Xinjiang

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Chinese : 新疆维吾尔自治区 Xīnjiāng Wéiwú'ěr Zìzhìqū Uyghur : شىنجاڭ ئۇيغۇر ئاپتونوم رايونى Shinjang Uyghur Aptonom Rayoni
Abbreviations: 新  (pinyin: Xīn)
Origin of name	新 xīn – new 疆 jiāng – frontier "new frontier"
Administration type	Autonomous region
Capital	Ürümqi
Largest city	Ürümqi
CPC Ctte Secretary	Zhang Chunxian (张春贤)
Chairman	Nur Bekri (努尔·白克力)
Area	1,660,001 km2 (640,930 sq mi) (1st)
- Latitude	{{{Latitude}}}
- Longitude	{{{Longitude}}}
Population (2009)  - Density	21,590,000 (24th) 11.8 /km2 (31 /sq mi) (29th)
GDP (2009)  - per capita	CNY 427.4 billion (25th) CNY 19,798 (21st)
HDI (2008)	0.774 (medium) (21st)
Ethnic composition	Uyghur – 45% Han – 41% Kazakh – 7% Hui – 5% Kyrgyz – 0.9% Mongol – 0.8% Dongxiang – 0.3% Pamirians – 0.2% Xibe – 0.2%
Prefecture-level	14 divisions
County-level	99 divisions
Township-level*	1005 divisions
ISO 3166-2	CN-65
Official website http://www.xinjiang.gov.cn (Various languages)
Source for population and GDP data: 《中国统计年鉴—2005》 China Statistical Yearbook 2005 ISBN 7503747382 Source for nationalities data: 《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》 Tabulation on nationalities of 2000 population census of China ISBN 7105054255 *As at December 31, 2004
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Xinjiang (Mandarin pronunciation: [ɕíntɕjɑ́ŋ]; Uyghur: شىنجاڭ‎, ULY: Shinjang; Chinese: 新疆; pinyin: Xīnjiāng; Wade–Giles: Hsin¹-chiang¹; Postal map spelling: Sinkiang) is an autonomous region (Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region) of the People's Republic of China and also claimed by the Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km². Xinjiang borders Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, has abundant oil reserves and is China's largest natural gas-producing region. It administers most of Aksai Chin, a territory formally part of Kashmir's Ladakh region over which India claims sovereignty since 1947.

"Xinjiang" literally means "New Frontier", a name given during the Qing Dynasty.^[1] It is home to a number of different ethnic groups and major ethnic groups include Uyghur, Han, Kazakh, Hui, Kyrgyz and Mongol. Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan,^[2] Sinkiang and East Turkestan. Xinjiang is divided into the Dzungarian Basin in the north and the Tarim Basin in the south by a mountain range. Only about 4,3% of Xinjiang's land area is fit for human habitation.^[3]

With a documented history of at least 2,500 years, and a succession of different peoples and empires vying for control over the territory, Xinjiang has been, and continues to be, a focal point of ethnic tensions.^[4][5]

Names

Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan,^[2] Sinkiang, East Turkestan, or Uyghuristan. More specifically, at times, the term East Turkestan only referred to the Xinjiang area south of the Tian Shan mountains, North of the Tian Shan was called Dzungaria (Zungaria).^[6]

The general region of Xinjiang has been known by many other names in earlier times including: 西域 (Mandarin: xiyu) = 'Western Regions',^[7] Chinese Tartary, High Tartary, East Chagatay, Mugholistan, Kashgaria, Altishahr ('the six cities' of the Tarim), Little Bokhara and Serindia.^[8]

The name "Xinjiang", which literally means "New Frontier", was given during the Qing Dynasty.^[9] In the early part of the Qing Dynasty, the name "Xinjiang" was used to refer to any area of former a Chinese empire that had been previously lost but was regained by the Qing—for example, part of present-day Xinjiang was known as "Western Region xinjiang", present-day Jinchuan County was known as "Jinchuan xinjiang", etc. After 1821, the Qing changed the names of the other regained regions, and "Xinjiang" became the name specifically of present-day Xinjiang.^[10]

"An Orographical map of the Western Regions".Map of the Western Regions appended to the Hsi-yu-tu-chih, compiled on the orders of Emperor Chien-lung in 1762. According to the Government of India Publication, "The map makes clear that Sinkiang extended in the south only upto the Kuen Lun Range". The aforesaid map is reproduced in the Government of India Publication, viz. The Atlas of the Northern Frontiers of India at Pg.20.

Description

Xinjiang is a large, sparsely populated area, spanning over 1.6 million km² (comparable in size to Iran or Western Europe), which takes up about one sixth of the country's territory. Xinjiang borders the Tibet Autonomous Region and India's Leh District to the south and Qinghai and Gansu provinces to the southeast, Mongolia to the east, Russia to the north, and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India to the west. It administers most of Aksai Chin, a territory formally part of Kashmir's Ladakh region over which India has claimed sovereignty since 1962.

The east-west chain of the Tian Shan Mountains separate Dzungaria in the north from the Tarim Basin in the south. Dzungaria is dry steppe. The Tarim Basin is desert surrounded by oases. In the east is the Turpan Depression. In the west, the Tian Shan split, forming the Ili River valley.

History

Early history

According to J.P. Mallory, the Chinese sources describe the existence of "white people with lightish hair" or the Bai people in the Shan Hai Jing, who lived beyond their northwestern border.^[11]

The well-preserved Tarim mummies with Caucasoid features, often with reddish or blond hair, today displayed at the Ürümqi Museum and dated to the 3rd century BC, have been found in precisely the same area of the Tarim Basin.^[12] Various nomadic tribes, such as the Yuezhi were part of the large migration of Indo-European speaking peoples who were settled in eastern Central Asia (possibly as far as Gansu) at that time. The Ordos culture situated at northern China east of the Yuezhi, are another example.

