Information about Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region

Uyghur:شىنجاڭ ئۇيغۇر ئاپتونوم رايونى Shinjang Uyghur Aptonom Rayoni Chinese:新疆维吾尔自治区 Xīnjiāng Wéiwú'ěr Zìzhìqū
Abbreviations: ?  (Pinyin: Xīn)
Xinjiang is highlighted on this map
Origin of name	新 xīn - new 疆 jiāng - territory "new territory"
Administration type	Autonomous region
Capital (and largest city)	Ürümqi
CPC Ctte Secretary	Wang Lequan
Chairman	Ismail Tiliwaldi
Area	1,660,000 km (1st)
Population (2004)  - Density	19,630,000 (24th) 11.8/km (29th)
GDP (2005)  - per capita	CNY 260.9 billion (25th) CNY 13,907 (13th)
HDI (2005)	0.757 (medium) (14th)
Major nationalities	Uyghur - 45% Han - 41% Kazakh - 7% Hui - 5% Kyrgyz - 0.9% Mongol - 0.8% Dongxiang - 0.3% Tajik - 0.2% Xibe - 0.2%
Prefecture-level	14 divisions
County-level	99 divisions
Township-level	1005 divisions
ISO 3166-2	CN-65
Official website [1] (Simplified Chinese)
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

Xinjiang (Uyghur: شىنجاڭ, 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. 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 administers 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. It is home to a number of Turkic ethnic groups, the largest of which are the Uyghurs. The region is often referred to as Chinese Turkestan or East Turkestan.

History

Main article: History of Xinjiang

Early history

According to JP Mallory, the Chinese describe the existence of "white people with long hair" or the Bai people in the Shan Hai Jing, who lived beyond their northwestern border.^[1]

The very 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 BCE, have been found in precisely the same area of the Tarim Basin. Various nomadic tribes, such as the Yuezhi were probably 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 from the 1st millennium BCE. 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.^[2] The supply of jade 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 BCE the Yuezhi engaged in the jade trade, of which the major consumers were the rulers of agricultural China." (Liu (2001), pp. 267-268).

The nomadic tribes of the Yuezhi are also documented in detail in Chinese historical accounts, in particular the 2nd-1st century BCE "Records of the Great Historian", or Shiji, by Sima Qian. 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.",^[3]

According to Han accounts, the Yuezhi "were flourishing" during the time of the first great Chinese Qin emperor, but were regularly in conflict with the neighbouring tribe of the Xiongnu to the northeast.

Struggle between Xiongnu and Han China

Traversed by the Silk Road, 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 Xiongnu domination in 13. Over the next century, Han China conducted several expeditions into the region, re-establishing the protectorate from 74-76, 91-107, and from 123 onward. After the fall of the Han Dynasty (AD 220), the protectorate continued to be maintained by Cao Wei (until 265) and the Western Jin Dynasty (from 265 onwards).

A summary of Classical sources on the Seres (Greek and Romain name of China) (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")

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 non-Han Chinese kingdoms 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.

Turk Empire

In the late 5th century the Tuyuhun and the Rouran began to assert power in southern and northern Xinjiang, respectively, and the Chinese protectorate was lost again. In the 6th century the Turks began to emerge in the Altay region, subservient to the Rouran. Within a century they had defeated the Rouran and established a vast Turk Empire, stretching over most of Central Asia past both the Aral Sea in the west and Lake Baikal in the east. In 583 the Turks split into western and eastern halves, with Xinjiang coming under the western half. In 609, China under the Sui Dynasty defeated the Tuyuhun, gaining control of southeastern Xinjiang.

The 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, sacking the Tang capital in 763, 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, where their empire originated.

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 Turfan 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 Turfan-Urumchi area sensibly 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. After the break-up of the Mongol Empire into smaller khanates, Xinjiang, though nominally ruled by the Chagatai Khanate, one of the successor states of the empire, in fact was fought over by successor regimes based in Mongolia and in China. In the 15th century the Chagatai Khanate disintegrated into separate states in Gulja, Yarkand, and Turpan.

