Area: More than 1.6 million square kilometres, one-sixth of the total land area of China, and the largest provincial-level region in China Population: 18.6 million, mainly inhabited by Uygur, Han, Kazaks, Hui, and Kirgiz people

Location: In northwest China, and adjoining eight countries such as Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan along an international border of 5, 600 kilo metres

Xinjiang is situated in the hinterland of the Eurasian continent with majestic Altay Mountains in the north, and lofty Kunlun , Karakorun and Arjin Mountains in the south. The Pamir Mountains in the west are known as 'father of mountains' for its height. In the middle of the region lies the magnificent Tianshan Mountains from west to east, dividing the area into parts- South Xinjiang and North Xinjiang, forming the Tarim Basin in the south and the Jungar Basin in the north. Xinjiang's landscape is immensely varied ranging from spectacular snow-capped icebergs to the boundless lush green grasslands, charming oasis and fabled lakes. Xinjiang belongs to continental climate. By the end of the 19 th century, Xinjiang had 13 ethnic groups-Uygur, Han, Kazak; Mongolian, Hui, Kirgiz, Manchu, Xibe, Tajik, Daur, Uzbek, Tatar and Russia. The Uygurs formed the majorty, as they do today.

Xinjiang has a variety of industrial sectors, and is especially well known for its handicraft industry. The region abounds in minerals such as petroleum, natural gas, and coal, salt and gold. The Hotan Jade is of fine quality. The region is rich in solar and windy energy. Xinjiang is China's important pastureland; its fuzz sheep and Yili horse are both fine species. Xinjiang has long been reputed for the name of the "Land of Fruit and Melons." Fruits and melons in Xinjiang are rich in variety and superb in taste. The famous ones are Turpan' grape , Shanshan Hami melons and Kurler fragrant pear .

Of many places of interest in Xinjiang, the Heavenly Lake on the Bogda Peak , the ancient town of Jaiohe , the mysterious ruins of Ancient Kingdom of Loulan , and the grotesque Kan'erjing (Karez-an irrigation system of wells connected by underground channels used in Xinjiang) are the most notable. Almost every ethnic group in Xinjiang has a festival of its own such as "Ramadan ( 11" and "Coban . " Xinjiang has long been known as the "home of songs and dances." Their main traditional recreations include wrestling, horse racing, goat tussling on horseback/game of horses in pursuit of their prey-a sheep ILJ$ and the girl's chase/girl pursuing lad .

There are rolling snow-capped mountains, hot basins, dense primeval forest and a vast desert. The famous Silk Road and the Eurasian Continental Bridge connecting the eastern and northern parts of the world, lies in this region.

Xinjiang is rich in arable land, pasture, forestry; rich in oil, gas, coal, rich in sunshine and mineral resources. Moreover, Xinjiang is even rich in water resources.

To develop the region smoothly, people in Xinjiang will increase the amount of infrastructure construction, strengthen the environmental protection, adjust the industrial structure and enhance people's cultural quality. More highways will be built, including many high-grade highways connecting different cities like Xiaocaohu to Korla. Railways including Jinghe to Yi'ning and China to Kyrazstan will soon be constructed. The function of Urumqi and Kashi airports will diversify very quickly. People will use water more effectively, to do underground water exploration and improve irrigation methods so that they will be at a higher standard to meet people's demand.

Industrial construction is also a key to development. Xinjiang also produces mouthwatering pears, Hami melons, grapes and pomegranates. It will use its rich natural resources to develop the special agriculture industry. It will also put a lot of effort into developing the petroleum industry and its related industries. More textile, non-ferrous metal and foodstuff industrial bases will be established.

The region has an abundance of tourism resources and it will continuously introduce itself to the world and make tourism a new way to help stimulate its economy. Considering the importance of science and technology, it will pay more attention to the quality of education while developing the economy. Xinjiang, on the Silk Road, was once a centre for cultural exchanges between the East and the West. Folk arts and customs and a special ethnic culture all help attract visitors from home and abroad.

Because the region has many ethnic groups, it works hard to cultivate minority talented people. Many favourable policies have been implemented to attract more talented people to make Xinjiang more and more beautiful.

The geographic position of Xinjiang gives the region its unique superiority.

Occupying one-sixth of China's total area, it is the largest among the country's provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. As many local people have said, "you will not know how huge China is until you come to Xinjiang. "

Xinjiang has a 1,416-kilometre border with Mongolia alone. To date, it has established economic relations with more than 80 countries, opening 33 frontier counties or cities and establishing 36 frontier city ports. The Eura-Asia Continental Bridge, a railway from coastal China's Lianyungang in Jiangsu Province to the Netherlands' Rotterdam, has played a more active role in promoting Xinjiang's foreign trade since its official operation in 1992. The railway passes through Xinjiang from east to west. The southern Xinjiang Railway, from its eastern city Turpan to the southwestern city of Kashi, was officially opened to traffic in 1999. The railway will be extended to link the Uygur region with central Asian countries.

