How did the Qing dynasty establish control over Xinjiang?

The Qing dynasty established control over the region now known as Xinjiang through a combination of military campaigns, strategic settlement, and administrative formalization.

Military Conquest and Consolidation

During the 18th century, the Qing military conducted extensive campaigns to eliminate threats from the Dzungar Oyrats, a nomadic power based in Dzungaria. By the mid-18th century, under the reign of the Qianlong emperor, the Qing had annexed the lands on both sides of the Tien Shan range as far west as Lake Balkhash, renaming the territory Xinjiang, or "New Dominion".123

Settlement and Administration

To solidify this control, the government encouraged internal migration. Chinese traders and assimilated Chinese Muslims moved into the newly acquired territories, and the Qing sent loyal Muslims from Gansu to settle in the oases of northern Xinjiang. In the 19th century, following the suppression of regional rebellions and the expulsion of the adventurer Yakub Beg by Zuo Zongtang, the Qing government formally established Xinjiang as a province in 1884.145