Kirghiz in Little Kara Köl: The Forces of Modernisation in Southern Xinjiang

The Chinese modernisation programme has affected even the remotest high mountain pastures of Xinjiang. The dynamics of such processes are exemplified in a case study from the Chinese Pamirs and are analysed in regard to their im-portance for adaptation and development. Based on a dia-chronic ex¬amination of transformation processes related to Kirghiz nomads, special emphasis is put on four stages of transformation that might lead from mobile pastoralism to a town-ship settlement. Developments affecting the Kirghiz nomads of Little Kara Köl may be classified as transfor¬mations in space and time, resulting in the integration of this marginal region into the perma¬nently settled areas of Xinjiang. Externali-ties in the field of social structure and political administration have supported this integration and growing dependence on the commercial and service centres of the foreland oases.