Xinjiang uyghur

Country

China

Continent

Asia

Best Cities to Visit

Kashgar
Turpan
Hotan
Hami
Ghulja

Size

1,665,000 KM²

Population

25,852,345

Spending Budget

$350 - $400

Famous For

Ürümqi
Kashgar
Ili

Best Time to Visit

May
June
July
August
September

History

Xinjiang, the largest region of China, is bordered by eight countries including the former Soviet Central Asian republics, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.It experienced a brief period of independence in the 1940s, but China regained control after the Communists took power in 1949. Its full name is the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.It is home to the Turkic-speaking Muslim Uighur minority, who make up about eight million of its 19 million people.Rich in natural resources, its economic development has been accompanied by large-scale immigration of Han Chinese.Many Uighurs complain of discrimination and marginalisation by the Chinese authorities. Anti-Han and separatist sentiment has become more prevalent since the 1990s, flaring into violence on occasion.

Present Day

Uighur, Chinese (Pinyin) Weiwu’er, also spelled Uygur or Uyghur, a Turkic-speaking people of interior Asia. Uighurs live for the most part in northwestern China, in the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang; a small number live in the Central Asian republics. There were some 10,000,000 Uighurs in China and at least a combined total of 300,000 in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan in the early 21st century.The Uighur language is part of the Turkic group of Altaic languages, and the Uighurs are among the oldest Turkic-speaking peoples of Central Asia. They are mentioned in Chinese records from the 3rd century CE. They first rose to prominence in the 8th century, when they established a kingdom along the Orhon River in what is now north-central Mongolia.

Future

This Uyghur-majority neighborhood known as Dawan was one of the centers of violence during the July 5, 2009 protests. A large number of the Han migrants who were killed or injured during the violence came from this neighborhood. In the years that followed, many Han migrants moved from this neighborhood to majority Han districts to the north. Those who remained marked their space, signaling their defiance. The six-foot-tall sign was a statement regarding the type of “quality,” or sùzhì (素质), that was protected by the institutions of the city. Unlike many places in China, in Ürümchi, Han rural-to-urban migrants received a great deal of institutional support.

Must Visit Places ------------

Urumqi

Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, qualifies as a mega city with its 3,5 million people and modern skyscrapers. It’s one of the most remote cities on the planet, and the farthest city from any ocean coast according to the Guinness World Records. It’s very close to the (claimed) geographic center of Asia.

Turpan

Turpan is one of Xinjiang’s jewels, a predominantly Uyghur place with ancient history, unique local culture and specific geographical value. Turpan is one of the lowest cities not only in Xinjiang, but all of Asia. Located just beside the lowest point in Xinjiang—the Turpan Depression (157 m below sea level)—for geography lovers it’s worth visiting.

Kashgar

Let’s jump to the far west of Xinjiang. Here, on an important crossroads of the famous Silk Road routes, another gorgeous city was established. This is Kashgar, a remote Uyghur settlement surrounded by both desert and some of the highest mountains on the Earth

Tashkirgan

Have you heard about the famous Karakoram Highway, passing through Khunjerab, the highest border crossing on Earth? This heavenly road starts from Kashgar, crosses the Pamir and Karakoram mountains, then runs between the Himalaya and Hindukush mountains, the highest mountains on our planet. It finally descends to the Indus River valley in Pakistan

Taklamakan desert

Open the satellite map image of Xinjiang. Can you see the yellowish eye-shaped spot surrounded by mountains in the south? That’s Taklamakan, one of the largest sandy deserts on the Earth.

Khotan

South of Taklamakan, the edges of the desert are surrounded by a ring of oases, once a cradle of many local kingdoms and cultures. One of them is Khotan, a city with old history and Uyghur traditions

Fiji Highway

Let’s cross from the southern to the northern part of Xinjiang, passing through one of the most beautiful mountain ranges on earth: Tianshan. And let’s do it via the Duku Highway.

Sayram lake

The Tianshan is a stunning mountain range. Alpine peaks—some of which reach 7000 m in altitude—glaciers, and grasslands and alpine forests on the lower regions make Tianshan a fantastic region to explore. Add to this a beautiful lake in the grasslands, with nomadic yurts surrounded by herds of sheep and yaks along its coasts.

Bogda shan mountains

Tianshan is a long mountain range, stretching from Uzbekistan in the west to the easternmost parts of Xinjiang near the Mongolian border. All of its branches are stunning, but one particularly magnificent stretch stands between the plains of Urumqi and Turpan: Bogda Shan, one of the easternmost sub-ranges of the Tianshan mountains.

Hami

In the easternmost part of Xinjiang, not far from Mongolia and Gansu Province of China, is the jewel of Hami (Kumul), the easternmost city in Xinjiang. Do you know that some of these cities are “fruit capitals”? Turpan is the city of grapes, Aksu is the city of apples (though there’s not much else to see there), and Kashgar is the city of pomegranates. Can you guess what Hami’s fruit is?