Northwest China


Northwest China includes the autonomous regions of Xinjiang and Ningxia and the provinces of Shaanxi, Gansu and Qinghai.

Administrative divisions

Cities with urban area over one million in population

Outer Northwest China

Outer Northwest China refers to small portions of territories of the Qing dynasty that were later annexed by the Russian Empire through the Convention of Peking, Treaty of Tarbagatai, Treaty of Saint Petersburg and other unequal treaties referred by Chinese interpretation. During Qing rule, the territories formed parts of far-Western Xinjiang, Northwestern Outer Mongolia and the entirety of Tannu Uriankhai. Prior to Qing rule, Outer Northwest China was part of the Dzungar Khanate but the region was annexed into the Qing Empire in the aftermath of the Dzungar–Qing Wars.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the region is now divided among two successor states of the Soviet Union: Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.