Signs of normal life in Urumqi amid heavy security presence

A fleet of six flower-decorated wedding cars passed a downtown street in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Sunday, where police have eased traffic restrictions imposed in wake of public protests.

Such a scene was impossible in the past several days when protesters took to the street after hundreds of residents reported that they were stabbed by syringes needles. Five people were killed and at least 14 people hospitalized over injuries in the protests.

Ba Bayisilong, a Uygur student in Xinjiang Education Institute, came back to school on Sunday, after a two-month summer vacation.

"I come from my home in southern part of Xinjiang. All students in my class have returned," said the student who majors in computer sciences.

China Mobile, China's largest telecom carrier, opened a sales booth on the school campus. A large crowd of students, including both Han and Uygur students, patronized the stall to buy phone cards.

Vehicles and streams of people were also back in the streets in the city's downtown area. The difference was that people were shopping, instead of protesting. Tianshan Shopping Mall and Carrefour Supermarket at downtown streets were thronged, while public security staff asked customers to open their bags for security checking.

Affected by the public uneasiness, small businesses in Urumqi were still in doldrums. A shoe shop owner said although there were some customers, the shop's revenue fell to 1,000 yuan a day from over 7,000 yuan before the riot.

A jade store at Jiefang Road put on a "sacrifice-sale" notice on its front door.

A one-meter long jade dragon boat laid at the doorway was priced at 400 yuan, down from its full price of 5,800 yuan.

"The business has been slack since July, when the monthly sales was only 600 yuan. I plan to clear the stock and leave Xinjiang," said the shop owner, a native from east China's Jiangsu Province.

However, not all businesses were slack. Zhang Jian, a sales staff in Giant Bicycle Shop on Xinmin Road, said the store's business has never been so good.

"We sold more than a dozen bikes a day recently, compared to three to four before the unrest," he said.

He assumed that the recent traffic control caused inconvenience to car drivers, and many opted for bicycles in commuting.

Security presence in the city remained heavy on Sunday. Hundreds of Armed Police were seen in the People Square at the city center. Police were still blocking Xinmin Road, which links to a viaduct leading to the southern part of the city, an area densely populated by Uygur people.

Military vehicles and patrolling police cars used loud-speaker to blare the currently-imposed security measures taken for the public safety.

Xinjiang regional governor Nur Bekri said Sunday that the regional government would send thousands of officials to communities in Urumqi to help solve grassroot disputes and maintain social order.

Qian Jun, director of Disease Control and Biological Security Office with China's Academy of Military Medical Sciences, said Sunday that among 531 victims of hypodermic syringe stabbings reported by local hospitals, 171 showed obvious signs of needle attacks.

Qian said he, along with other five medical experts from the military, had examined medical records of more than 200 victims since Friday.

Newly-inaugurated secretary of the Urumqi Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Zhu Hailun, said Saturday his top priority was to restore public security.

"I will lead cadres and residents of all ethnic groups in the city to conquer all difficulties, and mobilize all social forces to maintain stability," he said.

He told civil servants to go door to door to help solve grass-root disputes and allay public uneasiness.

Zhu's predecessors Li Zhi was removed from his post, along with the police chief Liu Yaohua of the regional government on Saturday.

The replacements came after the July 5 riot in Urumqi which left 197 people dead and following syringe attacks in the city that caused panic among the public.