All people in the region have worked for unity

In ancient times, Xinjiang was known as the Western Regions, a Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220) term for the area west of Yumenguan in Gansu province. After the incorporation of the Western Regions into China by the Han rulers, Xinjiang began its integration process with the rest of China. That Xinjiang had close economic and cultural links with the rest of China since the Neolithic Age helped this integration.

Seashells, inland silk, bronze mirrors and lacquerware from China's southeastern coast have been unearthed in different parts of Xinjiang. Also, many ancient Chinese documents list the Western Regions as part of Chinese civilization.

In 60 BC, the Han rulers set up the Protectorate of the Western Regions to administer the regions north and south of the Tianshan Mountains and the vast area along Congling, or the Pamir Plateau, manifesting the formal incorporation of the region into China.