Walking a Friendship Across Generations: Reflections from Xinjiang -

By: Syeda Zainab Gilani

Late vice premier and foreign minister Chen Yi (fourth from left) takes a group photo with visiting Pakistan Press Delegation at the State Guest House on Oct 3, 1966. From left, the second is M. Humayun from Decca of East Pakistan in today’s Bangladesh, third is S. M. Hassan Gilani, fifth is K. G. Mustafa of Pakistan Observer, and next is Ahmad Ali Khan of Dawn group. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

A vibrant display of naan at the Grand Bazaar, showcasing the rich artistry and cultural heritage of the region

Celebrating 41 years of friendship and strong Peshawar–China relations at a formal banquet with a distinguished delegation.

With Madam Zumrat Obul, Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region People’s Congress

Author with children at Guyuanxiang Community Classroom, Urumqi, Xinjiang.

Author with a Foreign Office representative at the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, Urumqi.

Visiting the gallery of Chinese history at the office of the Standing Committee, Madam Zumrat Obul, observing the cultural and historical displays.

Marking 70 years (1955–2025) of development and progress of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, reflecting decades of transformation and growth.

A glimpse of tradition in Kashgar Old City, where a local artisan continues the heritage of handmade clay pottery in the bustling bazaar.

Young students showcasing traditional Chinese acrobatics, reflecting discipline, culture, and artistic excellence.

vibrant display of traditional Chinese folk dance in a rural Kashgar Prefecture village, celebrating cultural heritage and community spirit.

A symbolic statue reflecting the cultural and historical legacy of the region, standing as a reminder of its enduring heritage.

A vibrant display of traditional musical instrument at the Grand Bazaar, showcasing the rich artistry and cultural heritage of the region.

Exploring the historic Kashgar Bazaar, a vibrant marketplace where culture, trade, and tradition come together in the heart of ancient Kashgar.

Some journeys do not begin with the traveller. They begin decades earlier, carried quietly across generations until someone finally walks them into the present.

This trip to Xinjiang, as part of a delegation of the Pakistan-China Friendship Association, was, in a sense, also a continuation of my late father, Syed Ali Nawaz Gilani’s legacy, who served for years as General Secretary of the Pakistan-China Friendship Association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chapter. It was far more than I had anticipated. I initially viewed it as a cultural and diplomatic visit. Yet very quickly, it became clear that I was participating in a story much larger than myself, one that had begun nearly seven decades before I was born.

My family’s connection with China spans more than seven decades. In 1966, my grandfather, S. M. Hassan Gilani, travelled as part of a Pakistani press delegation to China and met senior Chinese leadership, including Vice-Premier and Foreign Minister Chen Yi. That photograph, preserved in our family, is not merely an image; it is a marker of an early chapter in Pakistan-China relations, when the foundations of trust were still being quietly built.

Years later, my late father carried that story forward. As General Secretary of the Pakistan-China Friendship Association in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he devoted much of his life to strengthening people-to-people ties, believing that enduring relationships between nations are not built only in diplomatic halls, but in human encounters, cultural exchanges, and shared understanding. This year, as I travelled to Xinjiang, I realised I was not simply a participant in a delegation. I was, in a sense, the continuation of that same journey.

Our delegation, led by Speaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Babar Saleem Swati and senior representatives of the Friendship Association, arrived in Urumqi with a programme of institutional visits, cultural exchanges, and official engagements.

Yet even amid the formal structure of the visit, what stood out most was not protocol; it was connection. One of the earliest visits was to Guyuanxiang Community, a vibrant urban space designed around education, recreation, and community life. Children moved freely between learning and play areas, while families and elderly residents shared communal spaces that reflected a carefully structured model of social organization.

What stayed with me most was a classroom visit. Children welcomed us with remarkable confidence, performing songs including a Chinese version of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Despite language differences, communication felt effortless. Their warmth reflected something universal: the shared emotional language of childhood. Moments like these reinforced a simple truth: societies are ultimately shaped not only by infrastructure, but by how they nurture human potential.

Wandering through the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, I felt the first wave of something unexpected: familiarity. The colour, textures, and the easy warmth of vendors who receive every visitor as a guest carried an atmosphere that felt, in some quiet way, like home. In Peshawar, naan is not simply bread; it is identity, the first thing on the table and the last thing you miss when you are far from it. To find it in Xinjiang, prepared with equal devotion and shared with equal pride, felt like a silent recognition across distance. It was as though the city was quietly pointing to something deeper: that the forty-one-year sister-city relationship between Ürümqi and Peshawar was not only written in official records, but lived in everyday rituals, in shared habits, and in something as elemental as the way people choose to feed one another.

