Women in NW China's Xinjiang stitch brighter future at local workshop

Workers produce garments at the production workshop of Gulekuli Farmers' Professional Cooperative in Baicheng county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Li Long)

At a workshop in Yatu'er township, Baicheng county, Aksu prefecture, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local women are turning sewing skills into a source of stable income.

"I am very glad I could find a job near home," said Rehanguli Yiming as she operated a sewing machine at the workshop, which is run by the Gulekuli Farmers' Professional Cooperative.

Around her, dozens of local women were busy cutting fabric, sewing garments and ironing finished products.

During peak periods, the workshop can produce up to 400 sets of workwear a day.

A worker irons fabric at the production workshop of Gulekuli Farmers' Professional Cooperative in Baicheng county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Li Long)

Founded in 2018, the cooperative has grown from a 150-square-meter workshop into an enterprise with an annual output value of 5 million yuan ($700,000), thanks to assistance from Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province.

The cooperative's deep roots in the local community and its potential to create jobs for rural women drew the attention of the command center of Wenzhou's assistance program for Xinjiang, according to Xia Ting, deputy head of the program's industrial support team.

The cooperative mainly produces garments, bedding products and embroidery items, Xia said.

In 2024, the assistance program invested 2.5 million yuan to build an 800-square-meter standardized factory and purchase nearly 100 advanced machines for the cooperative.

The upgraded facility includes dedicated areas for garment production, product displays, training and storage, significantly boosting its capacity.

The program also organized training and exchange trips to Wenzhou for key employees, helping them learn new design concepts and improve their production skills.

Dubbed the "women's happiness workshop" by local women, the facility has become a place where rural women find jobs, gain a sense of self-worth and increase their incomes.

Workers fulfill garment orders at the production workshop of Gulekuli Farmers' Professional Cooperative in Baicheng county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (People's Daily Online/Li Long)

More than 80 women currently work at the cooperative, earning an average monthly salary of 2,000 yuan to 3,000 yuan, with top earners making up to 5,000 yuan, according to Ayijiamali Aishan, manager of the cooperative.

Beyond employment, the cooperative has also worked to promote intangible cultural heritage.

Drawing on the heritage of Qiuci, an ancient kingdom centered in what is now Kuqa city, Aksu prefecture, the cooperative has developed distinctive products that blend traditional patterns with modern design. The products are sold across China.

A new 3,800-square-meter factory completed this year is expected to create more than 100 additional jobs.

In 2026, an additional 3 million yuan in aid funding for the cooperative will go toward advanced equipment, including AI-powered automatic sewing machines, as it prepares to expand into high-end garment production at a new facility in Wenzhou.