Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, provincial-level administrative region in far northwestern China. Also called Sinkiang Uighur Autonomous Region or Eastern Turkistan, the region is bounded on the west and northwest by Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan; on the north by Russia; on the northeast by Mongolia; on the east by the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai; on the south by Tibet; and on the southwest by Afghanistan and the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir. Xinjiang is China’s largest region.

Southern Sinkiang came under the loose control of China's Western Han dynasty around 100 BC. Local Uighur leaders retained their autonomy after the decline of the Han. The area became part of the T'ang dynasty's empire in the 7th century AD, and in the 13th century it was conquered by the Mongol leader Genghis Khan. The Ch'ing dynasty took control of the area in the 18th century, and it was made a province of China in 1884.

Mineral resources include deposits of lead, zinc, copper, molybdenum, and tungsten. High yield oilfields are located between Urumchi and Karamay and in the Tarim Basin. Heavy industry includes an iron and steel works and a cement factory at Urumchi and a farm-tool plant at Kashgar.

Major industrial towns are Urumqi, Kashi and Hotan.

Area 635,900 square miles (1,646,900 square km); population 19.3 million.

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