From Xinjiang to Ningxia: Bakery thrives

Abdureim Aisha runs three flatbread bakeries in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. [Photo by Wang Xiao and Xue Rui/For chinadaily.com.cn]

Thirteen years ago, Abdureim Aisha left his hometown in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to work in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

He tried to start his own business but faced language and financial difficulties. He could only peddle homemade naan bread — Xinjiang flatbread — in a street market.

"It was not as easy as what I thought," he recalled.

But then Aisha had a life-changing experience. In 2010, the street market became part of a government-supported renewal project in the city's Yinpiyuan community.