Xinjiang is located in the hinterland of Asia. Altai Mountain, Tianshan Mountain and Kunlun Mountain are distributed from north to south in turn, and Junggar Basin and Tarim Basin are sandwiched between mountains. People used to call the area south of Tianshan Mountain "southern Xinjiang", the area north of Tianshan Mountain "northern Xinjiang" and Hami and Turpan basins "eastern Xinjiang". Cities and villages in Xinjiang are located on oases, which are distributed along the edge of great basin, just like a string of pearls.

Xinjiang has Tarim River, the largest inland river in China, Bosten Lake, the largest inland freshwater lake, and Turpan Basin with the lowest elevation. Xinjiang is a typical arid area, with great differences between cold and warm climate. The lowest temperature in China was recorded in Altay, while the highest temperature in China remained in Turpan for a long time.

Two-thirds of China's desert area is in Xinjiang, of which Taklimakan Desert covers an area of 330,000 square kilometers, which is the largest desert in China and the second largest mobile desert in the world. The Gurbantunggut Desert in Junggar Basin covers an area of 48,000 square kilometers and is the second largest desert in China. Xinjiang desert is rich in oil and gas resources and mineral resources.