Calculator was once Mrs Liu’s best domestic helper.

Five years ago, a frugal Liu used it to manage her shoestring budget.

“I had to tighten my belt and count the pennies everyday,” said Liu, a geo-scientific worker in Urumqi. “I barely managed to feed and clothe the families at the time.”

Never known as an economic powerhouse, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region used to see most of its people spend a bulk of their income on necessities such as food and clothes, just like what Mrs Liu did.

Things now have changed, however.

“I can feel my wallet swollen,” said Liu, who could laugh her way to the bank to deposit a dozen thousand yuan left on her balance book every year.

The change came after a sharp rise in people’s income.

According to the regional statistics bureau, the disposal income of a citizen was 8,871 yuan (US$1,182) in 2006, compared to 6,554 yuan (US$874) in 2002. Net earning of a farmer also rose from 1,867 yuan (US$250) to 2,737 yuan (US$365) during the period.

That helped add the figures on the bank accounts.

Average savings for Xinjiang people jumped to 9,930 yuan (US$1,324) by the end of 2006 from 1,138 yuan (US$152) four years ago.

If the jumps in figures, which are still too small to rival with China’s economic engines such as Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces, fail to tell the story, Mrs Liu’s observation may give a glimpse of an enhanced livelihood in Xinjiang.

“My colleagues these days seldom grumble about the income,” said Liu. “They now worried about how to improve the life.”

Scientific measurement also proved that change, said Wang Ying, a division deputy head of the statistics bureau, citing an internationally-used indicator.

Engel’s Coefficient, which measures the proportion of expenditure on food to the total consumption and serves as a classic barometer of life quality, stood below 40 percent in Xinjiang in 2006 for both urban and rural people.

The less the figure is, the better livelihood it reflects. A reading below 40 percent usually suggests a well-being life.

Houses have gradually moved atop Xinjiang people’s shopping list.

In the first half of the year, urban residents in Xinjiang spent an average of 177.76 yuan (US$24) on properties, a stellar rise of 2.5 times year on year.

“People now don’t hesitate to buy houses,” said Wang.

Li Fang, in her 40s, lived in a 50-square-meter house with her families in 1992. They moved to an 80-square-meter one in 1999. But that still failed to satisfy the designer’s desire of an amble house and she moved to a 140-square-meter, two-storey villa in 2003.

Education and travel, too

Ballooning spending on education was another evidence of a different way of life.

More than setting aside a considerable amount of money for their children, many parents now are yearning to invest in themselves.

“Training spree is spreading in our company,” said Mrs Xiao. “Most of my colleagues attended courses of this or that kind. It’s never too old to learn.”

Official data showed per capita education spending in urban Xinjiang jumped 18 percent to 202.2 yuan (US$27) in the first half of the year.

A growing number of Xinjiang people also travel a lot now.

Seventy-year-old Cheng Yazhi set her foot on Europe in August.

“I simply want to see more and experience more,” she said. “As we earn enough, traveling abroad is no longer a dream or a privilege of the rich.”

Dong Shaobo, manager of the international tour department of Xinjiang Xiyu Travel Agency, said that 50,000 Xinjiang people traveled overseas in 2006.

“Tourists are more ‘critical'. They want to fly to farther places, other than traditional hot destinations such as Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau.”

‘We are investors’

Xinjiang people were seldom known as investors. Compared with peers in financial hubs such as Shanghai and Shenzhen, they tended to put their meager savings in banks for slow interest growth.

But “anyone who holds that stereotype would find himself out of date”, said Xia Jun, chief strategist of Xinjiang Shengde Assets and Consultancy.

“Investment now is part of our life,” he said, adding that a bullish stock market has refreshed local people’s awareness of investment.

Xia said the change was prominent since 2005. “People buy bonds, stocks, funds, gold and currencies. They also learnt to diversify investments and cushion risks,” he added.