We were also introduced to several institutions reflecting governance, development planning, and systems of urban management. These visits offered insight into how long-term planning and administrative coordination are embedded into public service delivery. As a student of law and governance, I found these observations particularly thought-provoking. Different countries follow different institutional paths, yet there are lessons in structure, efficiency, and integration that invite reflection rather than replication.

It was also in Urumqi that I had the opportunity to meet Madam Zumrat Obul, Chairwoman of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region People’s Congress. She received us with exceptional warmth and openness, immediately creating a sense of ease that transcended formality.

When I shared the story of my grandfather’s visit in 1966 and my father’s decades-long involvement in Pakistan-China friendship initiatives, she listened with visible attention. There was a moment of genuine appreciation when she reflected on the continuity of this engagement across generations. Her response was not diplomatic formality; it was human recognition.

That brief exchange stayed with me. It reminded me that diplomacy often succeeds most deeply when it becomes personal. A defining moment of our stay in Urumqi came during the celebration marking the 41st anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Urumqi and Peshawar. For many, it was a formal occasion. For me, it was something more enduring: proof that relationships established decades ago continue to live, evolve, and find new meaning. We were warmly received by Yakup Paydulla, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Urumqi Committee and Mayor of Urumqi, and Mirgul Tursun, Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Urumqi Municipal People’s Congress, along with other senior officials. The evening reflected continuity rather than ceremony. Speeches were exchanged, gestures of goodwill were extended, and long-standing ties were quietly reaffirmed. Yet what remained most striking was the sincerity of welcome extended to us. Hospitality, after all, requires no translation.

Our journey to Kashgar added another layer of meaning to the visit. Few places carry history as vividly as Kashgar. Its streets, architecture, and markets reflect centuries of cultural exchange along the Silk Road. Yet what struck me most was not its past but its continuity. Shortly after arrival, I discovered that our hotel was the same one where my father had stayed during his earlier visits. It was a small coincidence, but it shifted everything. The visit was no longer simply official. It became personal. I was no longer hearing stories of his journey; I was standing within them. It was also in Kashgar that a foreign office official mentioned, almost in passing, that such sister-city relationships, particularly between Kashgar and Abbottabad, were shaped in part through long-standing efforts of individuals like my father who invested years in nurturing these ties. It was a quiet remark, but one that stayed with me long after it was spoken. In that moment, the distance between generations seemed to disappear.

Kashgar Ancient City offered perhaps the most vivid experience of the entire journey. Its narrow streets, artisan workshops, music, and daily rhythms created an atmosphere where history was not preserved behind glass; it was lived. Craftspeople continued traditions passed down through generations, while everyday life unfolded seamlessly within centuries-old architecture. As I walked through its lanes, I thought again of my grandfather’s early engagement with China, my father’s lifelong dedication, and my own position within this continuity. The same thread connected us all.

By the end of the trip, I realized I would not remember Xinjiang only through official visits or structured programmes. I would remember the children singing in a classroom. The openness of conversations shared with local hosts.The unexpected familiarity of naan in distant markets.The warmth of officials who treated us not as formal delegates, but as people with shared histories. And above all, I would remember the quiet recognition that I was not witnessing a completed story but stepping into one still unfolding. Pakistan-China relations are often described in terms of diplomacy, trade, and strategic cooperation. These dimensions are real and important. But after visiting Xinjiang, I am more convinced than ever that their true strength lies elsewhere. It lies in human continuity. It lies in cultural familiarity. And it lies in stories that move forward not in decades, but in generations. For my family, this journey began more than seventy years ago. In Xinjiang, I had the privilege of walking a small part of it forward. Cities that choose each other, year after year, across every shift in fortune and politics, because somewhere beneath the diplomacy there is something that simply recognises itself in the other.

And then there was the naan, everywhere, always, reminding me that the most enduring connections between peoples are often baked into the everyday, long before anyone thinks to write them down.

Author Syeda Zainab Gillani is a member of the Pakistan-China Friendship Association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chapter, representing the legacy of her late father, Syed Ali Nawaz Gilani, former General Secretary of the Association. She holds an LLB from the University of London and an LLM in Oil, Gas and Renewable Energy Law from Scotland, United Kingdom. She is also a former UN Women UK delegate to CSW68.

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