Western Regions

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Chinese. (September 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Chinese Wikipedia article at [[:zh:西域]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|zh|西域}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (September 2020) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 1,626 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:西域]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ja|西域}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Part of a series on the
History of Xinjiang
Prehistoric and ancient period Afanasievo culture Tarim mummies (Xiaohe Cemetery) Yanbulaq culture Subeshi culture Tocharians Shirenzigou culture Kingdom of Khotan Yuezhi Wusun Xiongnu Shule Kingdom Loulan Kingdom Kucha Karasahr Jushi Kingdom Shanshan Western Regions (Han Protectorate; Chief Officials) Former Liang Former Qin Later Liang Western Liang Gaochang Rouran First Turkic Khaganate Western Turkic Khaganate Eastern Turkic Khaganate Second Turkic Khaganate
Medieval and early modern period Tang Protectorates (West; Beiting) Tibetan Empire Uyghur Khaganate Kara-Khanid Khanate Kingdom of Qocho Qara Khitai Mongol Empire (Yuan; Chagatai Khanate) Moghulistan (Turpan; Yarkent) Ming ruled Kara Del Dzungar Khanate Kumul Khanate Yettishar Qing rule (Dzungar genocide Dungan Revolt Qing reconquest)
Modern period Xinjiang Province, Republic of China (Xinjiang clique 1st East Turkestan Republic 2nd East Turkestan Republic) Xinjiang Province, People's Republic of China Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Production and Construction Corps Xinjiang conflict Xinjiang internment camps / Persecution of Uyghurs in China)
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The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; Chinese: 西域) was a historical name specified in Ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD^[1] that referred to the regions west of the Yumen Pass, most often the Tarim Basin in present-day southern Xinjiang (also known as Altishahr) and Central Asia (specifically the easternmost portion around the Ferghana Valley), though it was sometimes used more generally to refer to other regions to the west of China as well, such as Parthia (which technically belonged to West Asia) and Tianzhu (as in the novel Journey to the West, which refers to the Indian subcontinent in South Asia).

Because of their strategic location astride the Silk Road, the Western Regions have been historically significant to China since at least the 3rd century BC.