Chinese tourists pose with an ethnic Uyghur performer after a show for tourists on June 28, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. Kashgar has long been considered the cultural heart of Xinjiang for the province's nearly 10 million Muslim Uyghurs. At an historic crossroads linking China to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, the city has changed under Chinese rule with government development, unofficial Han Chinese settlement to the western province, and restrictions imposed by the Communist Party. Beijing says it regards Kashgar's development as an improvement to the local economy, but many Uyghurs consider it a threat that is eroding their language, traditions, and cultural identity. The friction has fuelled a separatist movement that has sometimes turned violent, triggering a crackdown on what China's government considers “terrorist acts” by religious extremists. Tension has increased with stepped up security in the city and the enforcement of measures including restrictions at mosques. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





Ethnic Uyghur tourists guides wait to perform in a show for Chinese tourists on June 29, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





Ethnic Uyghurs ride by a newly finished section of the old city walls on June 30, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





Under a poster showing Chinese leaders including the late Mao Zedong and the present President Xi Jinping, ethnic Uyghur men make bread at a local bakery on July 1, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





Ethnic Uyghur men who were organized by local party officials, dance after prayers marking Eid Al Fitr outside Id Kah Mosque on June 26, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





Ethnic Uyghurs joke with a customer at their fruit stall on June 28, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





Ethnic Uyghurs take in a new laser and water show as part of local government tourism development on June 30, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





Ethnic Uyghur children joke as they taunt a local police officer on June 29, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





Ethnic Uyghur girls wear traditional clothing as they stand outside a butcher shop on June 29, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





An ethnic Uyghur woman pushes her children on a tricycle on June 28, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





Ethnic Uyghur men talk as they meet at a teahouse on July 1, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)





Ethnic Uyghur girls dance on the holiday of Eid Al Fitr on June 26, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)