Indiana University Bloomington


Search the IAUNRC Site:

The IAUNRC programs address all aspects of the diverse region and peoples of Azerbaijan, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Tibet, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Xinjiang.


XINJIANG

[internet resources]

Map of Xinjiang

Quick Facts:

Official Name: Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
Local Name: Xinjiang
Population: 19,630,000 (2004)
Capital City : Ürümqi
Languages: Mandarin, Uyghur
Official Currency: renminbi
Ethnic Groups: Uyghur, Han, Kazakh, Hui, Kyrgyz, Mongol

To the northwest of Qighai and Gansu provinces and north of the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) comprises approximately one-sixth of the land area of the People's Republic of China.  Making up nearly one-quarter of China's international borderline, Xinjiang borders with Kazakhstan, Kyrygzstan and Tajikistan to the northwest, Pakistan and India to the southwest, Mongolia to the northeast, Russia to the north, and Afghanistan to the west. The Tian Shan mountain range divides the region into the Dzungarian Basin to the north and the Tarim Basin to the south.

While Xinjiang is an ethnically diverse region, the predominantly Turkic speaking Muslim Uyghurs comprise approximately half of the region's population. Although the Han Chinese are the second largest ethnic group by a large margin, many other ethnic groups, including Kazakhs, Hui, and Manchus, also inhabit the region.  Most of the population is concentrated in Dzungaria, especially near the regional capital of Ürümqi, and in the oasis cities along the rim of the Tarim Basin, such as Kashgar and Turpan.

Xinjiang has been a crossroads of Eurasia linking the great civilizations of India and China to western Eurasia through the Silk Road. The region's history and future is intimately connected to both East and Central Asia. Today, the region is connected to its Central Asian neighbors through highways and railways.  In addition to the region's strategic importance, it also is economically important. Xinjiang is well known for its fruit exports, including grapes and melons.  Additionally, cotton, sugar beets, wheat, silk, and walnuts are cultivated, and sheep are bred both for their meat and their wool. Other industries include textiles, foodstuff processing, leather, paper, sugar, carpets, raw and refined oil, iron and steel, metallurgy, machinery, chemicals, and power generation.

Information and maps above taken from Library of Congress Country Studies and the CIA World Fact Book. Unless otherwise specified, images sourced from Wikimedia Commons.

Xinjiang Internet Resources

This page contains convenient starting points for exploring web sites related to the Uyghurs of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. To make this page easier to load and use, we generally have limited the list to those sites which contain substantial collections of links to information on these subjects. The views reflected on any web site linked below do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center. We provide these links as a service to the public.

[return to top]