Nomadic cultures such as the Yuezhi are documented in the area of Xinjiang where the first known reference to the Yuezhi was made in 645 BC by the Chinese Guan Zhong in his Guanzi 管子(Guanzi Essays: 73: 78: 80: 81). He described the Yuzhi 禺氏, or Niuzhi 牛氏, as a people from the north-west who supplied jade to the Chinese from the nearby mountains of Yuzhi 禺氏 at Gansu.^[13] The supply of jade^[14] from the Tarim Basin from ancient times is indeed well documented archaeologically: "It is well known that ancient Chinese rulers had a strong attachment to jade. All of the jade items excavated from the tomb of Fuhao of the Shang dynasty, more than 750 pieces, were from Khotan in modern Xinjiang. As early as the mid-first millennium BC the Yuezhi engaged in the jade trade, of which the major consumers were the rulers of agricultural China.".^[15]

The nomadic tribes of the Yuezhi are also documented in detail in Chinese historical accounts, in particular the 2nd-1st century BC "Records of the Great Historian", or Shiji, by Sima Qian, which state that they "were flourishing" but regularly in conflict with the neighboring tribe of the Xiongnu to the northeast. According to these accounts:

The Yuezhi originally lived in the area between the Qilian or Heavenly Mountains (Tian Shan) and Dunhuang, but after they were defeated by the Xiongnu they moved far away to the west, beyond Dayuan, where they attacked and conquered the people of Daxia and set up the court of their king on the northern bank of the Gui [= Oxus] River. A small number of their people who were unable to make the journey west sought refuge among the Qiang barbarians in the Southern Mountains, where they are known as the Lesser Yuezhi.^[16]

Struggle between Xiongnu and Han China

The Tarim Basin in the 3rd century

Traversed by the Northern Silk Road,^[17] Western Regions or Xinjiang is the Chinese name for the Tarim and Dzungaria regions of what is now northwest China. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty (206 BC – AD 220), the region was subservient to the Xiongnu, a powerful nomadic people based in modern Mongolia. In the 2nd century BC, Han China sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the states in the region, beginning several decades of struggle between the Xiongnu and Han China over dominance of the region, eventually ending in Chinese success. In 60 BC Han China established the Protectorate of the Western Regions (西域都護府) at Wulei (烏壘; near modern Luntai) to oversee the entire region as far west as the Pamir.

During the usurpation of Wang Mang in China, the dependent states of the protectorate rebelled and returned to domination in AD 13. Over the next century, Han China conducted several expeditions into the region, re-establishing the protectorate from 74 to 76, 91 to 107, and from 123 onward. After the fall of the Han Dynasty, the protectorate continued to be maintained by Cao Wei (until 265) and the Western Jin Dynasty (from 265 onwards).

A Buddha statue from Tumshuq, Xinjiang. 5th century. This is an example of Serindian art.

A summary of Classical sources on the Seres (Greek and Roman name of Xinjiang) (essentially Pliny and Ptolemy) gives the following account:

The region of the Seres is a vast and populous country, touching on the east the Ocean and the limits of the habitable world, and extending west nearly to Imaus and the confines of Bactria. The people are civilised men, of mild, just, and frugal temper, eschewing collisions with their neighbours, and even shy of close intercourse, but not averse to dispose of their own products, of which raw silk is the staple, but which include also silk stuffs, furs, and iron of remarkable quality.

– Henry Yule, "Cathey and the way thither"

Ptolemy had quite good information on Xinjiang, taken from three different accounts.^[18]

A succession of peoples

The Western Jin Dynasty succumbed to successive waves of invasions by nomads from the north at the beginning of the 4th century. The short-lived kingdoms (both Han and non-Han) that ruled northwestern China one after the other, including Former Liang, Former Qin, Later Liang, and Western Liáng, all attempted to maintain the protectorate, with varying extents and degrees of success. After the final reunification of northern China under the Northern Wei empire, its protectorate controlled what is now the southeastern third of Xinjiang. Local states such as Shule, Yutian, Guizi and Qiemo controlled the western half, while the central region around Turpan was controlled by Gaochang, remnants of a state (Northern Liang) that once ruled part of what is now Gansu province in northwestern China.

Tang Dynasty and the Khanates

The Tang Dynasty was established in 618, and would prove to be one of the most expansionist dynasties in Chinese history. Starting from the 620's and 630's, Tang China conducted a series of expeditions against the Turks, eventually forcing the surrender of the western Turks in 657. Xinjiang was placed under the Anxi Protectorate (安西都護府; "Protectorate Pacifying the West"). The protectorate did not outlast the decline of Tang China in the 8th century. During the devastating Anshi Rebellion, Tibet invaded Tang China on a wide front from Xinjiang to Yunnan, occupied the Tang capital Chang'an in 763 for 16 days, and taking control of southern Xinjiang by the end of the century. At the same time, the Uyghur Khaganate took control of northern Xinjiang, as well as much of the rest of Central Asia, including Mongolia.

Blue-eyed Central Asian (Tocharian?) and East-Asian Buddhist monks, Bezeklik, Eastern Tarim Basin, 9th-10th century.^[19]

Both Tibet and the Uyghur Khaganate declined in the mid-9th century. The Kara-Khanid Khanate, which arose from a confederation of Turkic tribes scattered after the destruction of the Uyghur empire, took control of western Xinjiang in the 10th century and the 11th century. Meanwhile, after the Uyghur khanate in Mongolia had been smashed by the Kirghiz, branches of the Uyghurs established themselves in the area around today's Turpan and Urumchi in 840. This Uyghur state would remain in eastern Xinjiang until the 13th century, though it would be subject to various overlords during that time. Some scholars have argued, that the Kara-Khanids were likewise "Uyghurs," as some of the components in the Kara-Khanid federation were likewise from the ruling clans of the Uyghur empire. The Kara-Khanids converted to Islam, whereas the Uyghur state in eastern Xinjiang remained Manicheaean, while tolerating Buddhism and Christianity.

