The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern China occupying an area of about 888,000 km (343,000 sq mi) and one of the largest basins in Northwest China. Located in China's Xinjiang region, it is sometimes used synonymously to refer to the southern half of the province, that is, Southern Xinjiang or Nanjiang (Chinese: 南疆; pinyin: Nánjiāng), as opposed to the northern half of the province known as Dzungaria or Beijiang. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern boundary is the Kunlun Mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The Taklamakan Desert dominates much of the basin. The historical Uyghur name for the Tarim Basin is Altishahr (Traditional Uyghur: آلتی شهر, Chinese: 六城), which means 'six cities' in Uyghur. The region was also called Little Bukhara or Little Bukharia. The basin is a major area for renewable energy development, particularly solar and wind power, with a focus on utilizing the vast Taklamakan Desert. A high-voltage power loop has been constructed around the basin, collecting energy from various sources and transmitting it to other regions.
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Southern Xinjiang in the context of Western Regions
The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; Chinese: 西域) was a historical name specified in Ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of the Yumen Pass, most often the Tarim Basin in present-day southern Xinjiang (also known as Altishahr) and Central Asia (specifically the easternmost portion around the Ferghana Valley), though it was sometimes used more generally to refer to other regions to the west of China as well, such as Parthia (which technically belonged to West Asia) and Tianzhu (as in the novel Journey to the West, which refers to the Indian subcontinent in South Asia).
Because of their strategic location astride the Silk Road, the Western Regions have been historically significant to China since at least the 3rd century BC.
Southern Xinjiang in the context of East Turkestan
East Turkestan or East Turkistan (Uyghur: شەرقىي تۈركىستان, ULY: Sherqiy Türkistan, UKY: Шәрқий Туркистан) is a loosely defined geographical region in the northwestern part of the People's Republic of China, on the cross roads of East and Central Asia. The term was coined in the 19th century by Russian Turkologists, including Nikita Bichurin, who intended the name to replace the common Western term for the region, "Chinese Turkestan", which referred to the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang. Beginning in the 17th century, Altishahr, which means "Six Cities" in Uyghur, became the Uyghur name for the Tarim Basin. Uyghurs also called the Tarim Basin "Yettishar," which means "Seven Cities," and even "Sekkizshahr", which means "Eight Cities" in Uyghur. Chinese dynasties from the Han dynasty to the Tang dynasty had called an overlapping area the "Western Regions".
Starting in the 20th century, the Turkic Muslim Uyghur separatists and their supporters used East Turkestan as an appellation for the whole of Xinjiang (the Tarim Basin and Dzungaria) or for a future independent state in present-day Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. They reject the name Xinjiang (meaning "New Frontier" in Chinese) because of the Chinese perspective reflected in the name, and prefer East Turkestan to emphasize the connection to other, western Turkic groups.
Southern Xinjiang in the context of Taklamakan Desert
The Taklamakan Desert (/ˌtækləməˈkæn/ TAK-lə-mə-KAN) is a desert in northwest China. Located inside the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang, it is bounded by the Kunlun Mountains to the south, the Pamir Mountains to the west, the Tian Shan range to the north, and the Gobi Desert to the east.
Southern Xinjiang in the context of Dzungar Khanate
The Dzungar Khanate (Mongolian: ᠵᠡᠭᠦᠨᠭᠠᠷ ᠣᠯᠣᠰ Зүүнгар Улс), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was a nomadic khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyzstan in the south, and from present-day west of Mongolia and the Great Wall of China in the east to present-day Kazakhstan in the west. The core of the Dzungar Khanate is today part of northern Xinjiang, also called Dzungaria.
About 1620 the western Mongols, known as the Oirats, united in the Junggar Basin in Dzungaria. In 1678, Galdan received from the Dalai Lama the title of Boshogtu Khan, making the Dzungars the leading tribe within the Oirats. The Dzungar rulers used the title of Khong Tayiji, which translates into English as "crown prince". Between 1680 and 1688, the Dzungars conquered the Tarim Basin, which is now southern Xinjiang, and defeated the Khalkha Mongols to the east. In 1696, Galdan was defeated by the Qing dynasty and lost Outer Mongolia. In 1717, the Dzungars conquered Tibet, but were driven out in 1720 by the Qing. From 1755 to 1758, Qing China took advantage of a Dzungar civil war to conquer Dzungaria and killed 70–80% of the Dzungar population. The destruction of the Dzungars led to the Qing conquest of Mongolia, Tibet, and the creation of Xinjiang as a political administrative unit.
Southern Xinjiang in the context of Chinese Turkestan
Chinese Turkestan or Chinese Turkistan, is a geographical term or historical region corresponding to the region of the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang (south of the Tian Shan mountain range) or Xinjiang as a whole which was under the rule of the Qing dynasty of China. It is considered a part of the Chinese Tartary that covered the Inner Asian regions ruled by the Qing dynasty. The Europeans commonly used this term especially during the period of the Qing dynasty to denote the division of Turkestan into territories controlled by the Chinese and the Russians, with the latter controlling Russian Turkestan in the west.