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Signs of normal life in heavily guarded Urumqi

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-09-06 20:57

Signs of normal life in Urumqi amid heavy security presence

URUMQI: A fleet of six flower-decorated wedding cars passed a downtown street in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Sunday, where police have eased traffic restrictions imposed in wake of public protests.

Such a scene was impossible in the past several days when protesters took to the street after hundreds of residents reported that they were stabbed by syringes needles. Five people were killed and at least 14 people hospitalized over injuries in the protests.

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Ba Bayisilong, a Uygur student in Xinjiang Education Institute, came back to school on Sunday, after a two-month summer vacation.

"I come from my home in southern part of Xinjiang. All students in my class have returned," said the student who majors in computer sciences.

China Mobile, China's largest telecom carrier, opened a sales booth on the school campus. A large crowd of students, including both Han and Uygur students, patronized the stall to buy phone cards.

Vehicles and streams of people were also back in the streets in the city's downtown area. The difference was that people were shopping, instead of protesting. Tianshan Shopping Mall and Carrefour Supermarket at downtown streets were thronged, while public security staff asked customers to open their bags for security checking.

Affected by the public uneasiness, small businesses in Urumqi were still in doldrums. A shoe shop owner said although there were some customers, the shop's revenue fell to 1,000 yuan a day from over 7,000 yuan before the riot.

A jade store at Jiefang Road put on a "sacrifice-sale" notice on its front door.

A one-meter long jade dragon boat laid at the doorway was priced at 400 yuan, down from its full price of 5,800 yuan.

"The business has been slack since July, when the monthly sales was only 600 yuan. I plan to clear the stock and leave Xinjiang," said the shop owner, a native from east China's Jiangsu Province.

However, not all businesses were slack. Zhang Jian, a sales staff in Giant Bicycle Shop on Xinmin Road, said the store's business has never been so good.

"We sold more than a dozen bikes a day recently, compared to three to four before the unrest," he said.

He assumed that the recent traffic control caused inconvenience to car drivers, and many opted for bicycles in commuting.

Security presence in the city remained heavy on Sunday. Hundreds of Armed Police were seen in the People Square at the city center. Police were still blocking Xinmin Road, which links to a viaduct leading to the southern part of the city, an area densely populated by Uygur people.

Military vehicles and patrolling police cars used loud-speaker to blare the currently-imposed security measures taken for the public safety.

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