In 1132, remnants of the Khitan Empire from Manchuria entered Xinjiang, fleeing the onslaught of the Jurchens into north China. They established an exile regime, the Kara-Khitan Khanate, which became overlord over both Kara-Khanid-held and Uyghur-held parts of the Tarim Basin for the next century.

Arrival of the Mongols

After Genghis Khan had unified Mongolia and began his advance west, the Uyghur state in the Turpan-Urumchi area offered its allegiance to the Mongols in 1209, contributing taxes and troops to the Mongol imperial effort. In return, the Uyghur rulers retained control of their kingdom. By contrast, Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire conquered the Kara-Khitan in 1218. Because the Kara-Khitan had persecuted Islam, the Mongols were met as liberators in the Kashgar area. During the era of the Mongol Empire, the Qubilaid Yuan Dynasty vied for rule with the Chagatai Khanate in the area, with the latter taking control of most of this region. After the break-up of the Chagatai Khanate into smaller khanates in the mid-14th century, the region fractured and was ruled by various different Persianized Mongol Khans simultaneously, including the ones of Mogholistan (with the assistance of the local Dughlat Emirs), Uigurstan (later Turpan) and Kashgaria. These leaders engaged in numerous wars with each other and both the Timurids of Transoxania to the West and the Western Mongols to the East, the successor Chagatai regime based in Mongolia and in China. Although there were high points in Persian culture reached (e.g. the Dughlat historian Hamid-mirza), succession crises and internal divisions (Kashgaria split in two for centuries) meant that this region almost completely fades from the history books during the 16th and 17th centuries.^[20] In the 17th century, the Mongolian Dzungars established an empire over much of the region.

Dzungar Empire

Dzungar (also Jungar, Zunghar or Zungar; Mongolian: Зүүнгар Züüngar) is the collective identity of several Oirat tribes that formed and maintained one of the last nomadic empires. The Dzungar Khanate covered the area called Dzungaria and stretched from the west end of the Great Wall of China to present-day eastern Kazakhstan, and from present-day northern Kyrgyzstan to southern Siberia (most of this area is renamed to Xinjiang after the fall of the Dzungar Empire). It existed from the early 17th century to the mid-18th century.

Qing Dynasty

Yaqub Beg was a Pamiri adventurer who became head of the kingdom of Kashgaria.

The Qing dynasty gained control over eastern Xinjiang as a result of a long struggle with the Zunghars (Dzungars) that began in the seventeenth century. In 1755, the Qing attacked Ghulja, and captured the Zunghar khan. Over the next two years, Qing armies destroyed the remnants of the Zunghar khanate and colonised parts of Xinjiang with Han and Hui Chinese.^[21]

The Dzungars were deliberately exterminated in a brutal campaign of ethnic genocide. One writer, Wei Yuan, described the resulting desolation in what is now northern Xinjiang as: "an empty plain for a thousand li, with no trace of man."^[22] It has been estimated that more than a million people were slaughtered, and it took generations for it to recover.^[23]

After the defeat and extermination of the Dzungars, the Qing attempted to divide the Xinjiang region into four sub-khanates under four chiefs. Similarly, the Qing made members of a clan of sufi shaykhs known as the Khojas, rulers in the western Tarim Basin, south of the Tianshan Mts. In 1758–59, however, rebellions against this arrangement broke out both north and south of the Tian Shan mountains. The Qing was thus forced, contrary to its initial intent, to establish a form of direct military rule over both Zungharia (northern Xinjiang) and the Tarim Basin (southern Xinjiang). The Manchus put the whole region under the rule of a General of Ili (Chinese: 伊犁将军), headquartered at the fort of Huiyuan (the so-called "Manchu Kuldja", or Yili), 30 km west of Ghulja (Yining).

After 1759 state farms were established, "especially in the vicinity of Urumchi, where there was fertile, well-watered land and few people." From 1760 to 1830 more state farms were opened and the Chinese population in Xinjiang grew rapidly to about 155,000.^[24]

By the mid-19th century, the Russian Empire was encroaching upon Qing China along its entire northern frontier. The Opium Wars and Taiping and other rebellion's in China proper had severely restricted the dynasty's ability to maintain its garrisons in distant Xinjiang. In 1864 both Chinese Muslims (Hui) and Uyghurs rebelled in Xinjiang cities, following an on-going Chinese Muslim Rebellion in Gansu and Shaanxi provinces further east. Because all of the non-Muslim population in Xinjiang were regarded as infidels and enemies to be exterminated, the rebellion resulted in incredible cruelties whenever the towns held by the Qing force were taken.^[25] In 1865, Yaqub Beg, a warlord from the neighbouring Khanate of Kokand, entered Xinjiang via Kashgar, and conquered nearly all of Xinjiang over the next six years.^[26] In 1871, Russia took advantage of the chaotic situation and seized the rich Ili River valley, including Gulja. By then, Qing China held onto only a few strongholds, including Tacheng.

Yaqub Beg's rule lasted until General Zuo Zongtang (also known as General Tso) reconquered the region between 1875 and 1877 for Qing China. In 1881, Qing China recovered the Gulja region through diplomatic negotiations (Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881)).

In 1884, (1882 according to some sources),^[27] Qing China established Xinjiang ("new frontier") as a province, formally applying onto it the political system of China proper, and dropping the old name of Huijiang or 'Muslimland'.^[28]

Republic of China and First East Turkestan Republic

The First East Turkestan Republic was a short-lived attempt at independence of land around Kashgar.

