| An exotic destination with ancient memories of
the Silk Road, Xinjiang has much to offer a visitor. It is a place
of the finest grapes and melons, rare precious stones, and exquisitely
made carpets. Its people form a distinctive blend of cultures.
Located in China's northwest, Xinjiang is where east meets west,
where Asia connects with Europe as it has done since the days
of the Silk Road.
Xinjiang is rich in cultural and ethnic diversity for here the
visitor might meet Uygur, Kazak, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Sibe, Mongol,
Hui, and Han people. They and the other peoples of this remote
and evocative land are heir to a rich cultural legacy which has
been handed down over the centuries.
Travel in Xinjiang and you will be sure to come across fascinating
cultural relics of a colorful past and you can see endless grasslands,
timeless deserts, snow-capped mountains, glaciers, and wonderful
clear lakes and rivers for this is an area of outstanding natural
beauty.
Known in full as the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, its location
in China's northwest places it in the hinterland of the Eurasian
Continent. Its 1.66 million square kilometers make it the largest
of all of China's autonomous regions, provinces and municipalities.
In fact it accounts for no less than one sixth of the total territory
of China.
It is a real frontier territory for its 5,600 km of national
borders place Xinjiang in neighborly contact with no fewer than
eight different countries. These are Russia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan,
Tajikistan, Pakistan, Mongolia, India and Afghanistan.
Just as in those far off days when Xinjiang was an important
link in the Silk Road, today it represents an increasingly important
land bridge between east and west.
The region has 14 administrative prefectures, autonomous prefectures
and cities, which all together have a total of 85 counties and
cities under their jurisdiction. The 2003 statistics put Xinjiang's
population at over 19 million. And this must be a good place to
live as it is renowned for the longevity of its citizens. The
third national population census revealed it was home to a disproportionate
number of centenarians for Xinjiang had 865 out of just 3,765
in the whole of China.
Xinjiang's topography features three broadly parallel mountain
ranges with two basins lying between them. Running in the middle,
the Tianshan Mountains divide Xinjiang north and south. Go north
across the Junggar Basin and you will come to the Altay Mountains.
Cross the Tarim Basin to the south and you will come to the Kunlun
Mountains but you will need a good guide for the Tarim Basin is
where you can encounter the famous Taklamakan, China's largest
and the world's second largest, desert of shifting sands.
At 2,100 km the Tarim River is China's longest inland river.
Go down into the Turpan Basin and you will come to the lowest
lying place in China at 154 meters below sea level.
Xinjiang enjoys the typical dry continental climate of a temperate
zone. Outside of the deserts, it is a green and pleasant place
with abundant sunshine (2,600-3,400 hours per year), moderate
temperatures, and good water (annual surface water flow is 8.8
billion cubic meters, underground reserves are 25.2 billion cubic
meters, and glaciers covering an area of 24,000 square kilometers
hold reserves of a further 2,580 billion cubic meters).
2003 statistics show that the region has 68 million hectares
of land (41 percent of its total territory) suitable for farming,
forestry or grazing. Of this some 4 million hectares are in cultivation
while a further 9 million hectares still remain available for
upgrading to farming.
Xinjiang is one of the nation's five major grazing areas with
48 million hectares of natural grasslands and 666,700 hectares
of manmade pasture. It has nearly 5 million hectares available
for forestry and some 1.5 million hectares of standing timber
hold timber reserves running at 250 million cubic meters.
The authorities have been working hard to protect and improve
the environment. For example some 63 percent of days met the demanding
class 1 or 2 national standards for air quality (a 5 percent improvement
year on year).
The region now has 26 nature reserves covering a total area of
204,000 square kilometers. These include seven that have been
designated as national nature reserves:
· Xinjiang Altun Mountains Nature Reserve
· Xinjiang Bayanbulak Swan Reserve
· Xinjiang Kanas Nature Reserve
· Xinjiang Western Tianshan Nature Reserve
· Xinjiang Ganjia Lake Sacsaoul Reserve
· Xinjiang Tuomur Peak Nature Reserve
· Xinjiang Lop Nur Wild Camel Reserve
Other projects in the field of environmental protection include:
· eight state level ecological demonstration areas approved by
the central government
· eight more demonstration areas and units for ecological improvement
· 58 dust control areas (352 square kilometers)
· 39 noise control areas (315 square kilometers)
Xinjiang is rich in mineral resources. It has reserves of oil,
natural gas, coal, gold, copper, chromium, nickel, rare metals,
salts and building materials. Among the 138 minerals found in
the region, 5 represent the largest reserves of that mineral existing
nationwide. A further 24 rank in the top 5, and 41 in the top
10.
Put at some 21 billion tons, the region's oil reserves represent
30 percent of China's land deposits. Similarly its 1,030 billion
cubic meters of natural gas reserves account for 34 percent of
the nation's land deposits. What's more, the region also has 40
percent of the country's total coal reserves. Then there are the
sources of gold, rare gem stones and jade, for which Xinjiang
has been known throughout the world since ancient times.
The region is home to many extraordinarily rich and colorful
tourist attractions. China lists 68 categories of tourist resources
and no fewer than 56 of these are to be found in Xinjiang.
Crossing the region, the traveler can encounter a wealth of varied
landscapes ranging from glaciers to desert oasis. There are the
vast Bayanbulak Grasslands and beautiful lakes that have become
famous scenic attractions, such as the Heavenly Pond, Kanas Lake,
Bosten Lake, and Syram Lake. Then there are the Flaming Mountains
of Turpan so called for the deeply fissured red sandstone slopes
which twist heavenward like flickering flames, as if the desert
from which they spring was itself ablaze.
Some 5,000 kilometers of ancient Silk Road crossed Xinjiang.
Along three routes through north, south and central Xinjiang,
this has handed down a rich archaeological legacy. Of these treasures,
the most famous are the ancient cities at Jiaohe and Gaochang,
the ruins at Loulan, Kirzil's Thousand Buddha Cave and the Tomb
of Xiangfei.
And in the world of today, the colorful lifestyles and customs
of the people of the many ethnic groups living in Xinjiang hold
a special attraction for travelers to the western region.
Occupying an important place in the government's development
strategy for the western region, Xinjiang can see the pace of
progress quicken as it looks forward towards a bright new future.
(China.org.cn)
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