This chapter is devoted to the cultures of Xinjiang where the current dominant people are represented by the Uyghurs. The name Xinjiang means "new frontiers" and was adopted by Qing Manchuria. But history has made this region a mixture of peoples and cultures. During prehistoric times, cultural influence came from the northwest and moved east until the 3rd century AD when Buddhism appeared in the region. The Scythian empire gives way to the Kouchan empire which left many pictorial traces especially in the caves of Kizil and marks the beginning of the Silk Roads.
