Uyghur Cyrillic alphabet in the context of "Languages of China"

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.

Altishahr (Traditional Uyghur: آلتی شهر, Modern Uyghur: ئالتە شەھەر, romanized: Altä-şähär, cyrillized: Алтә-шәһәр, pronounced [ɑltʰǽ‿ɕæhǽɚ̯]), also known as Kashgaria or Yettishar, is a historical name for the Tarim Basin region used in the 18th and 19th centuries. The term means 'Six Cities' in Turkic languages, referring to oasis towns along the rim of the Tarim, including Kashgar, in what is now southern Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.

The Uyghur Latin alphabet (Uyghur: ئۇيغۇر لاتىن يېزىقى, romanized: Uyghur Latin Yëziqi, ULY) is an auxiliary alphabet for the Uyghur language based on the Latin script. Uyghur is primarily written in Uyghur Arabic alphabet and sometimes in Uyghur Cyrillic alphabet.

In 2023, the alphabet was agreed as the BGN/PCGN romanization system for Uyghur.

The Karakash River (Chinese: 喀拉喀什河; pinyin: Kālākāshí Hé; Uyghur: قاراقاش دەرياسى, romanized: Qaraqash Deryasi, cyrillized: Қарақаш Дәряси) or the Black Jade River is a river in the Xinjiang autonomous region of the People's Republic of China that originates in Aksai Chin. It passes through the historical settlement of Shahidulla and passes by the city of Hotan to flow northeast in the Tarim Basin. It merges with the Yurungkash River, the combined river taking the name Hotan River and flowing into the Tarim River.

Uyghur is a Turkic language with a long literary tradition spoken in Xinjiang, China by the Uyghurs. Today, the Uyghur Arabic alphabet is the official writing system used for Uyghur in Xinjiang, whereas other alphabets like the Uyghur Cyrillic alphabets are still in use outside China, especially in Central Asia, and Uyghur Latin is used in western countries.