KASHGAR, China – It’s been nearly 10 years since I last visited Kashgar, a city of 3.8 million on the western frontier region of China. Its airport is now five times bigger and is now a gateway to six international destinations. It now boasts of paved six-lane roads, quite an improvement from the bumpy narrow dirt roads that we took during my previous four visits.

This time I return to cover the Olympic torch relay. In the early morning of June 18 I watch a contingent of Kashgar students practice cheering the arrival of the Olympic torch in this mainly Muslim city. “Go China,” they chanted, on cue. “Go Beijing! … Go Kashgar!” How odd, I thought. Kashgar people are normally more spontaneous than this.

The torch’s arrival here is a reminder of China’s rule over this remote frontier region. China hopes to show that it is a nation of diverse cultures and ethnic groups.

And for Kashgar, it’s a chance to showcase their exotic culture to attract more tourists and investors. More than 80 percent of Kashgar’s 3.8 million people are Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking, traditionally Muslim ethnic group. Here East meets West, and communism coexists with Islam.

“By choosing Kashgar as a relay stop,” Kashgar’s parliament chief Zinet Emer tells me, ” the central government has given us tremendous importance.”

But this was a particularly sensitive leg of the relay, given the tensions between China and the disgruntled Uighurs– some of whom are seeking independence from Chinese rule.

Heavy security was in place to prevent protests during the torch run. The government banned all but carefully chosen members of the public. Twice, police meticulously checked us – journalists and our gear – just as they do at the airports. “We normally don’t do this,” Emer tells me. “But those (anti-China) groups overseas have thrown jabs at us so we must hit back with a big punch. We must safeguard everyone’s safety.”

More than 200 torchbearers took turns parading the torch through Kashgar’s main streets. Along the route, residents cheered them on, shouting pre-approved standard slogans. “Go, China!” … But we only witnessed the relay of the last seven torchbearers because authorities confined us to a designated press section on the sprawling People’s Square. There, the carefully planned pageantry ended with songs and dances, under the close watch of Chinese police.

As in my previous visits, Kashgar impressed me with its distinctive culture and endearing hospitality. But the extremely tight security today leaves a bad impression: it highlights the differences between the public face that China wants to present to the world, and the tense reality on the ground.

I wonder what it will be like when the Olympic torch relay reaches Beijing on August 6, two days before the start of the 2008 Olympics.