Shihezi, city, northwestern Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, far northwestern China. It was established as a new city in 1976 and is situated north of the Tien Shan range in the south-central Junggar (Dzungarian) Basin near the Manasi River. Prior to 1949 the area was sparsely inhabited by Uighur, Kazak, and other Turkic pastoralists. The new Chinese government sent a colony of soldiers (later provided with spouses), organized as a military construction corps, to the area in 1950 to dig irrigation ditches, clear fields, and build housing for settlement.
Most of Shihezi’s population is ethnic Chinese. State farms around the city produce corn (maize), wheat, cotton, grapes, and sugar beets. Local industries include cotton and wool spinning, knitting, dyeing and printing, papermaking, food processing, sugar refining, and electric-power generation. The city is green with lush vegetation and is known as "a shining pearl on the Gobi Desert." It is connected by rail and highway with Ürümqi (Urumchi) to the southeast and by road with Karamay to the northwest. Pop. (2002 est.) 352,489.