Xinjiang villagers celebrate Spring Festival in new homes

In the living room of Huhxitarbek Ismail, laughter and joy fill the air as they celebrate the Spring Festival.

Their house was built just about six months ago. A year ago, on Jan 23, 2024, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck Wushi county in Aksu prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

In the aftermath, the local government stepped in with resettlement subsidies, rebuilding 209 houses on their original sites, relocating 41 families to new areas, and resettling 42 households in urban settings.

"After the earthquake, our home was uninhabitable. The government supported us in relocating to the resettlement site. On June 15, our new house was completed, and by July 1, we officially moved in and have lived here ever since," said Tursunay Turahun.

"We only paid 18,000 yuan ($2,461) ourselves, the government covered over 90,000 yuan ($12,304). We weren't burdened with much financial pressure," said Turahun.

Currently, the villagers are busy preparing for their village Spring Festival gala, which is their first village-level event after moving into the new village.