Information about Xinjiang (geography, history, resources, culture, economy)

There are Altai Mountain in the north of Xinjiang, Kunlun Mountain, Karakorum Mountain and Altun Mountain in the south. As a symbol of Xinjiang, Tianshan Mountain crosses the central part, forming Tarim Basin in the south and Junggar Basin in the north. Traditionally, the area south of Tianshan Mountain is called southern Xinjiang, the area north of Tianshan Mountain is called northern Xinjiang, and Hami and Turpan basins are called eastern Xinjiang.

More than 500 rivers are bred by the ice and snow in the three mountain ranges in Xinjiang, which are distributed in the basins in the north and south of Tianshan Mountain, including more than 20 rivers such as Tarim River, Yili River, Erqis River, Manas River, Wulungu River and Kaidu River. On both sides of many rivers, there are countless oases, idyllic buildings and face-to-face villages, which are quite rich in scenery outside the Great Wall. This is the main base for generations of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. There are many lakes with beautiful natural scenery in Xinjiang, with a total area of 9,700 square kilometers, accounting for more than 0.6% of the total area in Xinjiang. Among them, there are ten famous lakes: Bosten Lake, Ebinur Lake, Bulento Sea, Ayaguri Lake, Sailimu Lake, Aqigekule Lake, Whale Lake, Liji Lake, Aksai Lake and Esman Lake.

The snow-capped mountains and ice peaks in Xinjiang have formed a unique large glacier with a total area of more than 24,000 square kilometers, accounting for 42% of the national glacier area, with an ice reserve of 258 million cubic meters. It is a natural "solid reservoir" in Xinjiang. Xinjiang is extremely rich in water resources, and its per capita possession ranks in the forefront of the country, which needs to be vigorously developed.

The great desert accounts for 2/3 of the country's desert area, of which the Taklimakan Desert covers an area of 336,700 square kilometers, which is the largest desert in China and the second largest mobile desert in the world, second only to the Lubuhari Desert in Arabian Peninsula. The Gurbantunggut Desert in Junggar Basin covers an area of 48,000 square kilometers and is the second largest desert in China. Xinjiang desert is rich in oil and gas resources and mineral resources.