"...during this period in Xinjiang’s history when minorities were actually the majority, it comes as a surprise that there is only one minority character depicted in the entire novel and even she is not a pure minority. Ahjitai, a mix of Uyghur and Han, is a teacher whose beauty, not ethnicity, lands her an important role in the story. Any mention of the Muslim faith, a very important aspect of Urumqi’s architecture as well as everyday life in Xinjiang, is omitted as if it didn’t even exist. Wang Gang, when asked why he chose to ignore the ethnic flavor of Xinjiang, said that he had no need to mention it. ‘I’m not a Muslim and the lifestyle referred to in the book didn’t have much to do with Muslims.’

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