With the aim to promote China-Iran exchange and cooperation, a Chinese cultural festival opened at Niavaran Cultural Center in the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday. The one-week event, titled "2016 Experience China in Iran," features northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region through a photo exhibition and other cultural activities.

Aimed at enhancing China’s cultural exchanges with foreign countries, an international dance fest will kick off in July in the autonomous region of Xinjiang. According to the region's government, the fourth edition of the festival will showcase talents from Xinjiang, other Chinese provinces and other participating countries.

China's domestic security chief has blamed a Muslim Uighur separatist group for planning a "violent terrorist incident" this week on Beijing's Tiananmen Square that killed five people and injured dozens of others. Meng Jianzhu, a member of the 25-member Politburo with responsibility for domestic security, said Friday that the incident had been organized by the East Turkestan Islamic Movement. The group is based in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

In the winter of 2009, I was spending my weekends in the northeast Chinese city of Tangshan, and eating most of my food from the far-western province of Xinjiang. Like many minorities, the Uighur, the native people of Xinjiang, have made their chief impact on mainstream culture through cuisine. I have always favored their ubiquitous restaurants when traveling.