Xinjiang Province has been important in Chinese history as their Silk Road gateway to the West. It was the westernmost territory of several big empires.If you want to visit a naturally beautiful province, steeped in Central Asian culture, Xinjiang is where to go in China. Xinjiang is famed for its stark vast deserts and high mountain natural areas. For tourists, there are many natural, cultural, and historical places to go. Turpan is a Uyghur town famed for being on the Silk Road with ancient ruins. It is near the Turpan Depression and the Flaming Mountains.Kashgar is the second biggest city with about half a million people, It is near the border of Kyrgyzstan. It is a Silk Road city and has a population that is about 90 percent Uyghur and other minorities.Hetian is also called Hotan. It is a city of about 350,000 in a majority Uyghur region in southwestern Xinjiang.