In the 17th century, the Dzungars (Oirats, Kalmyks) established an empire over much of the region. Kalmyks controlled a vast area known as Grand Tartary or the Kalmyk Empire to Westerners, which stretched from the Great Wall of China to the Don River, and from the Himalayas to Siberia.

The Manchu Empire

The Qing Empire, established by the Manchus in China, 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 Manchu Empire attacked Ghulja, and captured the Zunghar khan. Over the next two years, the Manchus and Mongol armies of the Qing destroyed the remnants of the Zunghar khanate, and 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: , Yili Jiangjün), headquartered at the fort of Huiyuan (the so-called "Manchu Kuldja", or Yili), 30 km west of Ghulja (Yining).

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. Qing control of the region was swept away. 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. 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, Qing China established Xinjiang ("new frontier") as a province, formally applying onto it the political system of China proper.

After the Qing Dynasty

In 1912 the Qing Dynasty was replaced by the Republic of China. Yuan Dahua, the last Qing governor of Xinjiang, fled. One of his subordinates Yang Zengxin (杨增新), acceded to the Republic of China in March of the same year, and maintained control of Xinjiang until his death in 1928. Following insurgencies against Governor Jin Shuren (金树仁) in the early 1930s, a rebellion in Kashgar led to establishment of the short-lived First East Turkistan Republic (1st ETA) in 1933. Xinjiang was eventually brought under the control of Han Chinese 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. Sheng invited a group of Chinese Communists to Xinjiang, including Mao Zedong's brother Mao Zemin, but in 1943, fearing a conspiracy, Sheng killed all communists, including Mao Zemin, in Xinjiang. A Second East Turkistan Republic (2nd ETA, also known as the Three Districts Revolution) existed from 1944-1949 with Soviet support in what is now Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in northern Xinjiang.

The Second East Turkistan Republic came to an end when the People's Liberation Army (PLA) entered Xinjiang in 1949. According to the PRC interpretation, the 2nd ETA was Xinjiang's revolution, a positive part of the communist revolution in China; the 2nd ETA acceded to and welcomed the PLA when they entered Xinjiang, a process known as the Peaceful Liberation of Xinjiang. However independence advocates view the ETA 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 October 1, 1955, replacing the province. The PRC's first nuclear test was carried out at Lop Nur, Xinjiang, on October 16, 1964.

Continued tensions

There continues to be concern over tensions in the region, centering upon Uyghur cultural aspirations to independence, and resentment towards what Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch describe as repression of non-Han Chinese culture.

Conversely, many Han Chinese perceive PRC policies of ethnic autonomy as discriminatory against them (see autonomous entities of China). Independence advocates view Chinese rule in Xinjiang, and policies like the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps as Chinese imperialism.

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, escaping famine and political purges of the Great Leap Forward era; in the 1980s there was a scattering 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 round-up of suspected separatists during Ramadan resulted in large demonstrations that turned violent in February 1997, and episode known as the Ghulja / Yining Incident and led to in at least 9 deaths [2]. The Urumqi bus bombs of February 25, 1997, perhaps a response to the crackdown that followed the Ghulja Incident, killed 9 and injured 68. Despite much talk of separatism and terrorism in Xinjiang, especially after the 9-11 attacks in the United States and the US invasion of Afghanistan, the situation in Xinjiang was quiet from the late nineties through mid-2006, though inter-ethnic tensions no doubt remained.

On January 5 2007 the Chinese Public Security Bureau raided a "terrorist training camp" in the mountains near the Pamir Plateau in southern Xinjiang. According to reports 18 "terrorists" were killed and another 17 captured in a gun battle between the East Turkestan Independence Movement and PRC forces. One Police Officer was killed and "over 1,500 hand grenades... were seized." [3]

Historic names

Once part of Western Regions, later, East Turkestan.

Subdivisions

Main article: List of administrative divisions of Xinjiang

Xinjiang is divided into two prefecture-level cities, seven prefectures, and five autonomous prefectures. (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.

