East Turkestan

Not to be confused with Chinese Turkestan, an older geographical term. For the government-in-exile that claims East Turkestan, see East Turkistan Government in Exile. For the Chinese province-level division that corresponds to the region, see Xinjiang.

East Turkestan
شەرقىي تۈركىستان (Uyghur)
Extent of East Turkestan in Central Asia, per the East Turkistan Government in Exile
Extent of East Turkestan in Central Asia, per the East Turkistan Government in Exile
Largest cityÜrümqi
Spoken languages
Ethnic groups
Formation
• State of Yettishar (Kashgaria)
November 12, 1864
November 12, 1933
November 12, 1944
September 14, 2004
Area
• Total
1,828,418 km2 (705,956 sq mi), as claimed by the East Turkistan Government in Exile[2]
Population
• Estimate
24,870,000[3]
30–40 million (claimed by the East Turkistan Government in Exile and the World Uyghur Congress)[2][4]
Time zoneÜrümqi Time (UTC+06:00)[5]
Part of a series on
Uyghurs
Uyghurs outside of Xinjiang
Uyghur organizations
Part of a series on the
History of Xinjiang
Ancient period
Medieval and early modern period
Modern period

East Turkestan or East Turkistan (Uyghur: شەرقىي تۈركىستان, ULY: Sherqiy Türkistan, UKY: Шәрқий Туркистан), also called Uyghuristan (ئۇيغۇرىستان, Уйғуристан), is a loosely-defined geographical region in the northwestern part of the People's Republic of China, which varies in meaning by context and usage. 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 or Xinjiang as a whole during the Qing dynasty.[6][7] 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, 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)[8] because of the Chinese perspective reflected in the name, and prefer East Turkestan to emphasize the connection to other, western Turkic groups.

The First East Turkestan Republic existed from November 12, 1933, to April 16, 1934, and the Second East Turkestan Republic existed between November 12, 1944, and June 27, 1946. East Turkestan is a founding member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) formed in 1991, where it was represented initially by the East Turkistan National Congress and later by the World Uyghur Congress post 2004.[9] In September 2004, the East Turkistan Government in Exile was established in Washington, D.C.

  1. ^ "VI. Progress in Education, Science and Technology, Culture and Health Work". History and Development of Xinjiang. State Council of the People's Republic of China. May 26, 2003. Archived from the original on January 29, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "East Turkistan at a Glance". East Turkistan Government in Exile. March 4, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  3. ^ "National Data". Archived from the original on April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "East Turkistan". World Uyghur Congress. September 29, 2016. Retrieved March 17, 2021.
  5. ^ Kelter, Frederik (August 9, 2023). "Conflict over clocks: China among countries where time is political". Al Jazeera. Retrieved January 14, 2024. Xinjiang's provincial capital, Urumqi, is geographically two hours behind Beijing ...
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference ORE-terminology was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kamalov-2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Introduction". The Lost Frontier Treaty Maps that Changed Qing's Northwestern Boundaries. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020. The Qianlong emperor (1736–1796) named the region Xinjiang, for New Territory.
  9. ^ "UNPO: East Turkestan". Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. December 16, 2015. Archived from the original on September 7, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2019.