The vice dean of the School of Literature and Art at Shihezi University, Wu Xinfeng, who belonged to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, passed away on July 23, 2026, at the age of 43. In the past nine months, at least four middle-aged officials and professors from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have passed away in succession.
In the early hours of July 24, 2026, the official WeChat account of the School of Literature and Art at Shihezi University in Xinjiang released an obituary. Wu Xinfeng, a member of the Party Committee and vice dean of the School of Literature and Art at Shihezi University (School of Journalism and Communication), founder and director of the Xinjiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Center, a Ph.D. holder from Peking University, a young top talent of the national “Ten Thousand Talents Program,” a second-level professor, and a Ph.D. supervisor, died in Lanzhou at 23:31 on July 23, 2026, at the age of 43. Wu Xinfeng was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2017.
According to his public resume, Wu Xinfeng, born in October 1982 in Linyi, Shandong, is a member of the Communist Party of China. He entered Shihezi University in 2002, was selected to pursue a master’s degree in the Chinese Department at Peking University in 2006, and subsequently obtained both master’s and doctoral degrees from Peking University. In 2009, he joined the School of Literature and Art at Shihezi University, and in 2011, he founded the Xinjiang Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Center.
Wu Xinfeng also served as a member of the Chinese Folklore Society, the Chinese Folk Literature Society, and an expert in intangible cultural heritage appraisal for the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. He was invited to provide specialized guidance lectures for the Theory Study Center of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Party Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Two months ago, on May 2, 2026, Wu Xinfeng’s subordinate, Ms. Kong Yuanyuan, an associate professor at the School of Literature and Art at Shihezi University, died at the age of 44 due to ineffective medical treatment. Kong Yuanyuan also served as the vice president of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Musicians’ Creative Association.
Shihezi University is affiliated with the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), which was originally founded in 1949 as the First Corps Medical School by the First Field Army of the Communist Party of China. In 1996, Shihezi University was established through the merger of the former Shihezi Agricultural College, Shihezi Medical College, XPCC Normal School, and XPCC Economic College. In 2018, it was selected as a “Provincial and Department Co-constructed” university by the Ministry of Education of the Communist Party of China and the XPCC.
The XPCC was established in 1954 and is the last existing production and construction corps under the Communist Party of China. It operates as a special organization with a combination of military, political, and business functions and is a provincial-level unit. The US State Department has described XPCC as a “quasi-military organization” subordinate to the Communist Party of China.
In recent times, there has been a high incidence of sudden deaths among young and middle-aged Chinese individuals. In addition to Wu Xinfeng, two more middle-aged officials from the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps have passed away in the past nine months. Deputy Division Commander Jiang Song of the 12th Division of the XPCC died suddenly on June 6, 2026, at the age of 52. Jiang Xinjun, the Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission of the XPCC, passed away on November 3, 2025, at the age of 56.