Encyclopedia
- For the county in Shanxi province, see Xinjiang County.
Xinjiang , full name
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region , is an autonomous region of the
People's Republic of China. It is a large, sparsely populated area which takes up about one sixth of the country's territory. Xinjiang borders the
Tibet Autonomous Region to the south and
Qinghai and
Gansu provinces to the southeast,
Mongolia to the east,
Russia to the north, and
Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan,
Afghanistan, and the
Pakistan- and
India-controlled parts of
Kashmir to the west. It includes most of
Aksai Chin, a region claimed by
India as part of
Jammu and Kashmir.
"Xinjiang" or "Ice Jecen" in
Manchu, literally means "New Frontier", a name given during the
Manchu Qing Dynasty in China. The name is considered offensive by many advocates of independence, who prefer to use historical or ethnic names such as
Chinese Turkestan,
East Turkestan or
Uyghuristan. Because of the association of these names with the
East Turkestan independence movement, they are in turn considered synonymous with
Pan-Turkic Islamist terrorism by the
PRC government and local residents.
History
Subdivisions
Xinjiang is divided into 2 prefecture-level cities, 7 prefectures, and 5 autonomous prefectures. Below them, there are 11 districts, 20 county-level cities, 62 counties, and 6 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.
| Conventional | Uyghur
| Uyghur Latin
| Hanzi | Pinyin | Remarks |
|---|
| Prefecture-level cities |
| Ürümqi | ??????? ????? | Ürümchi Shehri | ????? | Wulumùqí Shì | |
| Karamay | ??????? ????? | Qaramay Shehri | ????? | Kèlamayi Shì | |
| Directly administered county-level cities |
| Shihanza | ??????? ????? | Shixenze Shehri | ???? | Shíhézi Shì | Administered de facto by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps |
| Tumshuke | ?????? ????? | Tumshuq Shehri | ????? | Túmùshukè Shì |
| Alar | ????? ????? | Aral Shehri | ???? | Ala'er Shì |
| Wujiaqu | ?????? ????? | Ujachü Shehri | ???? | Wujiaqú Shì |
| Prefectures |
| Turpan Prefecture | ?????? ???????? | Turpan Wilayiti | ????? | Tulufan Dìqu | |
| Kumul Prefecture | ????? ???????? | Qumul Wilayiti | ???? | Hamì Dìqu | |
| Khotan Prefecture | ????? ???????? | Xoten Wilayiti | ???? | Hétián Dìqu | |
| Aksu Prefecture | ????? ???????? | Aqsu Wilayiti | ????? | Akèsu Dìqu | |
| Kashgar Prefecture | ?????? ???????? | Qeshqer Wilayiti | ???? | Kashí Dìqu | |
| Tacheng Prefecture | ?????????? ???????? | Tarbaghatay Wilayiti | ???? | Tachéng Dìqu | subordinate to Ili Prefecture |
| Altay Prefecture | ?????? ???????? | Altay Wilayiti | ????? | Alètài Dìqu |
| Autonomous prefectures |
| Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture | ??????? ?????? ???????? ???????? | Qizilsu Qirghiz Aptonom Oblasti | ??????????? | Kèzilèsu Ke'erkèzi Zìzhìzhou | |
| Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture | ?????????? ?????? ???????? ???????? | Bayin'gholin Mongghol Aptonom Oblasti | ????????? | Bayinguolèng Menggu Zìzhìzhou | |
| Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture | ????? ????? ???????? ???????? | Sanji Xuizu Aptonom Oblasti | ??????? | Changjí Huízú Zìzhìzhou | |
| Börtala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture | ??????? ?????? ???????? ???????? | Börtala Mongghol Aptonom Oblasti | ????????? | Bó'ertala Menggu Zìzhìzhou | |
| Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture | ???? ????? ???????? ???????? | Ili Qazaq Aptonom Oblasti | ???????? | Yilí Hasàkè Zìzhìzhou | |
|
Geography and Geology
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 divided into two basins by
Mount Tianshan. Dzungarian Basin is in the north, and
Tarim Basin is in the south. Xinjiang's lowest point is 155 metres below sea level . Its highest peak is 8611 metres above sea level on the border with
Kashmir.
