Chinese Turkestan

Chinese Turkestan, also spelled Chinese Turkistan,[1] is a geographical term or historical region corresponding to the region of the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang (south of the Tian Shan mountain range) or Xinjiang as a whole[2][3] which was under the rule of the Qing dynasty of China.

It is considered a part of the Chinese Tartary that covered the Inner Asian regions ruled by the Qing dynasty.

The Europeans commonly used this term especially during the period of the Qing dynasty to denote the division of Turkestan into territories controlled by the Chinese and the Russians, with the latter controlling Russian Turkestan in the west.

They then ruled over the region (later fell under the overlordship of the Mongols including the Chagatai Khanate and the Dzungar Khanate) until they were subjugated by the Chinese Qing dynasty during the final phase of the Dzungar–Qing Wars in the 1750s.

It gradually lost popularity in the 20th century worldwide after the fall of the Qing dynasty, although it was still being used in various publications during the eras when the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China ruled the region.