Conventional[4]	Uyghur (kona yezik̡)	Uyghur Latin (yengi yezik̡)	Hanzi	Pinyin	Remarks
Prefecture-level cities
Ürümqi	ئۈرۈمچى شەھر?	Ürümqi Xəh̡ri	乌鲁木齐?	Wūlǔmùqí Shì
Karamay	قاراماي شەھر?	K̡aramay Xəh̡ri	克拉玛依?	Kèlāmǎyī Shì
Directly administered county-level cities
Shihezi	شىخەنزە شەھر?	Xihənzə Xəh̡ri	石河子?	Shíhézǐ Shì	Administered de facto by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
Tumxuk	تۇمشۇق شەھر?	Tumxuk̡ Xəh̡ri	图木舒克?	Túmùshūkè Shì
Aral	ئارال شەھر?	Aral Xəh̡ri	阿拉尔?	Ālā'ěr Shì
Wujiaqu	ئۇجاچۇ شەھر?	Wujiaqü Xəh̡ri	五家渠?	Wǔjiāqú Shì
Prefectures
Turpan Prefecture	تۇرپان ۋىلايىت?	Turpan Vilayiti	吐鲁番地?	Tǔlǔfān Dìqū
Kumul Prefecture	قۇمۇل ۋىلايىت?	K̡umul Vilayiti	哈密地?	Hāmì Dìqu
Hotan Prefecture	خوتەن ۋىلايىت?	Hotən Vilayiti	和田地?	Hétián Dìqū
Aksu Prefecture	ئاقسۇ ۋىلايىت?	Ak̡su Vilayiti	阿克苏地?	Ākèsū Dìqū
Kashgar Prefecture	قەشقەر ۋىلايىت?	K̡əxk̡ər Vilayiti	喀什地?	Kāshí Dìqū
Tacheng Prefecture	تارباغاتاي ۋىلايىت?	Tarbaƣatay Vilayiti	塔城地?	Tǎchéng Dìqu	subordinate to Ili Prefecture
Altay Prefecture	ئالتاي ۋىلايىت?	Altay Vilayiti	阿勒泰地?	Ālètài Dìqu
Autonomous prefectures
Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture	قىزىلسۇ قىرغىز ئاپتونوم ئوبلاست?	K̡izilsu K̡irƣiz Aptonom Oblasti	克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治?	Kèzīlèsū Kē'ěrkèzī Zìzhìzhōu
Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture	بايىنغولىن موڭغۇل ئاپتونوم ئوبلاست?	Bayinƣolin Mongƣol Aptonom Oblasti	巴音郭楞蒙古自治?	Bāyīnguōlèng Měnggǔ Zìzhìzhōu
Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture	سانجى خۇيزۇ ئاپتونوم ئوبلاست?	Sanji Huizu Aptonom Oblasti	昌吉回族自治?	Chāngjí Huízú Zìzhìzhōu
Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture	بۆرتالا موڭغۇل ئاپتونوم ئوبلاست?	Bɵrtala Mongƣol Aptonom Oblasti	博尔塔拉蒙古自治?	Bó'ěrtǎlā Měnggǔ Zìzhìzhōu
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture	ئىلى قازاق ئاپتونوم ئوبلاست?	Ili K̡azak̡ Aptonom Oblasti	伊犁哈萨克自治?	Yīlí Hāsàkè Zìzhìzhōu

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 the Turfan Depression, 155 metres below sea level (lowest point in the PRC as well). Its highest peak, K2, 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 (Lat. 46 degrees 16.8 minutes N, Long. 86 degrees 40.2 minutes E) 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.

The Eurasian pole of inaccessibility, the point on land farthest from any ocean, is located approximately 320 km (200 mi) from the city of Urumqi, within the boundary of Xinjiang.

Rivers include:

• Tarim River

Major Cities:

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

Economy

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.

Xinjiang's nominal GDP was approximately 187 billion RMB (about 23 billion USD) in 2003, and increased to 220 billion RMB (about 28 billion USD) in 2004, due to the China Western Development policy introduced by the State Council to boost economic development in Western China. Its per capita GDP for 2003 was 9,710 RMB (1172 USD).

