A street that's paved with gold

Tekes county in the Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, has long been renowned for its downtown area's road design which is laid out in a bagua pattern (the eight diagrams in Taoism).

It has a maze of 64 streets without traffic lights, with its eight main routes radiating out from the center of the city. Of the eight roads, the 1,700-meter-long section called Lijie street is among the most prosperous.

As tourism in Tekes county has thrived in recent years, Lijie street, which consists of lanes decorated with colorful murals and traditional residences of people from different ethnic groups, has turned into a popular recreational center that breeds business opportunities for people who set their mind to it.

Among all the traditionally decorated buildings along Lijie street, Zhang Ying's 20-square-meter bar, with its fancy modern designs, is an eye-catching example.

It has been open for four years and is run by Zhang, a 32-year-old Tekes native.

The booming tourism sector in the county gives her confidence in the prospects of the business.