ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses on a survey conducted in Xinjiang in 1997 and on census statistics, and it provides an analysis of the population distribution patterns of ethnic groups in southern Xinjiang. Ethnic groups with large populations are in an advantageous position when it comes to preserving their cultural and religious traditions and striving for their economic and political rights. The size of the Han population increased rapidly during the 1953-64 period, as a result of both the formation of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Militia Corps and immigration from the interior provinces in the 1960s due to widespread famine. According to statistics published by the personnel department and the residence registration department of the government, there has been a continuous outflow from the Kashgar region of Han intellectuals and government administrators in the past ten years. The Kashgar region, with its high concentration of the Uyghur population, is an important location for the study of Uyghur-Han relations in Xinjiang.
