“The truest account is the one etched on the soul through experience.”
Rumors have a way of shaping perception, often more powerfully than fact. When it comes to China, the world is no stranger to sweeping accusations—claims of hidden oppression, whispered tales of forced labor, or narratives of rigid control. But during my travels across several provinces and cities in China this year, I was struck by how many of these rumors were nothing more than fabrications born of false perceptions. Seeing the reality for myself made one truth resoundingly clear: firsthand experience is the sharpest tool for cutting through the fog of rumor.
In the vast, rugged landscape of Xinjiang, a story unfolds that challenges one of the most persistent global narratives. For years, headlines have been dominated by accusations of forced labor in the region’s cotton industry. Reports once claimed that nearly a fifth of the world’s cotton came at the cost of human dignity, prompting brands like H&M to cut ties and Uniqlo to face pressure over sourcing.
Yet on the ground, a different story emerges. Cai Yunlong, a student from Taiwan, traveled across Xinjiang to see for herself. In Urumqi, local students dismissed the accusations as “completely unfounded.” In Alar, at the heart of cotton country, Uygur farmer Abla Abdurehim—Ablajan—spoke of progress, not exploitation. Once a shepherd earning only a few thousand yuan, he now makes up to 800,000 yuan annually through modern farming. “There’s no such thing as forced labor,” he laughed. “Why wouldn’t I grow cotton when I can earn this much?”
The truth is written in the fields. Vast machines now harvest over 200 mu a day, where handpicking once yielded only one. Cotton is pressed into two-ton “golden eggs” within minutes, proof that technology—not coercion—drives the industry.
What global headlines painted in shadow, firsthand experience revealed in light: modernization, prosperity, and dignity. In the end, no secondhand account compares. As the old proverb says,- seeing is believing.