Geography
Xinjiang borders the Tibet Autonomous Region to the south and Qinghai and Gansu provinces to the southeast, Mongolia to the east, Russia to the north, and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and the Pakistan- and India-controlled parts of Kashmir to the west.
Xinjiang is the largest political subdivision of China - it accounts for more than one sixth of China’s total territory and a quarter of its boundary length. It is divided into two basins by Mount Tianshan. Dzungarian Basin is in the north, and Tarim Basin is in the south. Xinjiang’s lowest point is the Turfan Depression, 155 meters below sea level (lowest point in the PRC as well). Its highest peak, K2, is 8611 metres above sea level, on the border with Kashmir.
Most of Xinjiang is young geologically, having been formed from the collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate, forming the Tian Shan, Kunlun Shan, and Pamir mountain ranges. Consequently, Xinjiang is a major earthquake zone. Older geological formations occur principally in the far north where the Junggar Block is geologically part of Kazakhstan, and in the east which is part of the North China Craton.
The Tian Shan mountain range marks the Xinjiang-Kyrgyzstan border at the Torugart Pass (3752 m). The Karakorum highway (KKH) links Islamabad, Pakistan with Kashgar over the Khunjerab Pass.
The Eurasian pole of inaccessibility, the point on land farthest from any ocean, is located approximately 320 km (200 mi) from the city of Urumqi, within the boundary of Xinjiang.


History
Inhabited since early times by nomad tribes, it first passed under Chinese rule in the 1st century B.C., when the Xihan Dynasty occupied the region. 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 Qing dynasty, it was established as Xinjiang province at 1884. The People’s Republic of China took the area in control in 1949 and it was constituted as an autonomous region in 1955.
Ethnic Group
In general, Uyghurs are the majority in western Xinjiang, including the prefectures of Kashgar, Khotan, Kizilsu, and Aksu, as well as Turpan prefecture in eastern Xinjiang. Han Chinese are the majority in eastern and northern Xinjiang, including the cities of Urumqi, Karamay, Shihezi and the prefectures of Changji, Bortala, Bayin’gholin, Ili (especially the city of Kuitun), and Kumul. Kazakhs are mostly concentrated in Ili prefecture in northern Xinjiang.
Other minority ethnic groups include the Hui, the Kirghiz, the Mongols, the Russians, the Xibes, the Tajik, the Uzbek, the Tatars, and the Manchus.


Xinjiang is an autonomous region of China, which has an area of 635,900 sq mi (1,646,900 sq km) .The capital is Urumqi.
Administrative divisions
Xinjiang is divided into two prefecture-level cities, seven prefectures, and five autonomous prefectures. (Two of the seven prefectures are in turn part of Ili, an autonomous prefecture.)
The prefecture-level cities are:
•Urumqi
•Karamay
The prefectures are:
•Turpan Prefecture
•Kumul Prefecture
•Hotan Prefecture
•Aksu Prefecture
•Kashgar Prefecture
•Tacheng Prefecture
•Altay Prefecture
The autonomous prefectures are:
•Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture
•Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture
•Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture
•Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture
•Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
These are then divided into eleven districts, twenty county-level cities, sixty-two counties, and six autonomous counties. Four of the county-level cities(Shihezi, Tumxuk, Aral, Wujiaqu)do not belong to any prefecture, and are de facto administered by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.


Economy
In the most populated areas cotton and silk are produced and wheat, rice, millet, potatoes, sorghum, sugar beets, and fruit are grown. Although extensive areas of grazing land have been converted to raising wheat, large-scale animal husbandry remains important, and the number of livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and camels) is increasing. Many of the Kazakh and Mongol stock-herders are still at least seminomadic.
Although Xinjiang is predominantly agricultural and pastoral, it has rich mineral resources. The vast oil fields at Karamay are among the largest in China, and there are extensive deposits of coal, silver, copper, lead, nitrates, gold, and zinc. New mines as well as associated industry, such as refineries, ironworks, steelworks, and chemical plants, have been established. Other industries include textile and cement production and sugar refining.