Xinjiang sees comprehensive improvements in infrastructure: white paper

BEIJING -- China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has seen comprehensive improvements in infrastructure, according to a white paper released on Friday by the State Council Information Office.

To optimize infrastructure layout, structure, functions, and system integration, the region has made overall planning for the construction of 10 networks covering railways, highways, aviation, power, natural gas, logistics and computing, said the document titled "CPC Guidelines for Governing Xinjiang in the New Era: Practice and Achievements."

The operating mileage of railways totaled 9,202 km as of 2024, up from 4,914 km in 2012, reaching all prefectures, as well as over 80 percent of county-level administrative regions, according to the white paper.

The highway network has also grown, from 165,900 km in 2012 to 230,000 km in 2024. All prefectures in Xinjiang are now accessible by highway, as are more than 90 percent of administrative regions at county level.

The number of civil air routes in Xinjiang now totals 595, of which 25 are international routes, connecting to 17 countries and regions. A network of air routes covering entire Xinjiang and radiating to the east and west has now basically formed.

Information highway is also taking shape, with optical cables now extending 1.78 million km, the white paper said. All counties in Xinjiang are connected with 1000M fiber optic networks, towns with 5G networks, and villages with broadband networks.