URUMQI - As new graduates prowled an annual job fair at Hotan Teachers College last Friday, Zhang Wenying encouraged them to add fluency in the Uygur language to their skill sets.

Zhang, 29, a bilingual teacher at No 1 Middle school in Jiya county,Hotan prefecture in southern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, graduated from the college in 2010.

Zhang, who is of Han ethnicity, came from northwest China's Shaanxi province to Hotan and started learning Uygur at the college in 2007. He now speaks fluent Uygur and teaches Mandarin to Uygur students.

China has 56 ethnic groups. The Han are the majority group, and Mandarin is the official and most widely used language. In Xinjiang, however, many locals lack even basic Mandarin. The language barrier not only puts them at a disadvantage in the job market, but also impedes economic development in the region. The autonomous region encourages ethnic minorities to study Mandarin to enhance mutual understanding and open up career opportunities.

Learning the Uygur language is also helpful for Han students looking for jobs in southern Xinjiang, where bilingual education is in short supply, according to Zhang.

Hotan Prefecture is known for its harsh natural conditions and poverty. Hotan Teachers College had trouble enrolling Han students until it started recruiting them from other provinces and regions in 2005.

After more than a decade, the percentage of Han students and teachers at the college has increased from 5.5 percent in 2005 to 25 percent in 2015.

Zhang said when he was a college student, his class had 40 students. Twenty-five of them were from outside Xinjiang. After graduation, 35 of his classmates chose to find jobs in Xinjiang.

Since 2010, 526 of the college's 583 graduates recruited from other provinces have chosen to stay in Xinjiang.

Ababekri Ablet, president of the college, said Han students from inland provinces live, learn and communicate with Uygur students and teachers at the college. "After graduation, they are willing to start their careers here," he said.

To boost bilingual education, Hotan Teachers College started offering mixed classes for Han and ethnic minority students in September 2015. So far, the college has 40 such mixed classes, accounting for 29 percent of the total.

In the mixed classes, Han students not only have classes with ethnic minority students, but also can live with them in the same dorm.

Abliz Hekpar, 21, from Qira County, said he had no Han friends before he entered mixed classes at the college. Living and learning with Han students has helped him improve his Mandarin, he said.

Likewise, Han students have also made friends with Uygur students.

Every morning, Miao Lanxuan reads aloud in Uygur with the help of her tutor, Aynur Ghulkhazim, another student at the college.

Since 2005, the college has encouraged Han students to practice their Uygur in classes every morning, while Uygur students read aloud in Mandarin for Han students.

Miao, from Shihezi City in northern Xinjiang, came to study in Hotan last September. She said she hopes to learn Uygur well and make more Uygur friends at the college.

"I have four Uygur language classes each week, which is far from enough for me to improve speaking," Miao said."But my tutor did help me a lot. I can practice speaking and also learn grammar from her."

Miao also applied to live in a dorm with Uygur students. Miao likes dancing and is good at modern dance, while her roommate, Arazgul Turejan, likes folk dance. They always dance together in the dorm.

Thanks to the mixed living and learning environment, Miao said she can speak fluent Uygur and even bargain at local bazaars with a Hotan accent.

Cheng Bin, from northwest China's Gansu province, who is learning Uygur at the college, has developed a friendship with his roommate, Turghun Abduraziq, who comes from neighboring Kashgar Prefecture.

Cheng said he cannot forget last winter vacation, when he was invited to stay with Turghun Abduraziq's family for more than 40 days. He was warmly welcomed, and his friend's mother treated him like her own son.

Cheng said he will invite Turghun Abduraziq to his hometown during summer vacation.

The college will expand enrollment of students from inland provinces in the future to encourage more Han students and teachers to teach, learn and live with Uygur students, said Zhao Ming, secretary of the college's party committee.