Southern Xinjiang

{{Short description|Geographical subregion of Xinjiang, Northwest China}}

{{More citations needed|date=April 2020}}

File:Xinjiang regions.png (yellow)
Eastern Xinjiang – Turpan and Hami (red)
Southern Xinjiang – Tarim Basin (blue)]]

File:Xinjiang regions simplified.png, Turpan, and Hami (red)
Southern Xinjiang – Tarim Basin (blue)]]

Southern Xinjiang or Nanjiang ({{zh|c=南疆|p=Nánjiāng}}) is the southern half of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. Its historical name was Altishahr ({{zh|c=回部|p=Huíbù}}), which also includes some territories in modern-day Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. The name "Chinese Turkestan" was commonly used by Europeans to refer to Southern Xinjiang or Xinjiang as a whole{{cite journal |title=The Great Game Revisited: Three Empires Collide in Chinese Turkestan (Xinjiang) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24537108 |journal=Europe-Asia Studies |jstor=24537108 |access-date=September 19, 2023 |last1=Share |first1=Michael B. |date=2015 |volume=67 |issue=7 |pages=1102–1129 |doi=10.1080/09668136.2015.1067075 }} especially during the Qing dynasty.

Southern Xinjiang includes the Tarim Basin and the adjacent mountainous area which includes Aksai Chin. Most of the inhabitants in Southern Xinjiang are Uyghurs.