URUMQI, Xinjiang, China — Following a 26-hour transit that started early morning May 7 on campus, the BYU-Hawaii Concert Choir group arrived in the wee hours of a very cold, rainy May 9 in this far-western China city to begin a three-week tour that will include performances here, in Xi'an, Beijing, Tianjin and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
In Beijing, for example, the 62-voice choir under the direction of BYU-Hawaii music professor Michael Belnap, will perform at the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City Concert Hall.
Urumqi, the main city in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region [note, Uyghur has a variety of English spellings] that was once renowned as a key hub on the famous "silk road," is unusual in that the Uyghurs — an ethnic minority related to the Turkic-speaking people of nearby Turkistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan — comprise just under 50% of the population.
Everywhere in this city of approximately two million people the architecture, mosques, distinctive headwear, food and store-front signs in Arabic reflect the thousand-year-old Islamic heritage of this region. The signs are also written in Chinese, of course, and in some cases even in Russian due to proximity and historical ties.
Choir members and the accompanying dignitaries soon gained insights into the friendly and outgoing Uyghurs following a dinner presentation at the Grand Bazaar and two cultural exchanges on May 10, one with Urumqi High School and another with English-speaking students at Xinjiang University.
The International Grand Bazaar is a modern shopping complex done in Islamic motif [with BYUH students there in the photo at upper left] and surrounded by hundreds of shops and Middle eastern-like souks selling furs, jewelry, leather and silk goods and, of course, oriental carpets. Many of the men on the streets wear the traditional Uyghur doppa or four-cornered hat, while some of the women wear head coverings and a few even wear the traditional chador or complete body covering and facial veil. "In fact, the whole place seems more Middle Eastern than Chinese to me," said one tour member.
Following a delicious Uyghur and Chinese buffet dinner, a talented cast performed the lively songs and dances of the region. In fact, when the cast invited many of the BYU-Hawaii contingency onstage after the finale, they were surprised at the Seasiders' own impressive hula and other dance skills.
For example, Angela Naluai, a junior elementary education major from Waimanalo, Oahu, who also dances in the Polynesian Cultural Center's luau show, said she "could see some very familiar moves. I love their dances and songs. It's very familiar to me. A lot of the hip and hand movements are almost the same as my own dances at home." President Shumway and others from BYU-Hawaii also joined the dancing.
But the bigger, more pleasant surprise came the morning of May 10 when the BYU-Hawaii group did a cultural exchange with Urumqi High School students. City and school officials greeted the Hawaii visitors, and their students — dressed in uniforms and traditional Uyghur costumes —lined the path to the auditorium.
The BYU-Hawaii choir quickly won the hearts of the students with aloha spirit, and it was obvious each group quickly felt a mutual respect for the others' performances. For example, the high school students loved the Maori karanga or greeting song, the actions of the Samoan Minoi Minoi, and numbers sang in Mandarin Chinese and Uyghur.
The BYUH group, in turn, loved the students' Uyghur songs and dances, especially the one centered on presenting each group member an offering of traditional nang or sesame flat bread.
Afterward, everyone went out to the playground for an exchange of gifts, the BYU-Hawaii students presenting CD computer screen savers with campus scenes. "I could see the Chinese kids were happy to mingle with us," said Tevita Uhi, a sophomore information systems major from Nuku'alofa, Tonga. He noted that in addition to the nang bread, one of the students gave him an alarm clock and asked to be a pen pal. "That really touched my heart."
"I didn't want to leave," said another BYU-Hawaii student. "Those were really cool kids." The feeling was obvious as the students waved a newly learned shaka sign to the departing BYUH group.
At the Xinjiang University cultural exchange, the same rapid rapport developed. BYUH students quickly mingled with their predominantly Uyghur counterparts, sharing songs and dances, and talking story.
"This is the first time we've ever had so many foreigners in one room," said one of the hosting students. "What a great diversity of students," said the other hosting student, a Kazahk.
"Our cultural exchanges were very spontaneous. The quickness of the friendships redefined electrifying. The young people were literally 'holding hands across the word,' as one of the choir's songs says," said President Shumway. "It was a great beginning to our tour."
— Photo captions: (Top) At the Grand Bazaar; (middle): Urumqi High School students; (bottom) onstage with the Uyghur performers.
