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In China's West, Muslims Keep Their Own Time

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 31, 2009 2:24 PM CDT

(Newser) – There are two time zones in Kashgar, China, and they’re two hours apart. Which you follow depends not on geographic location, but on ethnic identity. The town’s dominant Muslim Uighur minority refuses to set its clocks by China’s single, standardized time, instead using the same wacky, sun-based system as the rest of the planet—a divide emblematic of Kashgar’s ethnic unease, the Los Angeles Times reports.

“It is as ridiculous as having Los Angeles following New York time,” says a US-based Uighur activist. But the town’s ethnically Chinese population steadfastly ticks to Beijing’s tock. “Not confusing at all!” says one local. “We use Beijing time in every aspect of our lives.”

An Uighur family rest in the shade near the train station in Kashgar, in western China's Xinjiang province, Aug. 6, 2008. (AP Photo)

A Chinese man walk past a clock tower in Sichuan province in this file photo. (AP Photo)

Two alarm clocks sporting Chairman Mao's portrait are on sale in a tourist area of Beijing. (Getty Images)

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China Executes 9 Over Uighur Riots

Executed were convicted of murder during Xinjiang province unrest

Chinese Court Sentences 6 to Death for Ethnic Riots

All the condemned appear to be Uighurs

9 Busted in China Syringe Attacks

Spate of random stabbings unsettle western Urumqi

China Sees Muslim Extremists in Xinjiang Unrest

But human rights groups doubt government story

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Tiananmen statue shows leadership has re-embraced him

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

China • time zones • Mao Zedong • ethnic tensions • Uighurs

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

China Executes 9 Over Uighur Riots

Executed were convicted of murder during Xinjiang province unrest

Chinese Court Sentences 6 to Death for Ethnic Riots

All the condemned appear to be Uighurs

9 Busted in China Syringe Attacks

Spate of random stabbings unsettle western Urumqi

China Sees Muslim Extremists in Xinjiang Unrest

But human rights groups doubt government story

Confucius Rises Again in China

Tiananmen statue shows leadership has re-embraced him

About Us

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Newser By Users

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What is Newser?