Qianlong Completes Conquest of Xinjiang

1760

With the Dzungar and then the eastern Turkestan khojas defeated, Qing rule extended to the Pamirs. Qianlong named his new possession Xinjiang - 'the new frontier' - and ruled it through a separate military administration. The Qing empire reached its greatest extent; it would not grow again. Garrison towns were planted across the desert, connected by relay stations that carried reports to Beijing in weeks.