Furthermore, the region has abundant minerals and other resources like solar energy, heat, water, and soil. There are 134 kinds of minerals in Xinjiang out of the total of 150 in China. With the development of three oilfields, which are located in Junggar and Tarim basins, Turpan and Hami, the region will surely become one of the most important petroleum aod chemical bases in China.

The Land of Jade and Gem

Xinjiang has long been reputed as "the Land of Jade and Gem." According to Memoirs of King Mu, 2,900 years ago, King Mu of the Zhou Dynasty, while touring the Westen Region in his eight-horse-drawn carriage, found that the Kunlun Mountains in Southern Xinjiang, was the "site of fine and precious jade in the country." As recorded in The Pictorial Annal of Xinjiang of the Qing Dynasty that Hotan was the source of jade with different colours, such as dark purple, yellow, blue, bluish blue, black and white, of which white jade was reputed as the "Cream of Jade" in ancient times.

Sparkling and crystal clear with multi-colour, jade is considered to be the symbol of happiness and purity. As a result, in ancient times most of the jade produced in Xinjiang was carried to inland as a valued tribute to the feudal emperors. It was recorded in History of Five Dynasties that during the Jin Dynasty, the King of Yutian dispatched his envoys to present 500 kilograms of jade and jade seal of vanquishing monsters as tributes to Emperor Gao long of the Jin Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Jiaqing (1796-1820) of the Qing Dynasty, three pieces of Hotan jade weighing 3,000 kilograms; the King of Hotan respectively presented 4,000 kilograms and 5,000 kilograms to the emperor. At present, the large jade sculpture, "Yu the Great Harnessing the Rivers" in the Forbidden City in Beijing was carved from the green white Hotan jade weighing 5,000 kilograms, which was presented as a tribute to the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty .

The deposits of the Hotan jade have always been found in both Kunlun Mountains and Kalakunlun Mountains. In the past, the local people collected jade mainly on the riverbed. As recorded in the History of Song Dynasty: Annals of Yutian that people of the country collected jade in the river in autumn every year and called this process dredging jade. Nowadays, this means of collecting jade remains unchanged, although it cannot meet the demand of jade carving. At present, many mechanized jade-mining factories have been built in Yutian, Qiemo, Manas, which can suit the development of jade carving industry. Statistics show that the annual output of the jade produced in Hotan is some ten times that of the jade production before 1949.

Without being carved, an uncut jade will never be a work of art. Now advanced jade carving factories have been built in Hotan, Xinjiang. Many kinds of beautifully shaped art objects are carved with figures, birds, and animals, fish and insects, flowers and bottles etc. These products are well sold both at home and abroad.

T rans-Continental Railway

A new section of railway in Central Asia that will complete a southern branch of the second trans-continental railway and it will link northwest China and southern European countries may be kicked off in the near future. It is expected to spur trade links between China, the Middle East and southern Europe.

Starting from Turpan and running through Andizhan in Uzbekistan, the railway, when the new section from Kashi to Andizhan is completed, will skirt the Caspian and black seas, to end on the Atlantic coast of southern France. The railway will become the south branch of the Second Asia-Europe Continental Bridge, a railway more than 10,000 kilometre long, that links China's coastal regions with Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The railway will greatly tighten the economic ties between China, Central Asia, the Middle East and southern Europe.

The eastern part of the railway from Turpan to Kashi in Xingjiang and the western section from Andizhan to the shores of the Atlantic are already in existence. The remaining 500-kilometre section linking Kashi with Andizhan has to be built in the future. The railway will be a welcome complement to the Second Asia-Europe Continental Bridge, as it will bring much-needed cargo transportation capabilities to the area.

The Second Asia-Europe Continental Bridge, which went into operation in 1990, links 10 provinces and autonomous regions in China with countries in Central Asia and western Europe.

The planned railway is one of the two mega railway infrastructure projects that are expected to fuel economic growth in western China as the country moves to narrow the economic gap between its eastern and western regions following the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The railway, to be called tie South Branch of the Second Asia-Europe Continental Bridge, will have a transportation capacity of at least 10 million tons a year. At the moment, experts from China, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have already concluded their feasibility studies, and all the preparatory work, including surveys and preliminary line design, has also been completed over the past three years. The only remaining problem is the shortage of funds in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, and that the three sides are now working out financial arrangements with the Asian Development Bank. If financial negotiations are successful construction will start as soon as the money comes through. Construction of the railway would also help overcome the lack of freight capacity of the Second Asia-Europe Continental Bridge.