[6] The XMD covers the contested area of Aksai Chin, and it is a sensitive hotspot in China's borders.

[7] Recently (as of 2024) there have been efforts to create a "six-in-one" border defense system, in which the PLA, the police, the militia, party officials, government officials, and civilians would cooperate in patrolling the enormously long and harsh border of both the Xinjiang and Tibet MDs, with an emphasis on local nomadic tribes that know the terrain and are highly mobile by definition.

[8] The XMD is divided into the northern district and the southern Xinjiang subdistrict (Nanjiang), which is a Corps-graded (正军级) unit responsible for the volatile Sino-Indian border.

[9] These two main sub-areas are then divided into the following command sectors, generally comprising a prefecture: As of 2022, the People's Liberation Army Ground Force units garrisoning the District are as follows (including their main garrison location).

The Border Defense regiments cover some of the most challenging terrain in the world, and it is occasionally reported that some units still use horses for patrolling.