Rich Natural resources
5 min readXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is endowed with rich natural resources and promises huge development potentials To start with, Xinjiang has abundant water, land, solar and thermal energy, which supports the development of feature agricultural and animal husbandry industries. Second, it has plenty of mineral and biological resources both in terms of categories and reserve. Third, it is loaded with rich and unique tourist resources.
(1) Water, Land, Solar and Thermal Energy
Across Xinjiang, 41. 19% of its land, or 71. 47 million hectares, is exploitable for agricultural purposes in the general sense, including land farming, forestry and animal husbandry. Among the 71. 47 million hectares, 7.33 million hectares are potential arable land 4125 million hectares cultivated land. 48 million hectares utilizable natural grassland and nearly 700,000 hectares artificial forestry, with a total lumber reserve of 276 million cubic meters here are 570-odd rivers of different volume in Xin jiang. Most of them are continental, originating from mountain glaciers, forming a lake at the end of their route, or simply disappearing in the desert. The major rivers are the Tarim, the Ertix, the lli and the Kaidu Running 2, 137 kilometers, the Tarim is the longest continental river in China. Originatin from the Pamirs, Kunlun and Tianshan Mountains, it winds its way in the northern part ofthe Tarim Basin before arriving the Titema Lake and Lop Nur. The Ili River is Xinjiang’s biggest continental river in terms of volume. It first twists in the Ili Valley and then flows westward out of China into the Balkhash Lake. The Ertix is the only river in China that flows into the Arctic Ocean. Xinjiang also has a number of lakes, among which 139 are over I square kilometer in size, totaling 5,500 square kilometers; 11 are over 100 square kilometers and 4 are over 500 square kilometers. The Bosten Lake amidst the valleys in theTianshan Mountains is the biggest fresh water lake in Xin jiang. The Aydingkol Lake in the Turpan Depression is the lowest lake in China. The Kanas Lake in the dense forests of the Altay Mountains is a typical ice-eroded lake, with an altitude of 1, 370 meters at the surface The maximum depth of the Kanas is 188.5 meters, making it the second deepest lake in China. The Sayram, a lake on high mountain, is renowned for its”subtle colors, smooth surface, mirror-like reflection and beauty beyond words”. To the northeast of Urumqi is the Tianchi lake (or literally, Heavenly Lake) hidden in the depth of the Tianshan Mountains. Small in size, it boasts very nice scenery though. Among other famous lakes are the ulungur and the ebinur Xin jiang is rich in glaciers, with 18, 600 pieces of glaciers totaling 26, 300 square kilometers in size. accounting for 21 6% of the mountain glaciers in asia, and 50% of chinas total glacier reserve. The melting glaciers constitute 21%(about 17 billion cubic meters) of the river volume in Xinjiang. Over 80% of Xinjiang’s arable land is irrigated. The annual surface runoff in the whole region is 88 4 billion cubic meters. extractable underground water 25. 2 billion cubic meters, theoretical hydropower reserve 33. 5 million kilowatts, and exploitable installed capacity 17.96 million kilowatts Xin jiang is one of the regions with the most sunshine in China, hence plenty of solar energy and thermal resources. Throughout the year, the sunshine time ranges from 2,600 to 3, 400 hours. With 5, 400 to 6, 300 mega-joules of solar radiation per square kilometer on a yearly basis, Xin jiang is only second to the Qingzang plateau but tops all the other major agricultural areas. Such abundant reserve provides not only energy for crops and grazing grass but also abundant photothermal resources for the utilization of solar energy.
(2) Mineral and Biological Resources
Xinjiang has a complete variety of mineral resources that are rich in reserve. according to statistics. this region is home to 1 38 out of 16 8 categories of mineral resources discovered across the country accounting for 82. 14% of the nation’s total. In the nationallist of mineral reserves, Xinjiang tops other regions in five categories: beryllium, sodium nitre, white mica, vermiculate and pottery clay, and is among top five in 27 categories such as coal, oil and natural gas. Xinjiang is a priority region for exploitation of mineral resources in China. It promises huge potential for oil and gas development, with over 900000 square kilometers of sedimentary depressions suitable for oil and gas exploration According to the second national evaluation of oil and gas resources, Xinjiang has a reserve of 20 86 billion tons of oil and 10 3 trillion cubic meters of natural gas. which are 30% and 34% of the national onshore oil and gas totals respectively. A number of high-yield oil andgas fields have been found in the Tarim Basin in the south, the Junggar Basin in the north and the Turpan Depression in the east, It is estimated that Xinjiang has 2, 19 trillion tons of coal, 40% of the expected national total, As to the ascertained reserves, most coalmines in Xinjiang are exploitationfriendly, as they are thick in depth, rich in reserve, fine in quality, and near the surface There are also multiple associated minerals in those mines making it possible to conduct integrated utilization Xinjiang is a rich land for bio-resources. It has a whole spectrum of temperate zone crops, including staple food crops such as wheat, com and paddy rice and cash crops such as cotton, sugar beet and hops. The Xinjiang cotton is famous for its long fibre, white color and top quality, hence Xinjiang the biggest long-fibre cotton production base in China turning out over 90% of the nation ‘s output Nicknamed as “hometown of melons and fruits Xinjiang is famous for the Turpan seedless grape, Shanshan and Jiashi muskmelon(also known as Hami-melon), Korla sweet pear, Kuqa white apricot, Shache almond, Artux fig.
Hotan thin-skinned walnut, and Yecheng pomegranate, to name just a few. Xinjiang has about 1,333 million hectares of forestland, including 466,000 hectares of artificial forests and some natural ones in the Tianshan and altay mountains having exploitable grassland equivalent to 23% of the national total, Xinjiang keeps sheep as the main livestock, with famous breeds like Xinjiang fine-fleece, Altay giant-tail and Kuqa black-skinned. Among other fine animal strains are lli horse, Tacheng cattle and two-humped camel.
(3) Tourist Resources
Xinjiang has bountiful tourist resources as it is home to diverse landscapes and colorful cultural heritages with a huge number of different and tasteful attractions Xin jiang appeals to all kinds of tourists. Some tourist sites there can be called as”the best n China”or even “the best in the world”based on the standardized classifications of Chinas Tourist Resources, Xinjiang possesses all the six major types of attractions, as it is home to at least 56 out of the 68 basic categories, accounting for 83% of the national total, second to none among all Chinas provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government. In terms of natural landscape, there are boundless desert and vast grassland, the world’s second highest peak-Chogori Peak, the world ess second lowest point-Aydingkol Lake in Turpan, impressive mountains and lakes as well as numerous gas springs and hot springs. When the humanity is involved, Xinjiang presents tourists with world-renowned relics, grottoes, and Buda caves; distinctive mosques lamaseries and temples; tombs of and memorials to historical celebrities from all ethnic groups; and very unique ethnic culture, including singing and dancing, garment and food.
