Xinjiang Province 新疆省
Province
1949–1955
Xinjiang Province (red) in the People's Republic of China
Capital	Dihua
Area
• Total area	1,710,000 km2 (660,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1953 census	4,873,608
Government
Governor
• 1949–1955	Burhan Shahidi
History
• Established	1949
• Disestablished	1955
Preceded by Succeeded by Xinjiang Province, Republic of China Three Districts Economic Commission Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

Xinjiang Province (Chinese:新疆省;pinyin:Xīnjiāng Shěng) was a province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 1949 to 1955. It was founded in 1949 after theincorporation of Xinjiang into the People's Republic of China. In 1955, it was replaced by theXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

During the final stages of theChinese Civil War, thePeople's Liberation Army (PLA) held a decisive advantage, while theNationalistArmy suffered successive defeats. After theFirst Field Army, commanded byPeng Dehuai, capturedLanzhou and subsequently the entireGansu province on August 26, 1949, the military and political leaders ofXinjiang Province, includingTao Zhiyue andBurhan Shahidi, declared an uprising against the ROC government.Zhang Zhizhong, who had already sided with theChinese Communist Party (CCP), mediated the conflict, whileDeng Liqun served as the CCP's negotiator. That same year, theSoviet Union ordered the insurgents to halt their advance intoDihua (now Ürümqi) and surrender to the People's Republic of China. On September 25, the First Army Corps of the First Field Army, led by GeneralWang Zhen, captured Dihua, making Xinjiang a province of the People's Republic of China. On December 17, the Xinjiang Provincial People's Government was established, with Burhan Shahidi as its first chairman.^[1]

On September 13, 1955, the 21st meeting of the Standing Committee of the1st National People's Congress decided to abolish Xinjiang Province and establish the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, with the original administrative area of ​​Xinjiang Province as its administrative area. On October 1, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was established, and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region People's Committee was subsequently established. Xinjiang became one of China's five provincial-level minority autonomous regions, and the name "Xinjiang Province" became history.^[1][2]

According to the1953 Chinese census published by theNational Bureau of Statistics on November 1, 1954, as of June 30, 1953, the population of Xinjiang Province was 4,873,608, of which 3,640,125 wereUyghurs, accounting for three-quarters of the total population of Xinjiang Province, whileHan and other ethnic groups accounted for one-quarter.^[3]

In 1954, Xinjiang Province comprised 1 administrative region, 10 special districts, 5 autonomous prefectures, 1 provincial-level city, 2 cities, 73 counties, and 6 autonomous counties.

In 1949, after the Xinjiang Provincial Government of the Republic of China surrendered to the Chinese Communist Party, it was replaced by the newly established Xinjiang Provincial People's Government on December 17 of the same year. Burhan served as the chairman of the Xinjiang Provincial People's Government (1949–1954). On October 1, 1955, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was established, and thePeople's Committee of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region was subsequently established.^[4]

• States and territories established in 1949
• States and territories disestablished in 1955
• 1949 establishments in China
• 1955 disestablishments in China
• Former provinces of China
• Xinjiang
• Western China

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