9. A soldier stands guard at Horgos Port in Ili, Xinjiang, Aug 6, 2011. It is at this port that I can be so near Kazakhstan and see clearly the workers and trucks at a construction site. China and Kazakhstan are now building a cross-border cooperation center to make the port a trade hub to Central Asia and Europe.

10. French expert Pierre Ros smells perfume made of lavender at Qingshuihe Industry Zone in Ili, Xinjiang, Aug 8, 2011. Professor Pierre Ros said the lavender produced in Ili is of high quality and the same quality as found in Provence, France. Jieyou Prince, an Ili-based company developing lavender-related products, even built a European-style museum to attract visitors.