Diplomats from a dozen countries briefly toured northwestern China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The local government invited them to visit mosques and Islamic institutions, as well as vocational education and training centers. Rory Coen has more.

The regional government invited diplomatic envoys from Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Afghanistan, Thailand and Kuwait.

Throughout the trip, they interacted with local vendors, students, and workers, and learned about the region's social and economic progress.

They visited local markets, mosques, as well as vocational education and training centers in the cities of Kashgar and Hotan.

The envoys said they had seen a totally different image of the region to what was being reported in the Western media.

MOHAMMED HOSNIE SHAHIRAN ISMAIL COUNSELOR, MALAYSIAN EMBASSY IN CHINA "We get to see the real nature, the real picture of what is being portrayed in the media as opposed to the previous impression that I had."

SAYED HABIBURAHMAN HUSINPUR CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, AFGHANISTAN EMBASSY IN CHINA "I have seen some western reports which I think are the exact opposite of what is actually here. It is really comfortable here and everything is good. Moreover, people can learn many things and their lives can be changed in every aspect. I think we can all learn from this."

The envoys saw that the students had a tremendous chance to improve their chances of getting employment in the future.

KABAZIYEV MANARBEK COUNSELOR, KAZAKHSTAN EMBASSY IN CHINA "The Chinese government has created good conditions for these students, which proves that it is concerned about these students. I want to emphasize again that the central government of China and the government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have given citizens adequate opportunities to enable them to learn new vocational skills."

DJAUHARI ORATMANGUN INDONESIAN AMBASSADOR TO CHINA "[They] learn their own culture, learn other culture to interact with each other. It will become good for the country."

The envoys said they would like to further cooperate with the autonomous region in the fields of culture, tourism, economy and trade. Rory Coen, CGTN.