Xinjiang 新疆

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Karakorum-d05.jpg
Author: Colegota


Xinjiang (Simplified Chinese: 新疆) is an autonomous region on the northwestern part of China. It is officially called the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The name Xinjiang dates back to the Qing Dynasty and means "new territory". The area is the traditional home of several minority ethnic groups including the Uyghur, Han, Kazakh, Hui, Kyrgyz and Mongol. The old transliteration of Xinjiang was Sinkiang.

Xinjiang Ugyhur Autonomous Region is the biggest political subdivision in China. It covers 1,660,000 sq km (640,930 sq mi) and has a population of 22 million people (2011 estimate), ranking it as the 24th most populous region of the country. It borders Tibet Autonomous Region and India's Leh District to the south, Qinghai Province and Gansu Province to the southeast, Mongolia to the east, Russia to the north, and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and another border with India, all to the west.

Within Xinjiang is the lowest point in China, the Turpan Depression, at 155 meters below sea level, and the second highest mountain in China, the K2, at 8,611 meters above sea level. The Tian Shan mountain range divides Xinjiang into the Dzungarian Basin in the north and the Tarim Basin in the south. It also forms the border between Xinjiang and Kyrgyzstan. The Tarim Basin is occupied to a large extend by the Taklimakan Desert.

Mosque in Yanqi, Xinjiang