今已经可以喝到干净的水了,” 祖母说。

院子里饲养了鸡和羊，吐尔逊古丽告诉我们家畜可以给他们带来额外的收入。

Local education is improving along with livelihood. "Back in the 1950s and 1960s, we drank from the lake mingled with weeds and insects. Now we can drink from the tap," Salamathan said. The tap water that comes from newly-built water plants have improved local sanitation.

新疆维吾尔自治区和田县2008年5月，一个女孩在帮助妈妈采摘玫瑰花瓣。 /VCG 图片

当地政府提出了一项计划：将种植蔬菜的土地改种玫瑰花。玫瑰花瓣加工包装成面膜、精油、玫瑰花酱等其他副产品，这样会使农村家庭的收入比种植蔬菜的时候翻上一番。和田地区的玫瑰花加工业已发展成一套相对成熟的产业链了。

生机寥寥的沙漠中，沿途时常看到一种名叫“骆驼刺”的植物生长开放。生活在这片沙漠里的人们就像坚强的“骆驼刺”一样，用他们对生活的爱点缀着一望无尽的塔克拉玛干沙漠。

In the yard, they were raising roosters and sheep, which could bring them additional income. The land in the back that was used to plant common vegetables was switched over to growing roses, a local government plan that will bring a rural family an income doubling that of cultivating vegetables.

The local roses are then packaged for processing into facial masks, essential oils, rose petal jelly and a variety of other products. Hotan is already developing a relatively mature processing industry for such plants.

Though the region may seem devoid of life save for the scattering of small towns, we would see these plants, known as camelthorns in English, everywhere along the way. The people living in this desert were like the camelthorn's bursts of red and yellow, painting the unforgiving Taklamakan with their many colors throughout the centuries.

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