(AFP) - When Chen Naibao got into the wine business, he left out the pigeon blood and lamb meat that have been hallmarks of vintages in China's Xinjiang region for more than a thousand years.

The animal parts are usually added to enhance flavour and increase the supposed medicinal qualities of museles, a traditional wine raved about in Tang dynasty poetry and long fermented by local Uighurs, despite the prohibition on alcohol of their Muslim religion.

Deep red, its unusual ingredients give it a pungent, musty nose and a sweet-sour, spiced taste, akin to a vermouth.

Chen's recipe has extra sugar and his own production is noticeably sweeter, even cloying, with a more golden-brown hue.

Xinjiang, home to most of China's more than 10 million Uighurs, sees sporadic violence authorities blamed on Islamist separatists, which has increased in intensity and spread beyond its borders in recent years.

Uighurs say they face discrimination and restrictions on language, culture and religion, but China counters it has brought development and raised living standards.

Nonetheless Chen's business shows how the benefits of economic growth often go to immigrants from China's Han majority rather than Uighur locals, exacerbating ethnic tensions.