Xinjiang

史History & character

Xinjiang ("new frontier") is China's largest provincial-level division — one-sixth of the country's total area. The region splits into three geographies: the Junggar Basin in the north, the Tianshan range across the middle, and the Tarim Basin (with the Taklamakan desert at its core) in the south. The Silk Road's northern, central, and southern routes all crossed Xinjiang on their way to Central Asia and Europe.

Ethnically, Xinjiang is one of the most diverse parts of China. Uyghurs — Turkic-language-speaking Sunni Muslims — are the largest single group, concentrated in the southern oasis cities of Kashgar, Hotan, Yarkand, and Aksu. Han Chinese have become a majority in the northern Junggar region and in Urumqi. Kazakhs concentrate in Ili, Kyrgyz around the Pamirs, Tajiks around Tashkurgan, Hui across the cities. The political situation in the region has been internationally contested in recent years; visitors should expect security checks and ID inspection at frequent intervals along the south Silk Road, and should research current conditions before booking.

The landscapes are extraordinary: Heavenly Lake (Tianchi) below the snowcapped Bogda Peak, Kanas Lake in the far Altai north, the Taklamakan's dunes, the Karakoram Highway from Kashgar to Tashkurgan and the Pakistani border, the grape valleys of Turpan.