Shihezi, city in northwestern
China, in north central Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous
Region. Shihezi is located about 130 km (about 80
mi) northwest of Urumqi, on the southern border of
the arid Junggar Pendi (Dzungarian Basin). An industrial
city, Shihezi serves as a base for oil exploration
and is a center for the production of cotton and wool
products, paper, coal, machine parts, and building
materials. The chief agricultural activities in the
area are sheep farming and the cultivation of melons.
Other agricultural products such as wheat, corn, cotton,
and beef are also processed in the city. A number
of major highways converge at Shihezi, and the northern
Xinjiang railroad passes through the city. Before
the establishment of China's Communist government
in 1949, Shihezi was a small oasis stop on a local
trading route. Residents subsisted primarily by herding
animals in the area. Shihezi was targeted for special
attention as a new industrial settlement after the
Communists came to power. There was significant industrial
development between 1950 and 1965, and in 1976 the
city was reconstructed and enlarged; its population
grew with the arrival of workers from eastern China.
Since the early 1990s Shihezi has received renewed
investment as one of the main gateways for trade between
China, Russia, and the countries of Central Asia