In 1912, the Qing Dynasty was replaced by the Republic of China. Yuan Dahua, the last Qing governer of Xinjiang, fled. One of his subordinates, Yang Zengxin (杨增新), took control of the province and acceded in name to the Republic of China in March of the same year. Through Machiavellian politics and clever balancing of mixed ethnic constituencies, Yang maintained control over Xinjiang until his assassination in 1928.^[29]

Multiple insurgencies arose against his successor Jin Shuren (金树仁) in the early 1930s throughout Xinjiang, involving Uyghurs, other Turkic groups, Russians and Hui (Muslim) Chinese. In the Kashgar region on 12 November 1933, the short-lived self-proclaimed East Turkistan Republic was declared, after some debate over whether the proposed independent state should be called "East Turkestan" or "Uyghuristan."^[30][31] The region claimed by the ETR in theory encompassed Kashgar, Khotan and Aqsu prefectures in southwestern Xinjiang.^[32] Xinjiang was eventually brought in 1934 under the control of northeast Chinese warlord Sheng Shicai (盛世才), who ruled Xinjiang for the next decade with close support from the Soviet Union, many of whose ethnic and security policies Sheng instituted in Xinjiang. The Soviet Union maintained a military base in Xinjiang and had several military and economic advisors deployed in the region. Sheng invited a group of Chinese Communists to Xinjiang, including Mao Zedong's brother Mao Zemin, but in 1943, fearing a conspiracy, Sheng executed them all, including Mao Zemin.

2nd ETR existed in what is now Ili, Tarbagatay and Altay Districts of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of People's Republic of China

Second East Turkestan Republic and People's Republic of China

A Second East Turkistan Republic(2nd ETR, also known as the Three Districts Revolution) existed from 1944 to 1949 with Soviet support in what is now Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture (Ili, Tarbagatay and Altay Districts) in northern Xinjiang.^[30] The Second East Turkistan Republic came to an end when the People's Liberation Army entered Xinjiang in 1949.^[31] Also, five ETR leaders, who would negotiate the final status of East Turkistan with the Chinese, died in an air crash in 1949 in Kazakh airspace.^[33]

According to the PRC interpretation, the 2nd ETR was Xinjiang's revolution, a positive part of the communist revolution in China; the 2nd ETR acceded to and welcomed the PLA when it entered Xinjiang, a process known as the Peaceful Liberation of Xinjiang. However, independence advocates view the ETR as an effort to establish an independent state, and the subsequent PLA entry as an invasion.

The autonomous region of the PRC was established on 1 October 1955, replacing the province.^[31] The PRC's first nuclear test was carried out at Lop Nur, Xinjiang, on 16 October 1964. Although reports in western media report that between 100,000 and 200,000 people may have been killed in the testing,^[34] the Lop Nur area has not been permanently inhabited since about 1920^[35] and PRC media dispute these numbers, but without providing an alternate number.^[36]

Ethnic tensions

News media reports of ethnic tensions in the region with resultant conflicts between the Uyghur plurality and Chinese authorities have raised worldwide awareness about Uyghur people and Xinjiang. These tensions actually began decades ago, and there have been several waves of protest in the region.^[37] Since 1996 the Chinese authorities have carried out a harsh crackdown of the East Turkestan independence movement, which it labels as "separatists" and "religious extremists" throughout the XUAR. Furthermore, the US and the UN have labeled a group called East Turkestan Islamic Movement a terrorist group.

Independence advocates view Chinese rule in Xinjiang, and policies like the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps as Chinese imperialism.^[38]

The tensions have occasionally resulted in major incidents and violent clashes during the PRC period. For example, in 1962, 60,000 Uyghur and Kazak refugees fled northern Xinjiang into the Soviet Union to escape the Great Chinese Famine and political purges of the Great Leap Forward era; in the 1980s there was a smattering of student demonstrations and riots against police action that took on an ethnic aspect; and the Baren Township riot in April, 1990, an abortive uprising, resulted in more than 50 deaths.

A police roundup of suspected separatists during the Muslim holy month Ramadan resulted in large demonstrations that turned violent in February 1997 in an episode known as the Ghulja / Yining Incident (or Gulja Massacre) that led to at least 9 deaths.^[39] The Urumqi bus bombs of 25 February 1997 killed 9 and injured 68. Despite much talk of separatism in Xinjiang, the situation in Xinjiang was largely quiet from 2000 through mid-2006.

Then, on 5 January 2007 the Chinese Public Security Bureau raided a suspected terrorist training camp in the mountains near the Pamir Plateau in southern Xinjiang. According to the reports, 18 individuals, whom Chinese State media refers to as "terrorists," were killed and another 17 captured in a gun battle between the ETIM and PRC forces. One police officer was killed and "over 1,500 hand grenades... were seized."^[40] The report leaves it unclear whether the acronym ETIM stands for the East Turkestan Independence Movement, the Xinjiang pro independence part, or the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, an (alleged) militant separatist group. However, Rafael Poch, a Spanish journalist, after investigating the incident and checking with alleged witnesses, concluded that there did not exist any "terrorist training camp", but that the whole event was a violent local riot suppressed by the Chinese military and later covered up with the ETIM story.^[41]

In the run-up to the Summer Olympics in Beijing, during which world attention was drawn by pro-Tibet protests along the Olympic torch relay, Uyghur separatist groups staged protests in several countries.^[42] According to the Chinese government, a suicide bombing attempt on a China Southern Airlines flight in Xinjiang was thwarted in March 2008.^[43] On 4 August 2008, 4 days before the Beijing Olympics, two men armed with knives and explosives ambushed a military police unit and killed 16 officers and wounded 16 others.^[44][45] Chinese police injured and damaged the equipment of two Japanese journalists sent to cover the story.^[46]

Subdivisions

Xinjiang is divided into two prefecture-level cities, seven prefectures, and five autonomous prefectures for Mongol, Kirgiz, Kazakh and Hui minorities . (Two of the seven prefectures are in turn part of Ili, an autonomous prefecture.) These are then divided into eleven districts, twenty county-level cities, sixty-two counties, and six autonomous counties. Four of the county-level cities do not belong to any prefecture, and are de facto administered by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. Sub-level divisions of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is shown in the picture to the right, and described in the table below:

Sub-level divisions of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region^[47]

