The Major Changes in Xinjiang Cities during the Past Hundred Years：Quantity and Scale

This article studies the major changes in Xinjiang during the past hundred years from the perspective of the increased number of cit-ies and the expansion of urban scale . 1.The Change in the Quantity of Xinjiang Cities in the 20 th Century 1 ) The Change in the Quantity of Xinjiang Cities in the first half of the 20th Century In the first half of the 20th century, Xinjiang, like other provinces and regions in China , experi-enced dramatic historical changes , including politi-cal change , destruction from wars , social turbu-lences etc . During the ruling period of Yang Zengxin ( from 1913 to 1928 ) in Xinjiang , Xin-jiang experienced its third upsurge in urban devel-opment since the Qianlong period .During that pe-riod, a total number of 21 counties were built up . In 1933 , a political coup occurred in Xinjiang , and Sheng Shicai began his rule (1933-1944) in Xinjiang.During that period , Xinjiang ’ s poli-tics, economy and culture developed and changed dramatically.At the same time, the numbers of cities with administrative power increased .Accord-ing to statistics , in 1947 , there were 82 local ad-ministrative units in Xinjiang .These included 1 municipality , 75 counties , and 6 shezhi bureaus . Most of the administrative seats were set in rela-tively large scale cities (towns). 2) The Change in the Number of Xinjiang Cities during the second half of the 20th Century In the second half of the 20th century, Xin-jiang changed dramatically under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party .The number of cit-ies in Xinjiang increased greatly .The period from 1950 to 1957 ( i.e.just after the founding of New China ) was a preliminary development stage of Xinjiang cities;the period from 1958 to 1964 was a “rising-falling development” stage of Xinjiang cities; and the period from 1978 to 2000 was a“fast development” stage.At the end of the 20th century, Urumchi, in Xinjiang, with a population of more than 2 million, became the biggest city a-mong the cities in autonomous regions of China . Up to the end of 2010 , there were 2 prefecture -level cities, 21 county-level cities, 62 counties, and 6 autonomous counties in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region . 2.The changes in population scale and urban scale in the 20 th century 1 ) The changein population scale and urban scale in the first half of the 20th century In the first half of the 20th century, due to the low -level socioeconomic development in Xin-jiang , together with the limitations of the geograp