BEIJING, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng on Tuesday visited various ethnic groups in Altay in northern Xinjiang ahead of the 60th anniversary of the founding of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, is leading a central government delegation attending festivities marking the event, which will run till Oct. 1.
In Altay, which is home to a sizeable Kazakh community, local residents told Yu that there had been a small number of "troublemakers" causing problems in recent years, but they were "poisonous grass," whose behavior only served to motivate the wider community to stick together.
Yu noted that ethnic unity was the prerequisite and foundation of economic development and improvement of people's lives, adding that cadres and residents should work together to safeguard unity.
He expressed the hope that residents of different ethnic groups would have more contact, and called on other regions to continue to provide support to Xinjiang.
The delegation also inspected a settlement village for herdsmen, who used to roam the grasslands without permanent living facilities. Yu said he believed local people can lead a better life with the help of the Communist Party of China.
Yu arrived in Xinjiang on Friday. Over the past few days, he has visited Kashgar in southern Xinjiang and Kizilsu in western Xinjiang.