Map #	Conventional[48]	Administrative Seat	Uyghur (kona yezik̡)	Uyghur Latin (yengi yezik̡)	Hanzi	Hanyu pinyin
—Sub-Provincial Autonomous Prefecture —
11	Ili (Kazakh)	Yining	ئىلى قازاق ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى	Ili QazaQ Aptonom Oblasti	伊犁哈萨克自治州	Yīlí Hāsàkè Zìzhìzhōu
— Prefecture-level city —
4	Karamay	Karamay District	قاراماي شەھرى	Qaramay Shehri	克拉玛依市	Kèlāmǎyī Shì
8	Ürümqi	Tianshan District	ئۈرۈمچى شەھرى	Ürümchi Shehri	乌鲁木齐市	Wūlǔmùqí Shì
— Prefecture —
1	Altay subordinate to Ili (Kazakh)	Altay City	ئالتاي ۋىلايىتى	Altay Wilayiti	阿勒泰地区	Ālètài Dìqū
3	Tacheng subordinate to Ili (Kazakh)	Tacheng City	تارباغاتاي ۋىلايىتى	Tarbaghatay Wilayiti	塔城地区	Tǎchéng Dìqū
9	Turpan	Turpan City	تۇرپان ۋىلايىتى	Turpan Wilayiti	吐鲁番地区	Tǔlǔfān Dìqū
10	Hami	Hami City	قۇمۇل ۋىلايىتى	Qumul Wilayiti	哈密地区	Hāmì Dìqū
13	Kashgar	Kashgar City	قەشقەر ۋىلايىتى	Qeshqer Wilayiti	喀什地区	Kāshí Dìqū
15	Aksu	Aksu City	ئاقسۇ ۋىلايىتى	Aqsu Wilayiti	阿克苏地区	Ākèsū Dìqū
17	Hotan	Hotan City	خوتەن ۋىلايىتى	Xoten Wilayiti	和田地区	Hétián Dìqū
— Autonomous prefectures —
2	Bortala (Mongol)	Bole	بۆرتالا موڭغۇل ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى	Börtala Mongghul Aptonom Oblasti	博尔塔拉蒙古自治州	Bó'ěrtǎlā Měnggǔ Zìzhìzhōu
6	Changji (Hui)	Changji City	سانجى خۇيزۇ ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى	Sanji Xuyzu Aptonom Oblasti	昌吉回族自治州	Chāngjí Huízú Zìzhìzhōu
12	Kizilsu (Kirgiz)	Artux	قىزىلسۇ قىرغىز ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى	Qizilsu Qirghiz Aptonom Oblasti	克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治州	Kèzīlèsū Kē'ěrkèzī Zìzhìzhōu
18	Bayingolin (Mongol)	Korla	بايىنغولىن موڭغۇل ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى	Bayingholin Mongghul Aptonom Oblasti	巴音郭楞蒙古自治州	Bāyīnguōlèng Měnggǔ Zìzhìzhōu
— Sub-prefecture-level city —
5	Shihezi (Administered by XPCC)	Shihezi	شىخەنزە شەھرى	Shixenze Shehri	石河子市	Shíhézǐ Shì
7	Wujiaqu (Administered by XPCC)	Wujiaqu	ئۇجاچۇ شەھرى	Wujachu Shehri	五家渠市	Wǔjiāqú Shì
14	Tumxuk (Administered by XPCC)	Tumxuk	تۇمشۇق شەھرى	Tumshuq Shehri	图木舒克市	Túmùshūkè Shì
16	Aral (Administered by XPCC)	Aral	ئارال شەھرى	Aral Shehri	阿拉尔市	Ālā'ěr Shì

Geography and geology

Close to Karakoram Highway in Xinjiang

Tianchi lake

Xinjiang is the largest political subdivision of China—it accounts for more than one sixth of China's total territory and a quarter of its boundary length. It is split by the Tian Shan mountain range (Uyghur: تەڭرى تاغ‎, ULY: Tengri Tagh), which divides it into two large basins: the Dzungarian Basin in the north, and the Tarim Basin in the south. Much of the Tarim Basin is dominated by the Taklimakan Desert. The lowest point in Xinjiang, and in the entire PRC, is the Turpan Depression, 155 metres below sea level; its highest point is the mountain K2, 8611 metres above sea level, on the border with Pakistan. Other mountain ranges include the Pamir Mountains in the southeast, the Karakoram in the south, and the Altai Mountains in the north.

Most of Xinjiang is young geologically, having been formed from the collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate, forming the Tian Shan, Kunlun Shan, and Pamir mountain ranges. Consequently, Xinjiang is a major earthquake zone. Older geological formations occur principally in the far north where the Junggar Block is geologically part of Kazakhstan, and in the east which is part of the North China Craton.

Xinjiang has within its borders the point of land remotest from the sea, the so-called Eurasian pole of inaccessibility () in the Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert, 1,645 miles (2648 km) from the nearest coastline (straight-line distance).

The Tian Shan mountain range marks the Xinjiang-Kyrgyzstan border at the Torugart Pass (3752 m). The Karakorum highway (KKH) links Islamabad, Pakistan with Kashgar over the Khunjerab Pass.

Rivers include the Tarim River.

Time

Technically, people are suppose to set their clock to the uniform time - BeiJing time throughout China, but due to XinJiang's westernmost position in China, local people follow their own official time - XinJiang time (XinJiang time UTC+6 time zone, Beijing Time is UTC+8). This means people generally perform their daily tasks two hours later than people in other province in China.

Example: The sun may be at its highest point at 12pm during the day in BeiJing, but it takes two more hours to be at its highest point in Urumqi, the capital of XinJiang.

