On Changes of the City Size and Restricting Factors of Cities in Southern Xinjiang In Modern Period

In early and middle Qing dynasty,Southern Xinjiang developed slower than Northern Xinjiang. In late Qing Dynasty,with the infiltration of foreign capitalism,the establishment of Xinjiang province,and a series of reform measures implemented by the Qing government,the southern Xinjiang cities obtained considerable development. Kashgar,Hetian and Aksu city become the centers of southern Xinjiang's urban system. During the period of the Republic of China,with the increase of population in Xinjiang and the development of economy,southern Xinjiang urban population and urban space were widened and changed,especially in the northeast region of southern Xinjiang. Although the southern Xinjiang city achieved a certain degree of development in this period,the cities are not of great number while population and spatial scale were generally small. There were other factors which hindered the urban development of cities in southern Xinjiang,such as natural geographical environment,undeveloped economy,inconvenient transportation,social turmoil,political change,ethnic and religious factors.