Xinjiang

Kashgar City (Uyghur: قەشقەر شەھىرى) [10] is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It is located in the southwest of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the western edge of the Tarim Basin. The terrain is high in the north and low in the south. It has a warm temperate continental arid climate with four distinct seasons and a total area of ​​1,528.84 square kilometers. [11] As of 2024, Kashgar City has 10 sub-districts, 3 towns, and 12 townships. As of August 2020, Kashgar City has a permanent population of 700,000. [20] Kashgar is the abbreviation of "Kashgar". "Kashgar" means "jade" in Turkic and "Gar" means "stone" or "mountain" in ancient Iranian. Before Kashgar was incorporated into the territory of the Central Plains regime, it was often part of the Shule Kingdom. It was not until Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions that official exchanges between Kashgar and the Central Plains began. In the third year of Yongping in the Eastern Han Dynasty (60 AD), the Western Regions Protectorate was established, and Kashgar, as part of the Western Regions, was officially included in China's territory. In 1952, Kashgar City was officially established. Kashgar City is a national historical and cultural city, a national open city, an excellent tourist city in China, and a national model city for the military-civilian integration. It is the westernmost border city in China and the political, economic and cultural center of the Kashgar region. It is an important commercial port on the Silk Road, a hub for east-west transportation, and an important intersection of the economy, culture and civilization of the East and the West. Kashgar International Airport is a first-class aviation port open to the outside world. In October 2020, Kashgar City was named a national model city for the military-civilian integration. [1] In 2023, Kashgar City achieved a gross domestic product (GDP) of 30.931 billion yuan, an increase of 9.6% over the previous year.

Urumqi (Uyghur: ئۈرۈمچى شەھىرى‎, Latin Uyghur: Ürümchi shehiri)[Note 1], also known as Urumqi for short, formerly known as Dihua, is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, an important central city in the western region, and an international comprehensive transportation hub city[2]. It is the second largest city in the northwest region[3][4], the core city of the Silk Road Economic Belt, the New Eurasian Continental Bridge and the Tianshan North Slope Urban Agglomeration[5]. It is also the political, economic, cultural, financial, transportation, medical and educational center of Xinjiang, as well as a communication center facing Central Asia and West Asia and an international trade and logistics center. It has a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Xinjiang Tianshan[6]. The Municipal People's Government is located at No. 72, Nanhu Road, Shuimogou District. Urumqi is located in the central part of Xinjiang, bordering Changji Prefecture on the east and west, Turpan City in the southeast, Bayingolin Prefecture in the southwest, Wujiaqu City in the northwest, and Altay Prefecture in the north. It is located at the northern foot of the middle section of the Tianshan Mountains and the southern edge of the Junggar Basin. It is surrounded by mountains on the east, south and west. The terrain is high in the south and low in the north. There are Bogda Mountain in the east, Tianger Mountain in the south, Kalaza Mountain in the west, and the Gurbantunggut Desert in the north. There are rivers such as the Urumqi River, Toutun River, and Baiyang River in the territory. As of 2019, the city has jurisdiction over 7 districts and 1 county, with a total area of ​​14,216.3 square kilometers, of which the built-up area of ​​the city has reached 521.60 square kilometers[7], making it the largest city in Central Asia. The city is also certified by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest city in the world farthest from the ocean (2,500 kilometers)[8][9]. According to the seventh census data, as of November 1, 2020, the permanent population of Urumqi was 4,054,369. The Han nationality accounts for about 76%, the Uyghur nationality accounts for about 11%, and the Hui nationality accounts for about 9%. The local fiscal revenue for the whole year was 69.354 billion yuan. [10] Urumqi is a national civilized city, a national garden city, a national model city for supporting both the army and the people, an excellent tourist city in China, and a national model city for ethnic unity and progress[11]. It is one of the top 100 best commercial cities in mainland China. It has won the title of "China's Top Ten Ice and Snow Tourism Cities" for six consecutive years since 2016.