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 in the Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert, 1,645 miles from the nearest coastline .
The
Tian Shan mountain range marks the Xinjiang-Kyrgyzstan border at the
Torugart Pass . The
Karakorum highway links
Islamabad,
Pakistan with
Kashgar over the
Khunjerab Pass.
Rivers include:
...
Major Cities:
Economy
Xinjiang is known for its fruits and produce, including
grapes and
melons.
Cotton,
wheat,
silk,
walnuts, and
sheep are also produced. Xinjiang also has large deposits of minerals and
oil.
Xinjiang's nominal
GDP was approximately 187 billion
RMB in 2003, and increased to 220 billion RMB in 2004, due to the China Western Development policy introduced by the State Council. Its per capita GDP for 2003 was 9,710 RMB .
Oil and
gas extraction industry in Aksu and Karamay is booming, with the pipeline project connecting to
Shanghai.
Xinjiang's exports amounted to 3.047 billion
USD, while import turned out to be 2.589 billion USD in 2004. 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 was located at the Xinjiang-Kazakhstan border city of Horgos . 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.
Recently, China Western Development policy was adopted to boost economic development in western China.
Demographics
Xinjiang is home to several
Muslim Turkic groups including the
Uyghurs and the
Kazakhs. Other PRC minority
ethnic groups include
Hui Chinese, the
Kirghiz, the
Mongols, the
Russians, the
Xibes, the Tajik, the Uzbek, the
Tatars, and the
Manchus.
The percentage of ethnic
Han Chinese in Xinjiang has grown from 6 percent in 1949 to an official tally of over 40 percent at present. This figure does not include military personnel or their families, or the many unregistered migrant workers. Much of this transformation can be attributed to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps , a semi-military organization of settlers that has built farms, towns, and cities over scattered parts of Xinjiang. The demographic transformation is held by Uyghur independence advocates as a threat to Uyghurs and other non-Han ethnicities in maintaining their culture, similar to the case of
Tibet.
| Ethnic groups in Xinjiang, 2000 census |
|---|
| Nationality | Population | Percentage |
|---|
Uyghur | 8,345,622 | 45.21 | Han | 7,489,919 | 40.58 | Kazakh | 1,245,023 | 6.74 | Hui | 839,837 | 4.55 | Kirghiz | 158,775 | 0.86 | Mongol | 149,857 | 0.81 | Dongxiang | 55,841 | 0.30 | Tajik | 39,493 | 0.21 | Xibe | 34,566 | 0.19 | Manchu | 19,493 | 0.11 | Tujia | 15,787 | 0.086 | Uzbek | 12,096 | 0.066 | Russian | 8935 | 0.048 | Miao | 7006 | 0.038 | Tibetan | 6153 | 0.033 | Zhuang | 5642 | 0.031 | Daur | 5541 | 0.030 | Tatar | 4501 | 0.024 | Salar | 3762 | 0.020 |
Excludes members of the
People's Liberation Army in active service.
Source: Department of Population, Social, Science and Technology Statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics of China and Department of Economic Development of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of China , eds.
Tabulation on Nationalities of 2000 Population Census of China . 2 vols. Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House , 2003.
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 Chinese are the majority in eastern and northern Xinjiang, including the cities of
Urumqi, Karamay,
Shihezi and the prefectures of
Changji,
Bortala,
Bayin'gholin,
Ili , and Kumul.
Kazakhs are mostly concentrated in
Ili prefecture in northern Xinjiang.
1—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.
Source: 2000?????????????,?????,2003/9
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
Some Uighur scholars claim descent from both the Turkic Uighurs and the pre-Turkic
Tocharians , 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 and 9,419,300 females . The population overall growth rate was 10.9‰, with 16.3‰ of
birth rate and 5.4‰
mortality rate.
See also
Media
The Xinjiang Networking Transmission Limited operates the Urumqi People Broadcasting Station and the
Xinjiang People Broadcasting Station, broadcasting in the Mandarin ,
Uyghur , Kazak, Mongolian, and the Tan Oak languages.
Culture
Professional sports teams in Xinjiang include:
- Chinese Basketball Association
- Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers
External links
