Hu Yongqi: My first trip to the 'wild west' of China

Best story: In July, I wrote about Ramadan, the month of fasting in the Islamic calendar, in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Xinjiang's 12 million Muslims observe the month with visits to the 24,000 mosques in the region. The report concentrated on how Muslims follow the rules laid down in the Quran. Although reports in the Western media spoke about how Xinjiang's Muslims were contained by rituals and prayers, my trip to Urumqi, the regional capital, and Kashgar, a major city in the south of the region, showed nothing of the sort. Local officials provided funds to repair mosques and enlarge facilities. Security was tight to prevent any potential attacks, but everything else ran smoothly. At night, people walked along the streets and there were no signs of trouble.

Best quote: "At other times of the year, all the workers go back to work after lunch. Ramadan means they don't eat during daytime. They take a rest for two or three hours in the afternoon, longer than usual, and then return to making hats."

Huseyin Sidik, the owner of a milliners in downtown Kashgar