The natural population growth of minority nationalities in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region exceeds that of the Han people, said Yang Shengmin, a professor at Minzu University of China (The Central University of Nationalities).

He said this at a collective interview on China's nationalities and religious policies held by the State Council Information Office on July 16.

"Figures quoted by some articles abroad, or even by some books, are false, when introducing the population in Xinjiang," he said. According to the national census conducted in 2000 by the Chinese Government, minority nationalities in Xinjiang accounted for over 65 percent of its total population, while Han accounted for about 34 percent, Yang said.

China's family planning policy only allows a Han couple to have one child. But Xinjiang has regulations that allow minority nationalities such as Uygurs to have two children in urban areas, three in rural areas and four in pasturing areas.

Yang noted that the natural growth of minority nationalities in Xinjiang exceeds that of the Han nationality.

Yang's years of research show that Xinjiang is a place where multiple ethnic groups have lived for two or three thousand years. The Han first arrived in Xinjiang as early as 2,000 years ago. Since Xinjiang was part of the Silk Road, many nationalities went in and out, resulting in constant changes in the population figure of minority nationalities in Xinjiang.

"For instance, the number of Han people outstripped other minority nationalities during the period of the Jin and Wei (220-556) dynasties, when Han characters and the Han language dominated the region," Yang said. "Now, however, the number of Uygurs in Turpan, one of the prefectures in Xinjiang, accounts for over 70 percent, far more than the Han nationality."

(Source: ChinaNews.com, translated by LI YUZHU)

About Xinjiang

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is located in northwestern China. It covers an area of 1.66 million sq km, one sixth of Chinese territory, making it the largest in area of all the provincial-level administrative regions in China. Situated in the hinterland of the Eurasian continent, Xinjiang borders eight countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Mongolia, India and Afghanistan. The geographic position of Xinjiang makes it strategically important. In history, Xinjiang served as the key controlling section of the well-known Silk Road, while now it is an unavoidable part of the railway leading to the second Eurasian Continental Bridge.

Xinjiang has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times. In 60 B.C., Xinjiang officially became a part of Chinese territory when the central government of the Western Han Dynasty(206 BC-AD 25) established the West Region Frontier Command there. In 1884, the government of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) established Xinjiang Province. In 1949, Xinjiang was liberated through peaceful means. October 1, 1955 saw the establishment of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Presently, there are 14 prefectures (including prefectures, autonomous prefectures and prefecture-level cities) and 88 counties (including cities and cities at the county level) under the government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, including 33 counties (county-level cities) in border areas. The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) is an important component part of Xinjiang and has 174 regimental agricultural and stockbreeding farms under it. By the end of 2008, the population of Xinjiang had reached 21.3081 million.

(Source: The Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region)