Deserts

Deserts include:

• Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert
• Kumtag Desert
• Taklamakan Desert

Major cities

• Urumqi
• Turpan
• Kashgar
• Karamay
• Yining
• Shihezi

Politics

List of Secretaries of the CPC Xinjiang Committee

1. Wang Zhen (王震): 1949–1952
2. Wang Enmao (王恩茂): 1952–1967
3. Long Shujin (龙书金): 1970–1972
4. Saifuddin Azizi (赛福鼎·艾则孜): 1972–1978
5. Wang Feng (汪锋): 1978–1981
6. Wang Enmao (王恩茂): 1981–1985
7. Song Hanliang (宋汉良): 1985–1994
8. Wang Lequan (王乐泉): 1994-2010
9. Zhang Chunxian (张春贤): 2010-incumbent

List of Chairmen of Xinjiang Government

1. Saifuddin Azizi (赛福鼎·艾则孜): 1955–1967
2. Long Shujin (龙书金): 1968–1972
3. Saifuddin Azizi: 1972–1978
4. Wang Feng (汪锋): 1978–1979
5. Ismail Amet (司马义·艾买提): 1979–1985
6. Tomur Dawamat (铁木尔·达瓦买提): 1985–1993
7. Abdul'ahat Abdulrixit (阿不来提·阿不都热西提): 1993–2003
8. Ismail Tiliwaldi (司马义·铁力瓦尔地): 2003–2007
9. Nur Bekri (努尔·白克力): 2007-incumbent

Economy

A panoramic view of Ürümqi, Xinjiang's provincial capital, taken from Hong Shan mountain against Tian Shan

Xinjiang is known for its fruits and produce, including grapes, melons, pears, cotton, wheat, silk, walnuts and sheep. Xinjiang also has large deposits of minerals and oil.

In the late 19th century the region was noted for producing salt, soda, borax, gold, jade and coal.^[49]

Xinjiang's nominal GDP was approximately 220 billion RMB (28 billion USD) in 2004, and increased to 427.4 billion RMB (62.6 billion USD) in 2009, due to the China Western Development policy introduced by the State Council to boost economic development in Western China. Its per capita GDP for 2009 was 19,798 RMB (2,898 USD). Southern Xinjiang, with 95 per cent non-Han population has an average per capita income half that of Xinjiang as a whole. ^[50]

The oil and gas extraction industry in Aksu and Karamay is booming, with the West–East Gas Pipeline connecting to Shanghai. The oil and petrochemical sector account for 60% of Xinjiang's local economy.^[51]

Xinjiang's exports amounted to 19.3 billion USD, while imports turned out to be 2.9 billion USD in 2008. Most of the overall import/export volume in Xinjiang was directed to and from Kazakhstan through Ala Pass. China's first border free trade zone (Horgos Free Trade Zone) was located at the Xinjiang-Kazakhstan border city of Horgos.^[52] Horgos is the largest land port in China's western region and it has easy access to the Central Asian market. Xinjiang will also open its second border trade market to Kazakhstan in March 2006, the Jeminay Border Trade Zone.^[53]

In July 2010 China Daily reported that:

Local governments in China's 19 provinces and municipalities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Liaoning, are engaged in the commitment of "pairing assistance" support projects in Xinjiang to promote the development of agriculture, industry, technology, education and health services in the region.^[54]

Economic and Technological Development Zones

• Bole Border Economic Cooperation Area^[55]
• Shihezi Border Economic Cooperation Area^[56]
• Tacheng Border Economic Cooperation Area^[57]
• Urumqi Economic & Technological Development Zone

Urumqi Economic and Technological Development Zone is located northwest of Urumqi. It was approved in 1994 by the State Council as a national level economic and technological development zones. It is located 1.5 km away from the Urumqi International Airport, 2 km from the North Railway Station, and 10 km from the city center. Wu Chang Expressway and 312 National Road passes through the Zone. The development has unique resources and geographical advantages. Xinjiang's vast land, rich in various resources, borders 8 countries. As the leading economic zone, it brings together the resources of Xinjiang's industrial development, capital, technology, information, personnel and other factors of production.^[58]

• Urumqi Export Processing Zone

Urumuqi Export Processing Zone is located in Urumuqi Economic and Technology Development Zone. It was established in 2007 as a state-level export processing zone.^[59]

• Urumqi New & Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone

Urumuqi Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone was established in 1992, and it is the only high-tech development zone in Xinjiang, China. There are more than 3470 enterprises in the zone, of which 23 are Fortune 500 companies. It has a planned area of 9.8 square kilometres, and it is divided into 4 zones. There are future plans to expand the zone.^[60]

• Yining Border Economic Cooperation Area^[61]

Demographics

The languages of Xinjang

     Uyghur majority     Han majority     Kazakh majority

East Asian migrants arrived in the eastern portions of the Tarim Basin about 3,000 years ago, while the Uighur peoples arrived after the collapse of the Orkon Uighur Kingdom, based in modern-day Mongolia, around the year 842.^[62][63]

Xinjiang is home to several distinct ethnic groups of various religious traditions, with the majority of the region's total population ahdering to Islam. Muslim Turkic peoples in Xinjiang include Uyghurs, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Tatars and the Kazakhs; Muslim Iranian peoples include Pamiris and the Sarikolis/Wakhis (often conflated as Pamiris); and Muslim Sino-Tibetan peoples such as the Hui. According to one source, more than 2% of the population are Christians.^[64] Other PRC ethnic groups in the region include Han, Mongols, Russians, Xibes, and Manchus.

The Han Chinese of Xinjiang arrived at different times, from different directions and social backgrounds: they are descendants of criminals and officials who had been exiled from China proper during the second half of the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries; descendants of families of military and civil officers from Hunan, Yunnan, Gansu and Manchuria; descendants of merchants from Shanxi, Tianjin, Hubei and Hunan and descendants of peasants who started immigrating into the region in 1776.^[65]

Some Uighur scholars claim descent from both the Turkic Uighurs and the pre-Turkic Tocharians (or Tokharians, whose language was Indo-European), and relatively fair-skin, hair and eyes, as well as other so-called 'Caucasoid' physical traits, are not uncommon among them. In general Uyghurs resemble those peoples who live around them in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan. In 2002, there were 9,632,600 males (growth rate of 1.0%) and 9,419,300 females (growth rate of 2.2%). The population overall growth rate was 10.9‰, with 16.3‰ of birth rate and 5.4‰ mortality rate.

