(CNN) -- In many ways -- more than just distance, at least -- it is a long way from the remote city of Kashgar in the restive northwest Chinese province of Xinjiang to Kuala Lumpur, the bustling, teeming capital of Malaysia. But it was a journey that an Uyghur artist named Memetjan Abdullah made earlier this month. It was his first trip outside China. Father to a young daughter, Abdullah -- whose name is sometimes spelled Maimaitijiang Abula -- was part of a delegation of some 24 artists who were returning to China from the "Chinese Dream: Red and Green Painting" art exhibition, held March 4 to 6 in the Malaysian city. The exhibition also acted as a cultural exchange conference, while celebrating the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between China and Malaysia.
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35-year-old Uyghur artist Memetjan Abdullah aboard MH370
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Friends depict him as a thoughtful, passionate and "progressive" person
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Artist's work is in the China National Art Museum collection
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Close friend Kurbanjan Semet holds out hope that he will see Abdullah again
The Chinese government has since ruled that none of its citizens that were aboard @placeholder have any link to terrorism.