Paramilitary police officers patrol as an Uighur man walks by at the Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, western... 
(AP)
But that will prove far harder after the riots laid bare long-standing tensions between Han and Uighurs.
The Uighurs, who number 9 million in Xinjiang, have complained about an influx of Han Chinese and government restrictions on their Muslim religion. They accuse the Han of discrimination and the Communist Party of trying to erase their language and culture.
Han Chinese, many of whom were encouraged to emigrate here by the government, believe the Uighurs should be grateful for Xinjiang's rapid economic development, which has brought new schools, highways, airports, railways, natural gas fields and oil wells to the sprawling, rugged region.
Since last week, tens of thousands of Chinese troops have poured into Urumqi (pronounced uh-ROOM-chee) and other parts of Xinjiang to impose order. A senior Communist Party official vowed to execute those guilty of murder in the rioting.
On Sunday, Han Chinese began their rites of mourning, which by tradition start seven days after a death, in spite of a ban on public gatherings issued a day earlier.
At the funeral for the Han man, 39-year-old Zhou Yuxiang, and his wife and parents, colorful wreaths of paper flowers lined the short alley where the ceremony was held. Paper money was burned to honor the dead.
Zhou's 42-year-old sister, who declined to give her first name out of fear, said her only wish was for the survival of her 16-year-old nephew, who is hospitalized in a coma.
"We went to the morgue yesterday to identify the bodies but we could barely recognize their faces because they had been beaten so badly," she said. "Now all I want is for their son to survive. But the doctors said that there's not much hope for his survival."
Even in the city of Hotan, two hours south of Urumqi by plane, where there was no unrest, a large troop presence was visible in the main square, where a huge statue of Mao Zedong shaking hands with a Uighur farmer is on display.
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