At the start of the nineteenth century, forty years after the Qing conquest, there were something like 155,000 Han and Hui Chinese in (mostly) northern Xinjiang, and something over twice that numbers of Uyghurs in southern Xinjiang.^[66] The Qing experimented with permitting Han to come and farm reclaimed land to increase its tax base in 1831,^[67] but failed for a lack of willing families.^[68] Political killings and expulsions of Han and other Non-Muslim populations in the uprisings of the 1860s^[68] and 1930s saw them experience a sharp decline as a percentage of the total population,^[69] though they rose once again in the periods of stability following 1880 (which saw Xinjiang increase its population from 1.2 million)^[70][71] and 1949. From a low of 7% then, Han form 40% of the population in the 2000 census,^[72] although military personnel are not counted and minorities are undercounted.^[73] While some of the shift can be attributed to an increased Han presence, Uyghurs have also emigrated to other parts of China, where their numbers have increased steadily. Uyghur independence activists fear that the Han population will dilute the Uyghur character of the region, but the Han, who mostly live in northern Dzungaria, are separated from areas of historical Uyghur dominance south of the Tian Shan mountains.^[74]

In general, Uyghurs are the majority in western Xinjiang, including the prefectures of Kashgar, Khotan, Kizilsu, and Aksu, as well as Turpan prefecture in eastern Xinjiang. Han are the majority in eastern and northern Xinjiang, including the cities of Urumqi, Karamay, Shihezi and the prefectures of Changjyi, Bortala, Bayin'gholin, Ili (especially the cit of Kuitun), and Kumul. Kazakhs are mostly concentrated in Ili prefecture in northern Xinjiang.

Media

The Xinjiang Networking Transmission Limited operates the Urumqi People Broadcasting Station and the Xinjiang People Broadcasting Station, broadcasting in Mandarin, Uyghur, Kazakh and Mongolian.

As of 1995^[update], there were fifty minority-language newspapers published in Xinjiang, including the Qapqal News, the world's only Xibe-language newspaper.^[77] The Xinjiang Economic Daily is considered one of China's most dynamic newspapers.^[78]

For a time after the July 2009 riots, authorities placed restrictions on the internet and text messaging, gradually permitting access to websites like Xinhua's,^[79] until completely restoring Internet access on May 14, 2010.^[80][81][82]

Sports

Xinjiang is home to the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers professional basketball team of the Chinese Basketball Association.

The capital, Urumqi, is also home to the Xinjiang University baseball team, an integrated Uyghur and Han group profiled in the documentary film, Diamond in the Dunes.

Transportation

Roads

In 2008, according to the Xinjiang Transportation Network Plan, the government has focused construction on State Road 314, Alar-Hotan Desert Highway, State Road 218, Qingshui River Line-Yining Highway, and State Road 217, as well as other roads.

The construction of the first expressway in the mountainous area of Xinjiang began a new stage in its construction on 24 July 2007. The 56 km highway linking Sayram Lake and Guozi Valley in Northern Xinjiang area had cost 2.39 billion yuan. The expressway is designed to improve the speed of national highway 312 in northern Xinjiang. The project started in August 2006 and several stages have been fully operational since March 2007. Over 3,000 construction workers have been involved. The 700 m-long Guozi Valley Cable Bridge over the expressway is now currently being constructed, with the 24 main pile foundations already completed. Highway 312 national highway Xinjiang section, connects Xinjiang with China's east coast, central and western Asia, plus some parts of Europe. It is a key factor in Xinjiang's economic development. The population it covers is around 40 percent of the overall in Xinjiang, who contribute half of the GDP in the area.

See also

• Battle of Jushi
• Jiaohe Ruins
• List of universities and colleges in Xinjiang
• Cotton industry in China
• Xinjiang coins
• 2009 Xinjiang earthquake

Notes

1. ↑ Does not include members of the People's Liberation Army in active service.
   P = Prefecture; AP = Autonomous prefecture; PLC = Prefecture-level city; DACLC = Directly administered county-level city.
2. ↑ Ili AP is composed of Kuitun DACLC, Tacheng Prefecture, Aletai Prefecture, as well as former Ili Prefecture. Ili Prefecture has been disbanded and its former area is now directly administered by Ili AP.

Footnotes

References

• Beckwith, Christopher I. (2009). Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-13589-2.
• Findley, Carter Vaughn. 2005. The Turks in World History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-516770-8; 0-19-517726-6 (pbk.)
• Hill, John E. (2009). Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1. 
• Hierman, Brent. "The Pacification of Xinjiang: Uighur Protest and the Chinese State, 1988-2002." Problems of Post-Communism, May/Jun2007, Vol. 54 Issue 3, pp 48–62
• Mesny, William (1896) Mesny's Chinese Miscellany. Vol. II. William Mesny. Shanghai.
• Mesny, William (1899) Mesny's Chinese Miscellany. Vol. III. William Mesny. Shanghai.
• Mesny, William (1905) Mesny's Chinese Miscellany. Vol. IV. William Mesny. Shanghai.
• Millward, James A. (2007). Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-13924. (European and Asian edition, London: Hurst, Co., 2007).
• Tyler, Christian. (2003). Wild West China: The Untold Story of a Frontier Land. John Murray, London. ISBN 0-7195-6341-0.

