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Xinji (Chinese: 辛集; pinyin: Xīnjí) is a county-level city of Hebei Province, North China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shijiazhuang. It is the easternmost county-level division of Shijiangzhuang.
Xinjiang is the largest political subdivision of China, accounting for more than one sixth of China's total territory and a quarter of its boundary length. Xinjiang is mostly covered with uninhabitable deserts and dry grasslands, with dotted oases conducive to habitation accounting for 9.7 percent of Xinjiang's total area by 2015 [ 17 ] at the ...
- Overview
- Relief
- Drainage
Xinjiang, autonomous region of China, occupying the northwestern corner of the country. It is bordered by the Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Gansu to the east, the Tibet Autonomous Region to the south, Afghanistan and the disputed territory of Kashmir to the southwest, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the west, Kazakhstan to the northwest, Russia to the north, and Mongolia to the northeast. It is China’s largest political unit. Its capital is at Ürümqi (Wulumuqi).
Known to the Chinese as Xiyu (“Western Regions”) for centuries, the area became Xinjiang (“New Borders”) upon its annexation under the Qing (Manchu) dynasty in the 18th century. Westerners long called it Chinese Turkistan to distinguish it from Russian Turkistan. Xinjiang is an area of lonely, rugged mountains and vast desert basins. Its indigenous population of agriculturalists and pastoralists (principally Uyghurs) inhabit oases strung out along the mountain foothills or wander the arid plains in search of pasturage. Since the establishment of firm Chinese control in 1949, serious efforts have been made to integrate the regional economy into that of the country, and these efforts have been accompanied by a great increase in the Han (Chinese) population there. The policy of the Chinese government is to allow the ethnic groups to develop and maintain their own cultural identities, although it asserted an assimilative education policy in the 21st century. The extent to which that policy has been successful in Xinjiang has been interpreted variously; ethnic tensions exist, especially between Uyghurs and Han. Area 635,900 square miles (1,646,900 square km). Pop. (2020) 25,852,345.
Xinjiang can be divided into five physiographic regions: the Northern Highlands, the Junggar (Dzungarian) Basin, the Tien (Tian) Shan (“Celestial Mountains”), the Tarim Basin, and the Kunlun Mountains. These regions run roughly from east to west, the high mountains alternating with large basins.
In the north the Northern Highlands extend in a semicircle along the Mongolian border. The major range in this area is the Altai Mountains, with average heights of approximately 4,500 feet (1,400 metres) above sea level. The slopes of the Altai Mountains on the Chinese (western) side are relatively gentle, with numerous rolling and dome-shaped hills.
The triangular-shaped Junggar Basin, or Dzungaria, with an area of some 147,000 square miles (380,000 square km), is bordered by the Altai Mountains on the northeast, the Tien Shan on the south, and the Zhongghar (Dzungarian) Alatau (Alataw) Mountains (principally of Kazakhstan) on the northwest. The basin is open on both the east and west. It contains a ring of oases at the foot of the enclosing mountains and a steppe and desert belt in the centre of the depression.
The Tien Shan occupies nearly one-fourth of the area of Xinjiang. The mountains stretch into the region from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan and run eastward from the border for about 1,000 miles (1,600 km). They are highest in the west and taper off slightly to the east. The highest mountains are Khan Tängiri (Hantengri) Peak on the Kazakh border, which rises to an elevation of 22,949 feet (6,995 metres); and Victory Peak (Russian Pik Pobedy) on the Kyrgyz border, which attains 24,406 feet (7,439 metres). They are found in a cluster of mountains, from which ridges extend southwestward along the boundary between China and Kyrgyzstan. The Tien Shan is perpetually covered by snow, and numerous long glaciers descend its slopes from extensive snowfields.
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The drainage pattern of Xinjiang is unique within China. The only stream whose waters reach the sea is the Irtysh River, which rises in north-central Xinjiang (as the Ertix River), flows west and crosses into Kazakhstan (where it is called the Ertis), and, as the Irtysh, flows through Russia into the Ob River, which then empties into the Arctic Oce...
Aug 25, 2023 · Xinjiang, the largest and most westerly region of China, is bordered by eight countries including the former Soviet Central Asian republics, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
Mar 24, 2021 · Xinjiang is China’s gateway to Central Asia, bordering Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Afghanistan, as well as Mongolia and Russia in the north and Pakistan and India in the south.
Nov 17, 2016 · Xinjiang is China's largest administrative region and borders eight countries. Provides a full overview of Xinjiang, including key events and facts.
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Mar 29, 2021 · China would welcome a United Nations visit to Xinjiang Autonomous Region — the scene of what some nations have called a government campaign of genocide against the Uyghur minority — but Beijing...
