How did the Qing Dynasty govern Xinjiang?

Through the establishment of general Ili, the military government system of military and political integration was implemented to manage Xinjiang.

After the Qing Dynasty put down the rebellion of the quasi-Ministry and the Hui Ministry in the north and south of Tianshan Mountain, a military government headed by General Yili was set up to manage the north and south of Tianshan Mountain, that is, under General Yili, counsellors from Urumqi, Talbahatai and Kashgar were set up to manage the east of Xinjiang and the north and south of Tianshan Mountain respectively.

There are leaders in Bizhan, Gucheng, Balikun, Turpan and Kuerkalawusu in Mongolian nomadic areas in northern Xinjiang, and ministers in charge of affairs in Kashgar, Yeerqiang, Hotan, Kuqa, Wushi, Karasar, Yengisar, Aksu and Hami, which are the eight cities in southern Xinjiang where Uighurs live in concentrated communities, respectively, command the garrison and administer border defense, garrison, Karen State and Hami.

In this military government system, although the ministers stationed in various parts of Xinjiang were nominally controlled by General Yili, for various reasons, the Central Committee of the Qing Dynasty gave these ministers relatively independent real power and made them occupy high positions. This management mechanism has always been a key factor affecting the political situation in Xinjiang in the Qing Dynasty.

Extended data:

In Xinjiang's military government system, only General Yili and Urumqi belong to the real officials with the same rank and title, ranking first among the officials of Wuzhi, while ministers and leaders of other places belong to part-time temporary positions. These official vacancies are clearly defined in the Qing Code, and there are corresponding yanglianyin.

In short, in view of the historical and geographical conditions at that time, the minister system in Xinjiang in the Qing Dynasty had the characteristics of high status and strong independence, which made the minister play an important role in the stability of the frontier. However, unsupervised power has repeatedly intensified contradictions. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, with the large-scale improvement of transportation, communication, military supplies and other conditions, the system of ministers stationed in various places and acting independently was finally replaced by the provincial system, and the ministers stationed in the city were also directly under the jurisdiction of the original Xinjiang governor, which made the administrative management of Xinjiang enter a new era.

References:

China * * * Production Party News Network-Liu: The "Minister of Handling Affairs" System in Southern Xinjiang in Qing Dynasty