Aksu Culture

As a frontier city, Aksu has its own unique culture, which is totally different from that of other cities, such as Bejjing, Chengdu, Shanghai and so on. Visitors could get a better travel experience if they know more about Aksu’s culture. There is some detailed information.

Language

There are many kinds of language being spoken in Aksu, Xinjiang because there are many ethnic minorities who speak different language. A great majority of people speak Putonghua in Aksu Prefecture. This is because there are some Han Chinese speaking Putonghua and some of the ethnic minorities also can speak Putonghua. Besides, there are some people speak Uyghur because there are many Uyghurs in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous. What’s more, a few people speak Kazakh (哈萨克语), Uzbek (乌兹别克语) and so on.

Music

Muqam (木卡姆) represents the traditional music of Aksu, Xinjiang, and it is totally different from other kinds of music. It is one of the most significant and splendid cultures of Uygur. The most famous Uighur Muqam is called “Twelve Muqam” which contains twelve pieces of divertimento. Muqam is an Arabic word which has lots of explanations, such as position, rule, melody and so on. Besides, Uygur drama art and Muqam have something in common. They depend on each other, share a common fate, develop together and replenish each other.

Dance

It is said that every Uyghur can dance with music. The Xinjiang dance is a kind of folk dance and has its own characteristics. The most obvious feature is twisting the neck quickly. There are 3 kinds of dancing, namely Shama dance(萨玛舞), Daolang dance (刀郎舞) and Sainaimu dance (赛乃姆舞). Each kind of dance has its own features. For example, there is no regulated dancing. What you need do is just shaking your body with music.