Xinjiang: Encyclopedia - Xinjiang

Xinjiang

Xinjiang (Uyghur: شىنجاڭ (Shinjang); Chinese: 新疆; Hanyu Pinyin: Xīnjiāng; Wade-Giles: Hsin1-chiang1; Postal Pinyin: Sinkiang), full name Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Uyghur: شىنجاڭ ئۇيغۇر ئاپتونوم رايونى (Shinjang Uyghur Aptonom Rayoni); Simplified: 新疆维吾尔自治区; Traditional: 新疆維吾爾自治區; Hanyu Pinyin: Xīnjiāng Wéiwú'ěr Zìzhìqū), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Xinjiang borders the Tibet Autonomous Region to the south and Qinghai and Gansu provinces to the southeast. It also borders 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. Xinjiang includes most of Aksai Chin, a region claimed by India as part of its state of Jammu and Kashmir.

"Xinjiang" 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 (with Turkestan sometimes spelled as Turkistan) or Uyghuristan. Because of the association of these names with the independence movement, they are in turn considered synonymous with Pan-Turkic Islamist terrorism by the PRC government and local Han Chinese residents.

Xinjiang - History

Traversed by the Silk Road, 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 - 220 AD), 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. Over the next century, Han China conducted several expeditions into the region, re-establishing the protectorate from 73 AD to 74, from 91 to 107, and from 123 onward. After the fall of the Han Dynasty (220), the protectorate continued to be maintained by the Wei Dynasty (until 265) and the Western Jin Dynasty (from 265 onwards).

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 Liang, 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.

In the late 5th century the Tuyuhun and the Rouran began to encroach upon the region and 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 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.

Both Tibet and the Uyghur Khaganate declined in the mid-9th century. The region then entered into an age of fragmentation. The Kara-Khanid Khanate was in control of western Xinjiang in the 10th century and the 11th century, while branches of the Uyghurs established themselves in central Xinjiang in the same time period. In 1132, remnants of the Khitan Empire from Manchuria entered Xinjiang, fleeing the onslaught of the Jurchens. They established an exile regime, the Kara-Khitan Khanate, that unified what is now Xinjiang over the next century.

Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire conquered the Kara-Khitan in 1218. After the disintegration of the Mongol Empire, Xinjiang was ruled by the Chagatai Khanate, one of the successor states of the empire. In the 15th century the Chagatai Khanate disintegrated into separate states in Gulja, Yarkand, and Turpan. In the 17th century, the Dzungars established an empire over much of the region. The Qing Empire, established by the Manchus in China, gained control over eastern Xinjiang after defeating the Jungars in 1697. In 1755, the Manchu Empire attacked Gulja, and captured the Jungar khan. Over the next two years, the Manchus destroyed the remnants of the Jungar khanate. In 1759 a rebellion south of the Tian Shan mountains was put down, thus cementing Manchu rule over Xinjiang. The Manchus put the area under the rule of a General of Ili, headquartered at Gulja.

By the mid-19th century, the Russian Empire was encroaching upon Qing China along its entire northern frontier. In 1864 most of what was northwestern Xinjiang up to Lake Balkhash was ceded to the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Tacheng. This area now constitutes parts of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Also in 1864, rebellions broke out all over Xinjiang, including Kucha, Khotan, Kashgar, Turpan and other areas. In spring 1865, Yaqub Beg, a lord of the neighbouring Khanate of Kokand, entered Xinjiang via Kashgar, and conquered nearly all of Xinjiang over the next six years. In 1871, Russia seized the 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. In 1884, Qing China established Xinjiang ("new frontier") as a province, formally applying onto it the political system of China proper.

In 1912 the Qing Dynasty was replaced by the Republic of China. Yuan Dahua, the Qing governor of Xinjiang, acceded to the Republic of China in March of the same year. Following insurgencies against Governor Yang Zengxin in the early 1930s, a rebellion in Kashgar led to the establishment of the short-lived First East Turkistan Republic (1st ETA) in 1933. Xinjiang was eventually brought under the control of Han Chinese warlord Sheng Shicai, who ruled Xinjiang for the next decade. 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. It ended 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.

There continue to be tensions in the region, centering both upon Uyghur aspirations to independence and resentment towards what is described as repression of non-Han Chinese culture by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and Han Chinese resentment towards the aforementioned Uyghur sentiments, as well as towards PRC policies of ethnic autonomy which are perceived as discriminatory against Han Chinese (see autonomous entities of China). Independence advocates view Chinese rule in Xinjiang, and policies like the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps as Chinese imperialism. These tensions occasionally result in major incidents and violent clashes, such as the Kazakh Exodus from Xinjiang in 1962, in which 60,000 refugees fled into the Soviet Union; the Baren Township riot on April 5, 1990 that resulted in more than 50 deaths; the Ghulja riot of February 5, 1997, where over 1000 Uyghurs clashed with military police, resulting in anywhere between 10 and 200 deaths; and the Urumqi bus bombs of February 25, 1997 that killed 9 and injured 68.

Xinjiang - Subdivisions

Xinjiang is divided into 2 prefecture-level cities, 7 prefectures, and 5 autonomous prefectures. (2 of the 7 prefectures are in turn part of Ili, an autonomous prefecture.) 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.

Xinjiang - Geography

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 (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.

Rivers include: Tarim River

Major Cities:

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

Xinjiang - 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 (about 23 billion USD) in 2003, and increased to 220 billion RMB in 2004, due to the "Develop the West" policy introduced by the State Council. Its per capita GDP for 2003 was 9,710 RMB (ca. 1172 USD).

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 Kazakstan through Ala Pass. [2]

Recently, China Western Development policy was adopted to boost economical development in western China.

Xinjiang - 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 (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.

Source: 2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料，民族出版社，2003/9 (ISBN 7105054255)
Does not include members of the People's Liberation Army in active service.

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.

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 7105054255)
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 Indo-European Tocharians (or Tokharians), 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, Pakistan and northern India.

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.

Xinjiang - Culture

Xinjiang - Miscellaneous topics

Main article: List of Xinjiang-related topics

Professional sports teams in Xinjiang include:

• Chinese Football Association
  • None
• Chinese Basketball Association
  • Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Xinjiang", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki