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March 8, 2014 |
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Xinjiang (zh-cpw |c=新疆 |p=Xīnjiāng |w=Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang; literal meaning: "New Frontier"; Uyghur language|Uyghur: IPA|شىنجاڭ) Uyghurs Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), sometimes known as Chinese Turkestan, East Turkestan (Turkestan also spelled Turkistan) or Uyghuristan. The capital is Urumqi|?r?mqi. Xinjiang's area is 1,650,000 km² (637,000 sq.mi) and the population is estimated at about 19 million. Traversed by the Silk Road, Xinjiang has been loosely influenced by China since the Han Dynasty. However, because it is far from eastern China, it has mostly ruled itself, except for parts of the Han Dynasty|Han, Tang Dynasty|Tang and Yuan Dynasty|Mongol dynasties, when it was under direct rule. It has also been ruled by the Mongols, Uyghurs, and the pre-Turkic Tocharians. The Qing Empire controlled the territory since the 18th century, and officially established Xinjiang Province ("new frontier") in 1884. In the period before the establishment of the People's Republic of China, Xinjiang was ruled by the warlord Sheng Shicai. The autonomous region of the PRC was established on October 1, 1955. Xinjiang contains 2 prefecture-level cities, 7 prefecture (China)|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, so are administered directly by the province. They are the direct-control county-level administrative units (直辖县级行政单位).
Xinjiang is the largest Political divisions of China|political subdivision of China. Xinjiang 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 (lowest point in the PRC as well). Its highest peak is 8611 metres above sea level on the border with Kashmir. 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 Xinjiang-Kyrgyzstan border is marked by the Tian Shan mountain range. The Torugart Pass (3752 m) is located on this border. The Karakorum highway (KKH) links Islamabad, Pakistan with Kashgar over the Khunjerab Pass. Neighbors include:
Rivers include: Tarim River Major Cities:
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 is home to several Muslim Turkic peoples|Turkic groups including the Uyghurs and the Kazakhs. Other PRC minority List of Chinese ethnic groups|ethnic groups include Hui Chinese, the Kirghiz, the Mongols, the Russian people|Russians, the Xibes, the Tajik (China)|Tajik, the Uzbek, the Tatars, and the Manchus. The percentage of ethnic Han Chinese in Xinjiang has grown from 6 percent in 1949 to over 40 percent at present. 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 commonly held as a threat to Uyghurs and other non-Han ethnicities in maintaining their culture, in a case similar to that of Tibet. The Uighurs trace descent to both the Turkic Uighurs and the pre-Turkic Indo-European Tocharians (or Tokharians), and fair-skin, hair and eyes, as well as other so-called 'Caucasoid' physical traits, are not uncommon among them.
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.
Main article: List of Xinjiang-related topics Professional sports teams in Xinjiang include:
Xinjiang is the home of the Lop Nur testing site for the PRC's nuclear weapons program. Supporters of Uyghur independence in East Turkestan are active in Xinjiang. Pro-PRC links
Pro-Independence links
Cultural links
Provinces_of_China Category:Disputed territories Category:Autonomous regions of the People's Republic of China Category:Xinjiang|* ar:شينجيانغ de:Xinjiang fr:Xinjiang nl:Xinjiang ug:Shinjang Uyghur Aptonom Rayoni ja:新疆ウイグル自治区 ko:신강 fi:Xinjiang zh-cn:新疆 This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Xinjiang".
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