Old photos of the Tianshan area in Xinjiang in 1902: soldiers stationed for reclamation and frontier defense in the late Qing Dynasty

A group of old photos from 1902 to 2008 in Tianshan, Xinjiang, showing the daily life of soldiers and civilians in the late Qing Dynasty. The photographer is Merzbacher

The establishment of Xinjiang Province began in the Guangxu period, and before that, it had always been Bo’s restraint. At the end of the 10th year of Guangxu (1884), the court of the Qing Dynasty issued an edict to set up Xinjiang Province in Gansu, appointed Liu Jintang as the governor of Gansu and Xinjiang, and Wei Guangtao as the governor of Xinjiang. In addition, it abolished the restraint of Bo and eliminated the ministers stationed there. Departments, prefectures and counties implemented specific management, which was the same as the administrative system of all provinces in the mainland

天山东西二千五百余公里，南北宽二、三百余公里，东至星星峡、西至中哈边境，在境内绵延一千七百公里。它的占地为五十七万多平方公里，为新疆总面积的三分之一。

清朝统一新疆后，屯田获得很大发展。全疆屯田点密布，形式种类多样。有：兵屯(包括旗屯)，民屯(户屯)、回屯、遣屯等。兵屯，就是利用驻防军队开展屯田生产。清朝在新疆统一后，从内地调集（数万）汉、回族绿营军队，他们在天山北部地区携家眷，长期集中驻防。