Xinjiang 新疆:

General info:

Xinjiang (in Uyghur: شىنجاڭ Shinjang — in Mandarin: 新疆, Pinying : Xīnjiāng) is one of the 5 autonomous regions of the People republic of China. Located in the extreme West of the country, Xinjiang covers 1 660 001 Km², about 1/6 of China.

The capital of the province is Urumqi (乌鲁木齐 – Wulumuqi).

Xinjiang is a key province for China as it has borders with 8 different countries: Mongolia on the East, Russia on the North, Kazakhstan, Kirghistan, Tadjikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Kashmir area under Indian control in the West.
As inner borders, Xinjiang is linked in the South to Tibet and on the East to Qinghai and Gansu.

Xinjiang is a rich province in terms of geographic diversity. It has 3 deserts including the second largest in the world, the Taklamakan, has mountains over 8000 meters (close to Pakistan and its K2) but also has the lowest point of China at minus 155 below sea level.

It is also in Xinjiang that one can find the point of earth the most remote from any costal areas (46°17′N 86°40′E / 46.283, 86.667, in the Dzoosotoyn Elisen desert), more than 2600 km away from the closest coast.

Demographic info:

Xinjiang is home to several distinct ethnic groups of various religious traditions; however, the majority of the region’s total population are adherents of Islam. Among ethnic groups who are of the Muslim faith, most notable are Muslim Turkic peoples including the Uygurs, Uzbeks, Kyrgyz, Tatars and the Kazakhs; there are also Muslim Iranian peoples including Pamiris and the Sarikolis/Wakhis, and Muslim Sino-Tibetan peoples such as the Hui. Other PRC ethnic groups in the region include Han, Mongols, Russians, Xibes and Manchus.
The percentage of ethnic Han in Xinjiang has grown from less than 7% in 1949 to an official tally of over 40% in 2006. This figure does not include military personnel or their families, or the many unregistered migrant workers (most Hans are still city dwellers).

History :

Xinjiang has a rich history due to its strategic position on the east of the famous silkroad.

However for more info please refer yourself to other webpages.

Economy:

Xinjiang is most famous for its agricultural production: grapes, melons, cotton, silk, sheeps…

But the province has also rich underground resources like oil and gas explaining, at least partially, the crucial interest China has over the area.

Indeed in its constant need of energy supplies, China is developing fast the oil fields of Xinjiang and huge pipelines that will connect the western areas to the east (Shanghai) are being built.

The area is also of major geopolitical interest as it is a mean for China to connect directly with the rich oil basins of the Caspian Sea. In June 2009 China and Kazakhstan completed a pipeline that connected the 2 countries.

Travel tips:

I have been 2 times to Xinjiang 2008 and 2009: the first time in the south, often refered in Chinese as NanJiang (南疆, basically the whole area below Urumqi) and then I did the north of Xinjiang (Beijiang – 北疆).

In the South I did:

- a part of the Karakorum highway (Pictures of the area)