XinJiang China Map: Urumqi, Kashgar (Silk Road), XinJiang Uyghur Map  

   XinJiang is one of China's five autonomous regions, with the others been GuangXi, Inner Mongolia, NingXia, and Tibet (XiZang). Of the 19.6 million plus people living in the XinJiang Uygur Autonomous Region, 40.6% are Han Chinese and the rest 59.4% made up of minorities from Daur, Hui, Kazak, Kirgiz, Manchu, Mongolian, Ozbek, Russian, Tajik, Uygur, and Xibe Peoples.
   In area XinJiang takes up nearly one-sixth of China’s total land mass or 1.66 million Square Kilometers (617,763 Square Miles) and shares international borders with 8 countries - India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia – and 3 other China Provinces - Tibet, QingHai and GanSu
   XinJiang is criss-cross with ancient trade and caravans routes and un-discovered buried Ruins but the most famous of all is the ancient Silk Road, starting from Europe through the Mediterranean at Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey) the ancient caravans traveled east, crossing Asia Minor into China at the oasis town of Kashgar (KaShi) moving on to Turpan (TuLuFan), DunHuang and ever eastward to ChangAn (modern day XiAn) one time Capital of China.
   Today most of the Chinese Silk Road can be covered by China Rail or by bus on expressways from BeiJing, XiAn, Urumqi all the way to Kashgar (KaShi). From there, there is even a “new” route through the Khunjerab Pass linking Islamabad Pakistan to the rest of China called the Karakorum Highway.

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