Cinematic exploration of Tajik life

The Sun Shines on Tashkurgan, a latest cinematic outing featuring ethnic Tajiks, tells the story of two generations of Party cadres who helped locals get rid of poverty in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The 96-minute feature, released across China on July 23, was shot in Tashkurgan Tajik autonomous county, which sits on the Pamirs Plateau with its average altitude reaching around 4,000 meters.

Niu Song, director of China Ethnic Groups Film and TV Research Center, says China has produced around 200 feature-length films about ethnic groups since the founding of New China, but there are few movies about ethnic Tajiks, one such film is the 1963 classic Visitors of the Icy Mountain.