In the late 1950s, Yali Zhao's parents moved from central China to the northwestern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, beginning a new chapter of their lives and settling in a place where their daughter would first learn how to interact with people of various religious and ethnic backgrounds.

Xinjiang was filled with people from different parts of China - many of whom moved there in 1950s and early 1960s following Chairman Mao Zedong's call for young Chinese citizens to develop the sparsely-populated western region - and Zhao became conscious of her hometown's cultural diversity from an early age. Interactions with people from different parts of China and unique holidays in Xinjiang offered the chance for her to see diverse culture and customs, and her parents and teachers taught her to respect other cultures.

"Xinjiang is very different from other parts of China," Zhao said. "There are a lot of people of different religions and who speak different languages and different Chinese dialects. Because it's so different from the rest of the country and because it's so diverse, I realized how we are all different and how we should show others respect." 

When she graduated from high school in 1983 and was accepted into Shaanxi Normal University in Xi'an, China, to study English language and literature, Zhao often answered her classmates' questions about life in Xinjiang and became well-versed in Western culture and philosophies.

To read more about Zhao and her work in the COE, click here.