Xinjiang - An Introduction
Who are the Uyghurs?
Uyghurs are one of China’s many ethnic minorities, and mainly live in what is commonly known as Xinjiang, a resource-rich region in the country’s north-west that makes up nearly a fifth of China’s total land area and almost a quarter of its international border.
With historical and cultural ties to the land stretching back hundreds of years before it was conquered by China and given the name Xinjiang, for Uyghurs, it is their homeland. They refer to it as East Turkestan or the Uyghur Region.
The majority of Uyghurs are Muslim and practice a distinct, moderate form of Islam. In contrast with the Hui, another majority-Muslim ethnicity in China, Uyghurs are not ethnically or culturally Chinese but Turkic.
What is happening?
While the region has experienced periods of unrest and repression since the Communist Party of China (CCP) came into power in 1949, since 2014 and the so-called “people’s war on terror”, the Chinese government has intensified its crackdown on Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.
This section contains a curated list of reading and resources that serve as a comprehensive introduction to the topic. Further information can be found in the All Reading and All Topics sections.
Use the following links to navigate to the sections on this page:
- The Xinjiang Victims Database
Key Reading
Additional Key Resources
Xinjiang Victims Database
The Xinjiang Victims Database (XVD) is an independent documentation platform designed to collect and store records of ethnic minority citizens in Xinjiang, who have been locked up in camps, prisons and detention centres, had their documents confiscated and movement restricted, or been subject to forced labour. The records also include children whose parents have been detained and who have been placed in boarding schools or orphanages.
In addition to individual victim entries, the database also includes:
Direct accounts from the survivors and witnesses of Xinjiang's mass incarcerations
An interactive map that links known camps and prisons to documented victims
The ability to filter and export victim entries based on different criteria
Timeline of Events
Timelines created as part of the Xinjiang Documentation Project help contextualise recent and ongoing events in Xinjiang. The first outlines key events in Xinjiang’s history up to the end of the 20th century. The second gives an overview of major events since the turn of the century that preceded the establishment of “re-education camps”.
Xinjiang Detention and Cultural Sites Interactive Map
This interactive map, created by Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) researchers, covers over 380 suspected detention facilities in Xinjiang that have been built or expanded since 2017, as well as hundreds of mosques and other important Uyghur and Islamic cultural sites in Xinjiang that have been demolished or damaged since 2017.
Xinjiang Policy & Implementation Chart
Compiled by ASPI researchers, this chart maps the key bureaucratic offices involved in designing, coordinating and implementing the Chinese Communist Party’s policies in Xinjiang. Each office includes explanatory text and links to authoritative sources highlighting the role of that organ in operationalising the party-state’s repressive policy in Xinjiang since 2014.