Interesting map Jaichind.
What's up with the areas with very high GDP/capita near Mongolia ?
Rare earth minerals mining, plus oil & gas, generating high profits for the local prefectures ?
Similar to the oil/gas/mineral boom in Wyoming or North Dakota pushing up the state GDP there as well ?
Exactly that, and large coal deposits too.
The islands of red in Xinjiang are governed by military-like Production and Construction Corps and not Xinjiang local bodies, so are de facto not part of Xinjiang. The PCCs were formerly military units tasked with developing/settling the area and defending against Soviet invasion and Islamist infiltration during the Cold War. They formerly existed in Tibet as well, but were quietly shut down during the 1980s in order to reconcile with Tibetans.
The map shows regional wealth divides exist, but are vastly overstated. But it can't show the growing urban poor population, either.
