Ancient City of Jiaohe

     The Ancient City of Jiaohe is hidden in Yarnaz valley. Which is, 10 kilometers from Turpan. This ancient city lasted for 2300 years. The city is 1,650 by  300 meters. This city is fairly, well-preserved and a largely popular attraction.

Xinjiang: Travel: Xinjiang Regional Museum

     Xinjiang Regional Museum is located in Urumqi City. Here, they collect and study artifacts found in the area, and they of course show case their findings. The museum was built in a Uygur style, back in 1953. Xinjiang Regional Museum's exhibition hall overlays 7,800 square meters of space. The museum is quite the educational place, showcasing more than 50,000 artifacts. At Xinjiang Regional Museum, shows all there is to know about 12 different minorities in Xinjiang, including, but not limited to, clothing and lifestyle, marital customs and religion, and festivities. An interesting exhibit, is the ancient corpses. This exhibit has been described as "fantastic", by one source. Xinjiang is open for visitors all times of the year. If you are fascinated by the Chinese culture or love to learn, this would be a great attraction to visit !

Xinjiang: Travel: Kashgar Bazaar 

     Kashgar Bazaar is a market in Xinhuang. Originally, the Kashgar Bazaar was held on Sundays. Now, it is split up, livestock is only available on Sundays, whereas, everything else is available everyday. The busiest day, of course, is Sunday. In Northwest China, this is the largest of all international trade markets. It takes up 41 acres in the city, Kashgar. There are 21,000 specialized markets. The bazaar has over 4,000 fixed booths, as well as, a street solely for food. At this fair, you can buy just about anything. If you plan to visit, bring a lot of yuan ! (;

Xinjiang: Travel: Silk Road

The Silk Road is a trade route in China. A German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen, was the one to name the route. This route leads to the Mediterranean, where the Chinese would trade. This trade route was used for around 16,000 years. It begun during the Han Dynasty, when Zhang Qian opened it up. The Silk Road's fall was ultimately the same time of the fall of the Yuan Dynasty. The trade route starts in Xian and at Dunhuang, it splits three ways (North, central, and south). The Silk Road is spread all over the Uygur Autonomous Region in Xinjiang. The split routes go as far as India, Pakistan, and Rome. There are tour plans made for traveling the Silk Road, many, in fact. We recommend, looking at www.travelchinaguide.com  for tour plans and travel guides.

Xinjiang: Travel: Heavenly Lake (Tianchi)

     Heavenly Lake or Tianchi, as you can tell from the picture above, is a beautiful lake. The crescent shaped lake, is 110 km east of Urumqi. This lake is 4.9 square kilometers. During the summer, Heavenly Lake, is a nice place to cool off. Legend has it, The West Queen, Xi Wang Mu, charmed King Mu (of the Western Zhou Dynasty) at Heavenly Lake. 

         Xinjiang: Economics
     Xinjiang makes up for 1/6 of China's territory. The capital of Xinjiang is Urumqi. Other big cities in Xinjiang include Turpan, Kashgar, Karamay, Yining, and Shihezi. The map Location is: 34°25' to 48°10' N, 73°40' to 96°18' E. Xinjiang's lowest point is 155 meters below sea level. The highest peak is 8611 meters above sea level. Mount Tianshan divides Xinjiang up into two basins. Dzungarian is the northern base, and Tarim is the southern basin. The climate in Xinjiang is temperate continental arid/ semiarid. The average annual rain fall is around 165.6 millimeters. The population in Xinjiang is 21,813,334 people. This province has 40 different ethnic groups. The largest being the Uygurs. They make up more than 45% of Xinjiang's population. 59% minorities in Xinjiang. Also, Xinjiang has 39% urbanization. Although, Xinjiang is 17% of China's land, the province only hosts 1.5% of China's population. The biggest practiced religion in Xinjiang is Islam. Farmers and herders are important to the economy. Corn, sugar beets, wheat, cotton, Turpan grapes, and Hami melons are all grown in Xinjiang. Cattle, sheep, and other animals are herded here, as well. Petroleum, oil, and natural gas are the largest industries in the province. There are, also, food, metal, and textile industries. Coal, gold, iron ore, lead, and zinc are included in the vast amount of mineral resources.

*Uygurs are a Muslim Turkic-speaking ethnic group.