Xinjiang Travel Guide

Xinjiang is very famous for its natural beauty and structure, Xinjiang is actually an autonomous Region which is located in the central part of the Eurasian Continent, on the northwest border of China. It covers about one-sixth of the country's total territory, 1,664,900 square kilometres (about 642,821 square miles), making it the largest administrative division with also the longest land frontier and most neighbouring countries in the country. However, only about 4.3% of its territory is habitable. The rest is mostly desert such as Gobi, snow-capped mountains and glaciers. China's largest desert, Takla Makan Desert, is in this region. But in these unpopulated areas are scattered some special landscapes and unique natural scenery like Flaming Mountains and Yadan Spectacle.

Attraction

Xinjiang has a unique landscape which is called 'three mountains surrounding two basins'. These features are, from north to south, Altai Mountains, Dzungarian Basin, Tianshan Mountains,

Urumqi Red Hill Park

Tarim Basin and Kunlun Mountains. The Tianshan Mountains, in the middle, divides this Autonomous Region into two totally different parts - the north part and the south part. If the north part means mountains and grasslands like the Kanas Nature Reserve and Narat Grassland, the south part means desert and Gobi such as the Takla Makan Desert; if north part means a pasture-based culture, the south part means an agricultural society; if north part means fine horses and the sounds of singing, the south part means dances such as Mukamu (the most popular local dance). 

The capital city, Urumqi, is located in the north part. The city has many gorgeous landscape features such as Red Hill and Southern Pasture, as well as featured cultural relics like Tartar Mosque and Qinghai Mosque. Urumqi is also an important city along the world-famous Silk Road, a historically important international trade route between China and the Mediterranean, which extended as far as present-day Rome. Some other important cities in the Autonomous Region along the Silk Road include Kashgar and Turpan, which boast places of interest like the Id Kah Mosque, Karakuri Lake and Karez System.There are many places in Xinjiang which attracts the tourists, especially the deserts, mountains and the glaciers which increase the beauty of Xinjiang. Every year thousands of tourists visits these places and enjoy their lives. One more point I want to mention here if we talk about the natural resources in Xinjiang then there are also many beautiful places with beautiful weather here. If we give overlook to

Turpan Flaming Mountains

these two places like Turpan and Khotan where the temperature goes above 40 degrees then there is Urumqi the capital of Xinjiang which is only 100 kilometres away from Turpan has a very cool and pleasant weather. According to the local people of Urumqi, they are very happy with their lives because they are surviving very easily and the government is facilitating them in every field.

Climate Situated far from the sea and encircled by high mountains, Xinjiang has a typical continental climate with a low annual rainfall, long sunshine duration and a large diurnal temperature variation. These weather conditions are favourable for sugar accumulation in fruit, so the area is richly cultivated with fruit including melons. It is famous as a 'hometown of fruit and melons'. The most well-known fruit are grapes and honeydew melon. In general, winters are very cold, springs are often windy, and summers are extremely hot here. The best time to visit is early autumn, when the days are long, the sky is clear, and the temperature is more bearable. Another excellent reason to visit at that time is the abundance of delicious melons and fruits, which are available then.

People & Life

Xinjiang is quite vast, it has almost 47 ethnic minority groups which together account for 60% of its total population. Of the 47 ethnic minorities, 13 are native, including the Uygur, the major ethnic group living here. The Uygur have their own language and religious belief, Islam. Their traditional clothes are long gowns called 'Qiapan'. As well, they wear small, beautifully embroidered hats called 'Duopa'. The main foods of the Uygur are Nang (a kind of crusty pancake) and hand-drawn noodles. Hand pilaf and roast meat are usually offered during festivals or to guests. Their roast mutton chop is famous all over the country and can be found in almost every city in the country. The Uygur residence is flat-topped with a skylight. Inside the residence, there are usually

Xinjiang Local Cuisine

a fireplace and recess, the one used for cooking and keeping warm, while the other used for storing daily articles. Both the inside and outside of the residence are decorated with colourful ornamentation.The most famous traditional festivals of the Uygur are Rozah and Corban Festival. Rozah is the fast-breaking festival of the Islam, while the Corban Festival is the New Year's Day of the Islamic calendar. Last, but not least, the Uygur are very good at dancing and singing. Sainaimu is one of the most popular dances and their '12 Mukamu' is renowned as the 'treasure of eastern music.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN XINJIANG

