Books on western china

[DocWatson]

Hi, I hope this is the correct section, however do you guys know any good book on the western regions of china? qinghai, xinjiang etc.. I want to know more about this places, culture, etnies etc..

[Steingletscher]

Qinghai is basically Tibet, so books on Tibet should mostly suffice. As the topic so heated on both sides so to point where they disagree about the basic facts, I recommend starting with Melvyn C. Goldstein's The Snow Lion and the Dragon: China, Tibet, and the Dalai Lama. If you are really into history, you can go much deeper with his A History of Modern Tibet. Just try to stay away from works that glorify one-side, though even the books I have mentioned do not escape such criticisms. Besides history, I am pretty sure there are many books about Tibetan Buddhism out there and the Buddhist forums out there will probably be more knowledgeable about introductory books. I'm sorry for not directing you to any specific place.

As for Xinjiang, since it is Islamic, some knowledge about Islam should be known. This book is mostly the history of the area and the Turkic people who live there as opposed to the whole Silk Road (so Gansu isn't covered very much). Here are two other books on the region, again focusing on the minorities living there. All tend to be a little dated in terms of the recent developments that have happened there the past couple of years, but a history of the area should be known before approaching those things.

[Angelina]

Anything on pre-Islamic Xinjiang?

[DocWatson]

Huge help! Thank you