Oil and gas extraction industry in Aksu and Karamay is booming, with the West-East Gas Pipeline 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 [4]. China's first border free trade zone (Horgos Free Trade Zone) was located at the Xinjiang-Kazakhstan border city of Horgos [5]. 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. [6]

Demographics

Xinjiang is home to several Muslim Turkic groups including the Uyghurs and the Kazakhs. Other PRC minority ethnic groups include Hui Chinese, the Kyrgyz, 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 (XPCC), 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. While at the same time, the minorities of Xinjiang were exempted from the One-Child Policy and many Uyghur people emigrated out of Xinjiang to other parts of China, the percentage of Uyghur people in the total population of China has increased steadily.

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
Tuvans	3260
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 (国家统计局人口和社会科技统计司) and Department of Economic Development of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission of China (国家民族事务委员会经济发展司), eds. Tabulation on Nationalities of 2000 Population Census of China (《2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料》). 2 vols. Beijing: Nationalities Publishing House (民族出版社), 2003. (ISBN 7-105-05425-5)

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 (especially the city of Kuitun), and Kumul. Kazakhs are mostly concentrated in Ili prefecture in northern Xinjiang.

Major ethnic groups in Xinjiang by region, 2000 census
	Uyghurs	Han Chinese	Kazakhs	others
Xinjiang	45.2%	40.6%	6.7%	7.5%
Ürümqi PLC	12.8%	75.3%	2.3%	9.6%
Karamay PLC	13.8%	78.1%	3.7%	4.5%
Turpan Prefecture	70.0%	23.3%	<0.1%	6.6%
Kumul Prefecture	18.4%	68.9%	8.8%	3.9%
Changji AP + Wujiaqu DACLC	3.9%	75.1%	8.0%	13.0%
Bortala AP	12.5%	67.2%	9.1%	11.1%
Bayin'gholin AP	32.7%	57.5%	<0.1%	9.7%
Aksu Prefecture + Alar DACLC	71.9%	26.6%	<0.1%	1.4%
Kizilsu AP	64.0%	6.4%	<0.1%	29.6%
Kashgar Prefecture + Tumushuke DACLC	89.3%	9.2%	<0.1%	1.5%
Khotan Prefecture	96.4%	3.3%	<0.1%	0.2%
Ili AP1	16.1%	44.4%	25.6%	13.9%
- Kuitun DACLC	0.5%	94.6%	1.8%	3.1%
- former Ili Prefecture	27.2%	32.4%	22.6%	17.8%
- Tacheng Prefecture	4.1%	58.6%	24.2%	13.1%
- Altay Prefecture	1.8%	40.9%	51.4%	5.9%
Shihezi DACLC	1.2%	94.5%	0.6%	3.7%

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年人口普查中国民族人口资料，民族出版社，2003/9 (ISBN 7-105-05425-5)
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 (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.

HIV/AIDS

With a population of about 20 million and an officially estimated 60,000 infections, Xinjiang has one-tenth of China’s AIDS cases and the highest HIV infection rate in the country. Chinese authorities estimate that Kashgar Prefecture, with a population of about three million, has 780 cases, but public health experts here say the real figure is probably four times that and rising fast.

Until recently, addicts were largely left to the police, who regarded them as simple criminals whose drug use was to be combated mercilessly. Resistance to treating drug addiction as a public health concern has been high, mirroring what some international health experts say was, more generally, a slow response to HIV/AIDS in China^[5].

Media

The Xinjiang Networking Transmission Limited operates the Urumqi People Broadcasting Station and the Xinjiang People Broadcasting Station, broadcasting in the Mandarin (dialect), Uyghur (dialect), Kazak and Mongolian.