External links

• Xinjiang Government website
• Economic profile for Xinjiang at HKTDC
• Downloadable article: "Evidence that a West-East admixed population lived in the Tarim Basin as early as the early Bronze Age" Li et al. BMC Biology 2010, 8:15. [2]
• Britannica Xinjiang

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Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Ürümqi (Capital) Topics History • Politics • Economy • Demographic • Language Xinjiang in China Admin. divisions Ürümqi | Tianshan District · Saybagh District · Xinshi District · Shuimogou District · Toutunhe District · Dabancheng District · Midong District · Ürümqi County Ili |    Tacheng1 | Tacheng City · Wusu City  · Emin County  · Yumin County  · Shawan County · Toli County  · Hoboksar Autonomous County    Altay1 | Altay City  · Qinggil County · Jeminay County · Fuyun County  · Burqin County · Fuhai County  · Habahe County Yining City2 · Kuytun City2 · Yining County2 · Huocheng County2 · Tokkuztara County2 · Künes County2 · Zhaosu County2 · Tekes County2 Nilka County2 · Qapqal Autonomous County2 Karamay | Karamay District · Dushanzi District · Baijiantan District · Urho District Turpan | Turpan City · Toksun County · Piqan County Kumul | Kumul City · Yiwu County · Barkol Autonomous County Hotan* | Hotan City · Hotan County · Lop County · Minfeng County · Pishan County  · Qira County · Keriya County · Karakax County Aksu | Aksu City  · Wensu County · Xayar County  · Baicheng County · Awat County · Kuqa County · Kalpin County · Toksu County · Uqturpan County Kashgar | Kashgar City · Maralbishi County · Poskam County · Peyziwat County  · Kargilik County · Yopurga County  · Shule County · Mekit County Yengisar County · Yarkent County · Shufu County · Tashkurgan Autonomous County Kizilsu | Atushi City · Aheqi County · Wuqia County · Aketao County Bayin'gholin | Korla City · Hejing County · Yuli County · Hoxud County  · Qiemo County · Bohu County  · Luntai County · Ruoqiang County Yanqi Autonomous County Bortala | Bortala City · Jinghe County · Wenquan County Changji | Changji City · Fukang City · Miquan City · Qitai County · Manas County · Jimsar County · Hutubi County · Mori Autonomous County Shihezi | (Shihezi has no intermediate County-level divisions. For more information see Administration of Shihezi) Aral | (Aral has no intermediate County-level divisions. For more information see Administration of Aral) Tumxuk | (Tumxuk has no intermediate County-level divisions. For more information see Administration of Tumxuk) Wujiaqu | (Wujiaqu has no intermediate County-level divisions. For more information see Administration of Wujiaqu) ■ = Sub-provincial autonomous prefecture ■ = Prefecture-level city ■ = Prefecture ■ = Autonomous prefectures ■: Sub-prefecture-level city of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps 1 Tacheng and Altay are prefectures within and under the administration of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture 2 Under the direct administration of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture *Aksai Chin, which is part of Hotan, is administered by the PRC but claimed by India

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Ürümqi (Capital) Topics History • Politics • Economy • Demographic • Language Xinjiang in China Admin. divisions Ürümqi | Tianshan District · Saybagh District · Xinshi District · Shuimogou District · Toutunhe District · Dabancheng District · Midong District · Ürümqi County Ili |    Tacheng1 | Tacheng City · Wusu City  · Emin County  · Yumin County  · Shawan County · Toli County  · Hoboksar Autonomous County    Altay1 | Altay City  · Qinggil County · Jeminay County · Fuyun County  · Burqin County · Fuhai County  · Habahe County Yining City2 · Kuytun City2 · Yining County2 · Huocheng County2 · Tokkuztara County2 · Künes County2 · Zhaosu County2 · Tekes County2 Nilka County2 · Qapqal Autonomous County2 Karamay | Karamay District · Dushanzi District · Baijiantan District · Urho District Turpan | Turpan City · Toksun County · Piqan County Kumul | Kumul City · Yiwu County · Barkol Autonomous County Hotan* | Hotan City · Hotan County · Lop County · Minfeng County · Pishan County  · Qira County · Keriya County · Karakax County Aksu | Aksu City  · Wensu County · Xayar County  · Baicheng County · Awat County · Kuqa County · Kalpin County · Toksu County · Uqturpan County Kashgar | Kashgar City · Maralbishi County · Poskam County · Peyziwat County  · Kargilik County · Yopurga County  · Shule County · Mekit County Yengisar County · Yarkent County · Shufu County · Tashkurgan Autonomous County Kizilsu | Atushi City · Aheqi County · Wuqia County · Aketao County Bayin'gholin | Korla City · Hejing County · Yuli County · Hoxud County  · Qiemo County · Bohu County  · Luntai County · Ruoqiang County Yanqi Autonomous County Bortala | Bortala City · Jinghe County · Wenquan County Changji | Changji City · Fukang City · Miquan City · Qitai County · Manas County · Jimsar County · Hutubi County · Mori Autonomous County Shihezi | (Shihezi has no intermediate County-level divisions. For more information see Administration of Shihezi) Aral | (Aral has no intermediate County-level divisions. For more information see Administration of Aral) Tumxuk | (Tumxuk has no intermediate County-level divisions. For more information see Administration of Tumxuk) Wujiaqu | (Wujiaqu has no intermediate County-level divisions. For more information see Administration of Wujiaqu) ■ = Sub-provincial autonomous prefecture ■ = Prefecture-level city ■ = Prefecture ■ = Autonomous prefectures ■: Sub-prefecture-level city of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps 1 Tacheng and Altay are prefectures within and under the administration of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture 2 Under the direct administration of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture *Aksai Chin, which is part of Hotan, is administered by the PRC but claimed by India

Turkic-speaking regions Federal subjects of Russia shown in italics.     Western Turkic  Azerbaijan1  Bashkortostan  Chuvashia  Northern Cyprus Eastern Turkic  Altai Republic  Khakassia  Kyrgyzstan  Gagauzia (Moldova)  Kabardino-Balkaria  Karachay-Cherkessia  Karakalpakstan (Uzbekistan)  Sakha Republic  Tuva  Kazakhstan  Tatarstan  Turkey  Turkmenistan  Uzbekistan  Xinjiang (China)  Bayan Olgiy (Mongolia) 1 Includes the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.