The English version of the book "I am from Xinjiang" was released at BookExpo America on May 28.

Several guests watch the eponymous companion documentary to the book "I am from Xinjiang" at the English version's launch event on May 28. [Photo by Yan Pei/China.org.cn]

The book, written by Uygur photographer Kurbanjan Samat, tells the stories of more than 100 Uygur people in over 20 cities throughout China. The Chinese version of the book has drawn immense attention since its release in 2014. Yu Zhengsheng, chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, met the author and some of the Uygur people whose lives were documented in the book in December 2014.

During the launch event for the book's English edition at New York's Javitz Center last Thursday, Zhang Qiyue, Chinese Consul General in New York, praised the book's efforts to reflect the harmonious co-existence of different ethnic groups in China. Chinese Ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, also spoke highly of the book in his visit to the book fair.

A number of guests, including the current vice president and former vice president of China International Publishing Group, which oversees the book's publisher, New World Press Limited, watched an eponymous Chinese-English bilingual documentary during the launch event.

The launch organizer also presented a special Xinjiang corner, decorated with silk from the northwestern Chinese region, where book fair participants could view photos taken by the author and sip rose tea from Xinjiang.

"I am from Xinjiang" is also expected to be published in Turkish, Arabic and Japanese.