Encyclopedia

Xinjiang

Xinjiang (shin'jyäng') [key]or Sinkiang (shin'jyäng', sin'kyăng) [key][Chinese,=new frontier], officially Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Mandarin Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu), autonomous region (1994 est. pop. 16,050,000), c.637,000 sq mi (1,650,257 sq km), NW China. It is also called Chinese Turkistan or Eastern Turkistan. Xinjiang is bordered by Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan on the west and north, by the Republic of Mongolia, Gansu, and Qinghai on the east, and by Tibet and India on the south. The capital is Ürümqi (Urumchi). Other important cities are Yining (Gulja), Kashi (Kashgar), Hotan (Khotan), and Aksu.

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The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

More on Xinjiang from Fact Monster:

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