Sports

Professional sports teams in Xinjiang include:

• Chinese Basketball Association
• Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers

See also

• Battle of Jushi
• East Turkestan independence movement
• Gaochang
• Jiaohe Ruins

Notes

References

• "The Tarim mummies", J.P. Mallory. ISBN 0500051011
• "Les Saces", Iaroslav Lebedynsky, ISBN 2877723372
• Watson, Burton. Trans. 1993. "Records of the Grand Historian of China: Han Dynasty II". Translated from the Shiji of Sima Qian. Columbia University Press. Revised Edition. ISBN 0-231-08166-9; ISBN 0-231-08167-7 (pbk.),

External links

Official sites

• 中国新疆政府网 Xinjiang Government

Maps

• Large map of Xinjiang
• Map of XUAR, shows main cities and subdivisions (Chinese)

Travel info

Culture, history, photos

• The Opposite End of China (Xinjiang Blog)
• Uyghur site
• Photo gallery of Xinjiang and Uyghur people
• Uyghur Culture and History
• http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=srh
• Photo gallery from CBC.ca Accessed December 14, 2006

Catalogues

• Dmoz

Administrative Divisions of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Provincial Capital：rmqi City)

Prefecture-level Cities, Regional District, Autonomous Prefectures , County-level Cities, Counties, Autonomous Counties rmqi City: Tianshan District | Saybagh District | Xinshi District | Shuimogou District | Toutunhe District | Dabancheng District | Dongshan District | rmqi County Karamay City: Karamay District | Dushanzi District | Baijiantan District | Urho District Turfan Prefecture: Turfan City | Toksun County | Piqan County Hami Prefecture: Kumul City | Yiwu County | Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County Hotan Prefecture: Hotan City | Hotan County | Lop County | Minfeng County | Pishan County | Qira County | Keriya County | Karakax County Aksu Prefecture: Aksu City | Wensu County | Xayar County | Baicheng County | Awat County | Kuqa County | Kalpin County | Toksu County | Uqturpan County Kashgar Prefecture: Kashgar City | Maralbexi County | Poskam County | Peyziwat County | Kargilik County | Yopurga County | Shule County | Makit County | Yengisar County | Yarkand County | Shufu County | Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture: Artux City | Akqi County | Ulugqat County | Akto County Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture: Korla City | Hejing County | Yuli County | Hoxud County | Qiemo County | Bohu County | Luntai County | Ruoqiang County | Yanqi Hui Autonomous County Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture: Changji City | Fukang City | Miquan City | Qitai County | Manas County | Jimsar County | Hutubi County | Mori Kazakh Autonomous County Brtala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture: Brtala City | Jinghe County | Wenquan County Autonomous Regional Districts directly under the jurisdiction of the County-level Cities: Shihezi City | Aral City | Tumushuke City | Wujiaqu City Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture: (The Tacheng Prefecture and Altay Prefectures are under the provincial jurisdiction of the Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture.) Autonomous Territories: Yining City | Kuitun City | Yining County | Tekes County | Nilka County | Zhaosu County | Xinyuan County | Huocheng County | Gongliu County | Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County Tacheng Prefecture: Tacheng City | Wusu City | Emin County | Yumin County | Shawan County | Toli County | Hoboksar Mongol Autonomous County Altay Prefecture: Altay City | Qinggil County | Jeminay County | Fuyun County | Burqin County | Fuhai County | Habahe County

•  • [ e] Province-level divisions administered by the People's Republic of China (PRC)
Provinces	Anhui Fujian Gansu Guangdong Guizhou Hainan Hebei Heilongjiang Henan Hubei Hunan Jiangsu Jiangxi Jilin Liaoning Qinghai Shaanxi Shandong Shanxi Sichuan Taiwan1 Yunnan Zhejiang
Autonomous regions	Guangxi Inner Mongolia Ningxia Tibet (Xizang) Xinjiang
Municipalities	Beijing Chongqing Shanghai Tianjin
Special administrative regions	Hong Kong Macau
1 Claimed by the People's Republic of China, but currently ruled by the Republic of China. See also Political status of Taiwan.

•  • [ e] Prefecture-level divisions of Xinjiang
'''Prefecture-level cities:	Karamay | rmqi
'''Prefectures:	Aksu | Hami | Hotan | Kashgar | Turpan | Altay1 | Qoqek1
'''Autonomous prefectures:	Bayin'gholin | Brtala | Changji | Ili | Kizilsu
'''Sub-prefecture-level cities:	Aral | Shihezi | Tumushuke | Wujiaqu
1 Part of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
List of Xinjiang County-level divisions