Kazakh Blue in Kazanqi

[Kazanqi Folk Tourism Area] is located in the old town of Yining City, where more than 10 ethnic groups, including Uyghur, Kazakh, Tatar, Hui, and Han, live. It is home to cultural and architectural resources such as the Shaanxi Grand Mosque, a national cultural relic protection unit, more than 300 ancient buildings from different periods since the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, more than 20,000 courtyards with the characteristics of ethnic minorities in Ili, and traditional residential buildings with a history of hundreds of years. It is known as a natural "residential museum." We visited the home of Mayila and Aini, where colorful flowers bloomed in the corners, and the afternoon sun shone through the vines into the courtyard. The house, with Ili blue as the main color, presented colorful light and shadow under the sunlight. The warm and gentle light shone on the faces of Mayila and Aini, who smiled, and the side backlight enveloped them in a faint golden light, which was the light of life, happy and comfortable. Mayila spoke Mandarin very well. She told me that she initially managed the home visit point by herself, while Aini worked outside. As the business got better and better, she couldn't handle it alone, so Aini quit his job and returned home, and the couple ran the business together. When I asked about their income, Mayila showed a satisfied smile and said that the minimum monthly income was 3,000, and the maximum could reach 10,000. The tourist season in Yining is from May to November. With the booming tourism industry in Xinjiang, the income of the home visit point is getting better and better, and Mayila and Aini feel comfortable and satisfied with their current life. [Kazanqi Folk Tourism Area] has 85 such home visit points, and the scenic area is also equipped with college graduates as guides, and carriages shuttle between the home visit points. The home of Mayila and Aini is actually a microcosm of the simple and kind-hearted people of Ili, just like the "Ili Blue" of Kazanqi, real, vivid, happy, and rich.