Swat valley getting closer to China's Xinjiang region.

ISLAMABAD -- The people of Swat valley and China's region Xinjiang getting closer to each other, through their growing business contacts, says a report published by China Economic Net (CEN).

According to the report, the two sides enjoy centuries-old cultural and business ties.

If someone looking for a variety of Chinese goods in northwestern Pakistan, the Mingora bazaar in the Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is the right place.

From clothing, footwear, baby toys, watches, cell phones, and their parts to electrical equipment, Mingora's markets are flooded with quality Chinese goods.

Shaukat Sharar, Swatbased architect and historian told CEN that the people of Swat have been traditionally traveling through GB to Xinjiang to bring goods.

According to him, some people from both the regions had also entered into marital relations and 'there is still some Pashtun population in Xinjiang'.

Currently, Mingora Bazaar is home to a number of markets and shops selling Chinese products.

Popular markets dealing in Chinese goods in Mingora city, include Swat China Market, Pak-China Market, Mehmood Khan China Market, Shanghai Cloth Market, and Abaseen Plaza, etc.

There are hundreds of shops and street vendors in Mingora city selling Chinese products.

The majority of the shopkeepers use the suffix or affix of the...