Lying
in the northwest of China, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
is called "Xinjiang" for short. With the Tianshan
Mountains spanning its east and west as the watershed, the topographical
contour of the region can be divided into the "Southern
Xinjiang" and "North ern Xinjiang", which enjoy
their salient differences in natural conditions and are enclosed
respectively by the great mouton ranges into two giant basin
areas.
The Altay mountains and Tianshan mountains in the north region
form a triangular Junggar Basin with Gurbantunggut Desert in
the center of it, while Tarim Basin is an inland basin, encircled
by the Pamir in the west and Tibetan Plateau in the south of
Xinjiang. The dry climate brings about the great Taklimarkan
Desert expanding above 320,000 square kilometers in the middle
of the basin. The Tiannshan Mountain Area, generally at an altitude
of 3000 to 5000 meters above sea level, is composed of the paralle
mountains running east-west, and the basin and valley are formed
by the subsidence of the faults among it, the west end of which
starts from the former Soviet Union and the east end u to East
Xinjiang. Capped in snow all year round, the high peaks have
produced a lot of glaciers. The main peak of the Tianshan Mountains
is Tomur in 7435.3 meters, which is the nation boundary. The
famous basins and valleys in the mountains, such as Turpan Basin,
Hami Basin, Yanqi Basin and Ili Valley, claim to be the important
center of agriculture and animal husbandry. Lying in the east
section of Tianshan, with the lowest of altitude at 155 meters
below sea level, Turpan Basin is the lowest located in the inland
China. Its middle section being in China,Altay Mountains run
northwest-southwest along the north boundary and have an ordinary
altitude of 2000-3000 meters above sea level. From the west
to the east of South Xinjiang are Karakorum Mountains, the Kunlun
and Altun Mountains, which are generally 5000-6000 meters in
height.
All
over Xinjiang, the alpine snowfields, the Gobi deserts the
grassland and oases scatter here and there, producing lots
of peculiar natural landscapes. In account times, Xinjiang
is called "Xiyu"--the Western Region, which is a
Han Dynasty term for the area west of Yumenguan, including
what, is now Xinjang and parts of central Asia. In the past,
the Silk Road, beginning from Against, stretched west along
the two different routes---the southern and north after going
into Xinjiang. On the road, many historical remains characteristic
of the Han a Tang dynasty civilization in ancient China is
left over. As a multinational region, Xinjiang, in its long
course of historic development, enjoys lots of distinctive
national customs and scenic beauty and leaves over many precious
cultural relics, in which numerous archeologists and tourists
take a great interest.
With
the rapid development of transportation, a railway system
leading to every place all over the country has been buide
up. Lanzhou-Xinjiang line being the mainstay, the railway
lines carry you to Lanzhou and Xinjiang in the east, the city
of Korla in the south, Russia and Kazakstan in the west by
passing Alataw Shan pass. The civil aviation system is open
to air service, leading to major cities at home and abroad
as well as every place of strategic importance in the region.
The traffic and convenient facilities in the south provide
favorable conditions for mountain climbing, exploration, scientific
investigation as well as tourism. |
