Xinjiang

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or Hsin-chiang conventional Sinkiang in full Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang

Autonomous region (pop., 2002 est.: 19,050,000), northwestern China.

It is bordered by the Kashmir region, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Mongolia, Gansu and Qinghai provinces, and Tibet. China's largest political unit, it covers some 635,900 sq mi (1,646,900 sq km). The capital is Ürümqi. Inhabited since early times by nomad tribes, it is an area of rugged mountains and desert basins. The Silk Road traversed the region. It came under the control of local leaders with the fall of the Han dynasty in the 3rd century AD and was regained by China in the 7th century. It was successively subject to the Tibetans, Uighurs, and Arabs and was conquered by Genghis Khan in the 13th century. Again under Chinese rule during the Manchu dynasty, it was established as Xinjiang province c. 1884. It came under Chinese communist rule in 1949. It was reconstituted as an autonomous region in 1955. It has mineral resources, heavy industry (including iron and steel works), and some agricultural production.

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Urumqi - City (pop., 1999 est.: 1,258,457), capital of Xinjiang autonomous region, northwestern China.

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Tarim River - Chief river of Xinjiang autonomous region, China.

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More on "Xinjiang" from the 32 Volume Encyclopædia Britannica:

Sinkiang, Uighur Autonomous Region of - autonomous region occupying the northwestern corner of the People's Republic of China. The region is bordered by Mongolia to the northeast, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan to the northwest, Afghanistan and the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the southwest, the Tibet Autonomous Region to the southeast, and the Chinese provinces of Tsinghai and Kansu to the east.

Sinkiang, Uygur Autonomous Region of - autonomous region occupying the northwestern corner of China. It is bordered by Mongolia to the northeast, Russia to the north, Kazakstan to the northwest, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the west, Afghanistan and the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the southwest, the Tibet Autonomous Region to the southeast, and the Chinese provinces of Tsinghai and Kansu to the east. China's largest ...

Kashgar rug - floor covering handwoven at Kashgar (Kashi) in Chinese Turkistan (now the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang). The Kashgar rugs are difficult to distinguish from the similar ones of Khotan (Hotan) and Yarkand (Yarkant).

Samarkand rug - handwoven floor covering that was once marketed through the ancient city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan but is actually produced by Kyrgyz or Uzbek tribeswomen or in the towns of Khotan (Hotan), Kashgar, and Yarkand in Xinjiang, China. Except for their colouring, the general effect of these rugs is more Chinese than Middle Eastern. See Kashgar rug; Khotan rug.

Asia - Reserves of uranium ore are found in Asia's ancient crystalline rocks. The richest ore fields are found in Kyrgyzstan, between Osh and Tuya Muyun. China and India have their own deposits. Chinese uranium resources are thought to be in northern Xinjiang and southern Hunan provinces.

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