CHINA - XingJiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Thanks to Weinuo for the card.

"Xinjiang (Uyghur: شىنجاڭ; SASM/GNC: Xinjang; Chinese: 新疆; pinyin: Xīnjiāng; formerly romanised as Sinkiang), officially the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is a provincial-level autonomous region of China in the northwest of the country. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and the eighth largest country subdivision in the world, spanning over 1.6 million km2 (640,000 square miles).  Xinjiang contains the disputed territory of Aksai Chin, which is administered by China and claimed by India. Xinjiang borders the countries of Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India. The rugged Karakoram, Kunlun, and Tian Shan mountain ranges occupy much of Xinjiang's borders, as well as its western and southern regions. Xinjiang also borders Tibet Autonomous Region and the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai. The most well-known route of the historical Silk Road ran through the territory from the east to its northwestern border. In recent decades, abundant oil and mineral reserves have been found in Xinjiang, and it is currently China's largest natural gas-producing region. 

It is home to a number of ethnic groups, including the Uyghur, Han, Kazakhs, Tibetans, Hui, Tajiks, Kyrgyz, Mongols and Russians. More than a dozen autonomous prefectures and counties for minorities are in Xinjiang. Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan. Xinjiang is divided into the Dzungarian Basin in the north and the Tarim Basin in the south by a mountain range. Only about 9.7% of Xinjiang's land area is fit for human habitation."

CHINA - Muslim Cemetery, Xinjiang Province

Thanks to Haley for the card.

CHINA - Tajiks in China

This postcard shows the Tajiks ethnic in China, thank you Sumei for this wonderful swap.

The card reads : Most of the Tajiks live in compact communities in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County and the rest are scattered over areas in southwest Xinjiang, including Shache, Zepu, Yecheng and Pishan along western Tarim Basin.  According to the fifth national census in 2000, the Tajik numbered 41,028.

"Tajiks are a Persian-speaking Muslim group that lives in Western China around the snowcapped Pamirs, a mountain range shared with Tajikistan and Afghanistan. Related to ethnic groups in Afghanistan and Iran, the Tajiks are perhaps the most non-Chinese-looking people in China. They have copper-colored skin, round eyes and Caucasian features and some have blue eyes, freckles and red hair. Some believe they are descendants of subjects of Alexander the Great. Tajik in an Indo-European language closely related to Persian. The Chinese refer to the Pamirs as the "roof of the world" and many of the people that live here have little contact with the outside world.

The Tajik live mainly in the Tajik autonomous county—Tashkurgan (Taxkorgan) Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang— in the southwestern part of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. This is near the borders of Tajikistan, Pakistan and Afghanistan. A small number of them are scattered in Shache, Zepu, Yecheng, Pishan and other border regions in the western part of the Tarim Basin. Millions of Tajiks live in Afghanistan, Taijikistan and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union."  Read more here.