Uyghuristan (Xinjiang) is included in the Lanzhou Military Region 兰州军区 which also covers the provinces of , Qinghai, Gansu, Shaanxi, Ningxia, and part of northwest Tibet. The map below is from Annual Report to Congress: Military Power of the People’s Republic of China 2008 (reports from previous years available here). The region in the southwest marked red (Aksai Chin 阿克赛钦 अकसाई चिन) is claimed by India but administered by China as part of Tibet and Xinjiang.
Uyghuristan (Xinjiang) Air Bases
Lists of Chinese air bases arranged by military region are available here and here and here. Some of the air bases are military/civilian dual use. Sean O'Connor's blog has a link to a Google Earth file of Chinese military airfields. I have listed the air bases located in Xinjiang below:
Aksu Wensu AB 41°15′43″N 80°17′34″E
Altay AB 47°45′9″N 88°5′1″E
Hami AB 42°50′26″N 93°40′6″E
Hotan (Hetian) AB 37°2′22″N 79°51′48″E
Kashi AB 39°32′29″N 76°1′9″E
Korla AB 41°41′54″N 86°7′49″E
Kuqa (Kucha) Airport 41°43'2.51"N 82°59'24.67"E
Qiemo AB 38°8′58″N 85°31′58″E
Shanshan/Piqan AB 42°54′41″N 90°14′56″E
Shihezi AB 44°19′58″N 86°7′0″E
Urumqi AB 43°57'0.15"N 87° 4'42.09"E
Urumqi South AB 43°27′57″N 87°31′56″E
Uxxaktal AB 42°10′53″N 87°11′17″E
Yaerbashi Test Range 43°4′38″N 92°48′29″E
Yining Alinbake APT 43°57′21″N 81°19′49″E
The Sinodefence.com link mentions Changji AB. The city is located at 44° 0'55.59"N 87°17'41.94"E. I cannot find an air base near the city, though it is 20 miles west of an HQ-2 SAM site at 43°57'50.58"N 87°26'4.37"E and 10 miles east of what is called Urumqi AB in other sources.
Uyghuristan(Xinjiang) Space and Missile Tracking Facilities
Sinodefence describes the China's space and missle tracking network. The facilities located in Uyghuristan(Xinjiang) are Kashi station and Hotan station, both mentioned as having a role in tracking spacecraft reentry for the Shenzhou missions. Both of these cities are the sites of PLA air bases. I will do further research to find out if tracking facilities are generally on the grounds of air bases or if they have to be more remotely located.
U.S.-China Listening Stations in Uyghuristan(Xinjiang )
http://jya.com/usic12.htm has an excerpt from pp.265-287 The U.S. Intelligence Community by Jeffrey T. Richelson (New York, Ballinger, 1989, 2nd ed.). The section on China (pp. 280-281) describes some listening stations in Xinjiang previously operated jointly by China and the U.S. to monitor Soviet nuclear tests. I have marked them below:
Uyghuristan(Xinjiang) Surface-to-Air Missile Sites
Sean O'Connor's blog has an excellent overview of the the Chinese SAM network.
He also links to a Google Earth file of SAM sites worldwide. Here are the sites in Uyghuristan(Xinjiang):
Urumqi AB 43°56'20.94"N 87° 5'36.44"E EW site
Near Urumqi 43°46'9.34"N 87°28'29.11"E HQ-2 site
Near Urumqi 43°56'56.26"N 87°40'32.44"E HQ-2 site
Near Urumqi 43°57'50.58"N 87°26'4.37"E HQ-2 site
Korla AB 41°38'51.28"N 86°20'57.95"E Empy HQ-2 site
About the HQ-2 SAM:
http://www.sinodefence.com/army/surfacetoairmissile/hq2.asp
http://geimint.blogspot.com/2007/07/s-75-sam-system-site-analysis.html
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/hq-2.htm
Nuclear Forces
The Federation of American Scientists has published a report, Chinese Nuclear Forces and U.S. Nuclear War Planning, that includes a Google Earth file of the nuclear forces and other military facilities mentioned. The military facilities in Uyghuristan(Xinjiang) that occur on the list give a little more detailed information on a few of the sites above.
Shanshan AB 42°55'5.55"N 90°15'34.30"E covered taxiway
Urumqi South AB 43°26'12.00"N 87°33'11.90"E possible underground facility entrance
Urumqi South AB 43°26'15.60"N 87°33'9.80"E possible underground facility entrance
Urumqi South AB 43°25'56.70"N 87°31'9.60"E entrance to underground weapon storage facility
Urumqi South AB 43°26'7.50"N 87°31'9.60"E entrance to underground weapon storage facility
Urumqi South AB 43°41'48.26"N 87°32'50.18"E Urumqi POL storage facility, underground tanks
Malan-Uxxaktal AB 42°12'10.90"N 87° 9'13.40"E weapon storage site, underground storage facility
Nuclear Testing
The full report of Chinese Nuclear Forces and U.S. Nuclear War Planning (p.123) points out Lop Nur testing facilities at 41º42’01”N, 88º21’58”E and 41º42’15.66”N, 88º23’24.15”E.
The Google Earth file places the base facilities at 41°41'56.96"N 88°22'5.26"E and several nearby tunnel entrances at:
41°42'39.10"N 88°21'45.66"E
41°42'31.07"N 88°22'7.87"E
41°42'27.79"N 88°22'21.90"E
41°42'20.56"N 88°22'52.12"E
41°42'16.34"N 88°23'23.65"E
The Catalog of Worldwide Nuclear Testing locates the Lop Nur test site at 41 ° 30' North and 88 ° 30' East, explaining that "from 1964 to 1996 47 nuclear tusts were conducted at that site, including 23 atmospheric and 24 underground."
