As the 2024 Kashgar Fruit and Food Festival continues in full swing, Shanghai has hosted the 7th trade fair for specialty products from regions under paired assistance from the city. With the refreshing breeze of Kashgar’s fruits and delicacies, the event opened at the Shanghai Exhibition Center, offering visitors a fresh and exciting experience. In addition to the abundant local agricultural products, Kashgar has introduced a variety of cultural and creative industries, as well as high value-added projects, immersing visitors in a cultural feast that blends the unique charm of Western China with a modern flair.

Thanks to Shanghai’s aid program for Xinjiang, the fair not only showcases Kashgar’s diverse industrial achievements but also celebrates new successes in consumption-driven poverty alleviation. The event features 36 specialty enterprises from Shache, Zepu, Yecheng, and Bachu counties, offering over 500 unique products across 10 categories. These diverse offerings reflect the region’s industrial strengths and rich cultural heritage, providing visitors with a wide range of choices.

Cultural fusion: Kashgar’s charm shines in Shanghai

This year’s trade fair innovatively showcases the integration of culture and tourism from Kashgar. One highlight is the IP image and a series of creative cultural products developed with support from the School of Design at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, inspired by the Twelve Muqams, a traditional Uyghur musical form. This highlights the modern appeal of traditional culture. “I had no idea Xinjiang offered more than just kebabs and black grapes! Turning Kashgar’s traditional culture into modern, artistic cultural products is truly impressive!” exclaimed an excited Gen Z visitor.

The fair also showcased copperware and wood carvings crafted by inheritors of intangible cultural heritage, highlighting the region’s rich artisanal traditions. Xinjiang Jinyishang Garment Co., Ltd. presented innovative ethnic clothing products at the fair. Using the “company + family workshop + farmer” model, the company has created a wealth of job opportunities by fully leveraging the embroidery skills of ethnic minorities. With the support of Shanghai Aid to Xinjiang Front Command and the Shache Branch, these cultural products made a successful debut at the trade fair, enriching cultural tourism offerings and generating new growth for the local economy.

Innovation-driven: Kashgar’s industries poised for growth

People often view Shache almonds merely as a tasty snack, but this “king of nuts” has much more to offer. Almonds are not only rich in protein, unsaturated fatty acids, and plant fiber, but their leaves contain plant-based compounds that naturally enhance skin absorption. Almond blossom extract serves as a premium natural fragrance ingredient, while almond shell extract can be used as a flavor enhancer for high-end liquors. At this trade fair, Xinjiang Fusha Biotechnology Co., Ltd., in collaboration with Oriental Beauty Valley and East China University of Science and Technology, launched a new beauty brand centered around almonds. The introduction of high-end cosmetics featuring almond ingredients, including toners, lotions, essential oils, and face masks, has revitalized traditional industries, showcasing the perfect blend of modern technology and local specialties. In addition, the “Kashgar Premium Cotton” brand has gained momentum through partnerships with designers from Shanghai Fashion Week and the renowned clothing brand Three Gun, enhancing the quality and market competitiveness of Kashgar cotton. Notably, with the support of Shanghai Aid to Xinjiang Front Command, Shanghai Zhenzuan Jewelry Co., Ltd. has established China's largest single-site CVD diamond factory in Shache County. This factory not only produces high-quality jewelry but also ventures into high value-added areas such as precision cutting and thermal management materials. By creating “satellite factories”, this project is expected to create over 5,000 jobs in the region. Moreover, Chuanyue Group’s smart cotton project is pioneering innovation in cotton production. By integrating big data, artificial intelligence, and bio-breeding technologies, this project has enabled the intelligent management of cotton growth, ushering in a new era of smart cotton production. These innovations reflect the success of Shanghai’s consumption-driven aid initiatives in Xinjiang, offering new opportunities for local economic growth.

Over the past year, Shanghai’s aid efforts in Xinjiang have targeted key sectors such as cultural tourism, modern agriculture, and the cotton textile industry in Kashgar, while also supporting the development of labor-intensive, capital-intensive, and technology-intensive industries. This trade fair not only showcases Kashgar’s unique agricultural products but also highlights the successful integration of the industrial strengths and resources of Shanghai and Kashgar.

At the fair, Meng Qingyuan, Commander-in-Chief of Shanghai’s aid program for Xinjiang, stated in an interview, “In the past year, our aid efforts have consistently focused on boosting productivity and driving industrial upgrading in Kashgar. We’ve advanced four key cooperation models: ‘Shanghai-based enterprises + Xinjiang resources’, ‘R&D in Shanghai + manufacturing in Xinjiang’, ‘Shanghai market + Xinjiang products’, and ‘headquarters in Shanghai + bases in Xinjiang’. In terms of the industrial chain in particular, we’ve applied the ‘smiling curve’ theory, focusing on two ends—R&D/design and brand marketing. This strategy aims to increase the added value of products, thereby boosting incomes for local communities and ethnic minority groups.”

Brand empowerment: Revitalizing Kashgar’s products

The creation of the Yecheng Walnut Rice Cake brand exemplifies innovation in local specialty industries. Known as the “Capital of Walnut” in China, Yecheng faced significant challenges due to product homogeneity in the walnut market. With guidance from Shanghai Consumption Support Alliance, Yecheng has successfully developed the Qiaoling Yecheng Walnut Rice Cake by combining its rich walnut resources with the rice cake-making expertise of Shanghai’s Jiading District, an intangible cultural heritage item. This innovation has not only opened new markets for Yecheng’s walnut products but also provided a fresh perspective on deep processing and branding of specialty agricultural products in Kashgar. In the brand-building process, Yecheng has established a comprehensive set of standards, covering product specifications, packaging, storage, logistics, sales channels, and pricing. Various measures have also been taken to upgrade the brand, including innovative naming, the creation of a culturally resonant brand story, precise product positioning, and proactive marketing efforts.

Shanghai’s Xinjiang aid efforts have played a key role in upgrading agricultural brands in Kashgar’s four counties, demonstrating an approach that emphasizes adaptation to local conditions and innovative development. To promote the market-oriented development of specialty agricultural products, it’s essential to move beyond the limitations of “reverse-market” consumption-based aid and transition toward a “market-driven” development model. At present, the priority is to leverage Shanghai’s international market resources to enhance the market positioning and competitiveness of industries in Kashgar. A long-term, structured development plan is essential for steadily enhancing the region’s industrial capacity.

Building connections: Linking production in Xinjiang with sales in Shanghai