Xinjiang (historical area)

Xinjiang (新疆; Uyghur: شىنجاڭ), alternatively romanized as Sinkiang, is an area located in Central Asia, between 73 ° 5 'to 96 ° 4' east and 35 ° 5 'and 49 ° north, in total 1,660,000 square km, sharing borders with Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Qinghai Province and Gansu Province. This region has been called Western Regions (Chinese: 西域; pinyin: xīyù) in China's history[1] and is currently known as China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a provincial-level jurisdiction.

Map of Modern Xinjiang

The name 'Xinjiang' literally means "new territory" in Chinese,[2] and originated in the early Qing dynasty, it referred to Manchu's newly conquered lands, such as 'Yunnan Xinjiang' (literally "the Yunnan new territory"), 'Guangxi Xinjiang' (literally "the Guangxi new territory"). The lands of Dzungar Khanate and Yarkent Khanate later conquered by the Qing empire in the mid-18th century, were also named 'Xiyu Xinjiang' (literally "the Western Regions new territory"). This area revolted against the Qing empire in the middle of the 19th century[3] and the rebels against the regime were subsequently reunified by Yaqub Beg of West Turkestan.[4] In 1884, the area was conquered again by the Qing empire and set up as a 'Xinjiang Province'.[5] In the subsequent changes, the administrative area of this region has been shrinking and was eventually reduced to the extent of today's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

For the indigenous peoples of this region (mainly Turkic peoples), the word 'Xinjiang' is a foreign language word with colonialist implications and no connection to the local historical and cultural traditions. They use the name East Turkestan (Uyghur: شەرقىي تۈركىستان, Sherqiy Türkistan; Chinese: 东突厥斯坦, Pinyin: Dōng Tūjuésītǎn) to refer to this area.[6] Due to the existence of the East Turkestan independence movement, apart from the original cultural and geographical meaning, this name has political overtones. It is not accepted by those who are against independence for East Turkestan. Therefore, for those opponents, East Turkestan is no better than Xinjiang (新疆).

So Xinjiang (新疆) may refer to: