History of Xinjiang - The Name

The Name

In ancient China, the area was known as "Xiyu" or "Western Regions", a name that became prevalent in Chinese records after the Han Dynasty took control of the region. For the Uyghurs, the region is "Sharqi Turkistan" (literally "Eastern Land of the Turks" in English). The region was referred to as part of "Turkistan" by the 13th century Venetian traveler Marco Polo. After the Qing Dynasty reconquered this region, the area was designated Xinjiang, which was used to refer to any area of former a Chinese empire that had been previously lost but was regained by the Qing, but eventually meant this northwestern Xinjiang alone. In the Uyghur language, Xinjiang is considered more center than northwestern in orientation.