Xinjiang is the biggest province of China and it’s considered as the latest developed province. According to the National Development and Reform Commission, China's economic planner, since late 2012, the provinces and municipalities have allocated more than 13 billion Yuan (about $1.91 billion) to promote local industries and created more than 500,000 jobs in Xinjiang. Xinjiang has seen rapid economic growth in the past few years, with infrastructure projects bringing the region closer to the rest of China. According to official data, Xinjiang's regional economy grew by 7.6 percent in 2016, 0.9 percentage points above the national average. Per capita disposable income grew 8.9 percent to 18,355 Yuan, also faster than the national rate.

By the end of 2016, the incidence of poverty in the region had dropped to 10 percent or less, according to a white paper issued by China's State Council Information Office. The fast growth was partly boosted by infrastructure upgrades, which the region's authorities deemed as crucial for tackling overcapacity, deepening supply-side reform, and supporting the Belt and Road Initiative. Covering an area of 1.66 million square kilometres, or about one-sixth of China's land area, Xinjiang is huge and its infrastructure is still far from enough to support its development.

High-Speed Railway

According to the provincial government work report issued earlier this year, Xinjiang plans to spend over 1.5 trillion Yuan on infrastructure in 2017, including more than 200 billion Yuan on new roads, 34.7 billion on the rail network, and 14.4 billion to upgrade the airport in the capital Urumqi.The region also plans to invest over 227 billion Yuan in projects including water diversion, power transmission, and cloud computing, according to the report. Xinjiang already has 4,395 kilometres of expressway and 717 kilometres of high-speed railway, as well as 18 civil airports, according to the white paper. 

The Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of Silk Road, has injected new impetus to Xinjiang's development.Since the initiative was proposed in 2013, Horgos, an old port bordering Kazakhstan in Xinjiang, has seen "explosive development," local officials said. Last year, more than 2,400 companies were registered in Horgos. The city's GDP was 5.12 billion Yuan in 2016, up 278 percent from 2015. At the core of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Xinjiang is also quickly building up strong industries, including chemicals, information technology, machinery manufacturing, and textiles.In 2017, industrial investment is expected to hit 461 billion Yuan, of which manufacturing totals 280 billion Yuan, up 51 percent from last year.

POPULATION OF XINJIANG AND ETHNIC GROUPS

The Xinjiang region has a population of 22 million with about 10 million Uyghur’s including other ethnic minorities that puts the Muslim Turkish speaking population closer to 12 million. Xinjiang is the biggest province where Muslims are in majority. There are a number of ethnic groups including Uyghur’s, Han, Kazakhs, Tibetans, Hui, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Mongols, Russians and Xibe, etc.

CULTURE OF XINJIANG

Xinjiang, the autonomous region of China. There are almost 47 ethnic groups are living in Xinjiang, and they have a great historical background about culture and heritage. All the ethnic groups represent their own culture and tradition but the Uyghur’s are having the most beautiful and epic culture and heritage.

Xinjaing Ethnic Minorities

All the ethnic groups represent their own culture according to their own style. We can see the photographs in which the people of Xinjiang display their culture. Herdsmen of the Tajik ethnic group catch sheep in an event steeped in tradition to welcome spring in the Tashi Kuergan, Tajik autonomous region in Xinjiang. Kazakh villager’s celebrates the Nowruz festival in the beginning of the New Year, in this day they use to perform a special dance with a special dress. Uyghur traditional dance is considered as the most beautiful and famous dance in Xinjiang. 

Every year Uyghur’s arrange the different programs in the Xinjiang international Grand Bazaar in Urumqi, where the Uyghur artists perform their culture. During the performance the Uyghur artists use to wear a special cultural dress and cap and some people sing classical songs. The Uyghur’s most of the customs and traditions stem out from Islam. However Uyghur’s are different from a lot of Muslims in that they really love to dance and music and the women perform publicly. Food also represents the culture of any nation, Uyghur’s traditional food is really amazing. Uyghur’s traditional food is one the strong reason to bring the tourists in Xinjiang.