A delegation of 17 media representatives from 14 countries visits the Urumqi International Land Port Area in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 29, 2026. (Photo by Zhang Jiawei/Xinhua)

　　URUMQI, July 7 (Xinhua) -- From the observation deck at the Urumqi International Land Port Area, Xinjiang looked less like a distant frontier than a region in motion.

　　Below, gantry cranes glided over stacks of containers as China-Europe freight trains stood ready for departure. It was a fitting introduction for a group of international media leaders, editors, and senior journalists on a nine-day tour across northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

　　From June 28 to July 6, a delegation of 17 media representatives from 14 countries, including Germany, Russia, Hungary, Spain and Kazakhstan, visited Urumqi, the Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture of Bayingolin and Turpan during the Silk Road Economic Belt Joint Construction Countries' Media Head Seminar, hosted by China's State Council Information Office. Through site visits, lectures and discussions, they gained a closer look at Xinjiang's economic development, cultural heritage, ecological protection and public services.

　　For many of the visitors, what really stood out was the breadth of development they witnessed throughout the region.

　　At the Urumqi International Land Port Area, Syiagul Karaman, a columnist with Kyrgyzstan's Koom Press News Agency, said she could already sense how quickly Xinjiang was changing. Ralida Mukanova, chief producer of Kazakhstan's Almaty TV, who first visited Xinjiang in 2000, said the changes she had seen since then were astonishing.