A Sheep for the Guests in the Mountains of Yining County, Xinjiang
When special guests are expected, the Uighurs, Kazaks, Tartars, Uzbeks and Tajiks, who inhabit Xinjiang, China's most western Province, will butcher a sheep to honor the visitors. In fact, on this day, 2 sheep gave up their lifes in our honor. Though I have witnessed the butchering of our house-pigs during my childhood in Germany, it was a difficult thing to watch their martyrdom, and I had a very guilty feeling for days to come. More photos of the process are attached below, though they may not be for the squeamish.
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. A... ... read more 
