Local militia formation and escalating Han–Hui tensions in Shaanxi in 1862 helped trigger the broader northwest Muslim uprising later called the Dungan Revolt (Tongzhi Hui Revolt). The conflict quickly spread beyond isolated incidents into sustained warfare across Shaanxi and neighboring provinces.
In the power vacuum created by uprisings in Xinjiang, Kokandi commander Yakub Beg entered the Tarim Basin region (Kashgaria) and, through successive campaigns, positioned himself as the dominant ruler in the area—linking the northwest Hui conflict to a broader Xinjiang crisis.
Zuo Zongtang was assigned as governor-general for Shaanxi and Gansu in 1867 to quell Muslim rebellions. His campaign combined logistics reforms, taxation and production measures, and modern weapons procurement, laying groundwork for later operations toward Xinjiang.
Qing commander Zuo Zongtang’s forces besieged the Jahriyya leader Ma Hualong at Jinjipu (in today’s Ningxia) in July 1869, marking a decisive push to break organized rebel power in the Gansu–Ningxia corridor.
As Qing authority weakened in the northwest amid rebellion, the Russian Empire occupied the Ili (Kulja/Ghulja) region in 1871—an intervention that later became the focus of the Ili crisis and diplomacy after Qing military recovery.
After prolonged siege and famine conditions, Ma Hualong surrendered in January 1871; accounts differ on details, but widely cited narratives place his execution in early March 1871. His defeat disrupted a major rebel network that controlled trade routes and resources.
To sustain the northwest campaign, Zuo Zongtang established the Lanzhou Arsenal in 1872 to manufacture firearms and munitions, strengthening Qing capacity for prolonged operations in Gansu and, later, Xinjiang.
Yakub Beg’s Kashgaria/Yettishar regime concluded commercial treaties with Russia (1872) and Britain (1873), which effectively extended external recognition and reflected Great Power interest in Xinjiang as a strategic buffer.
In late 1872, Qing forces under Liu Jintang captured Xining after a three-month siege, securing Zuo’s flank and tightening government control over Qinghai–Gansu routes crucial for westward advance.
Zuo Zongtang besieged Suzhou (modern Jiuquan) beginning in September 1873; the city fell on 1873-10-24. Its capture removed the last major rebel stronghold in the Hexi Corridor, opening the logistical path toward Xinjiang.
With rebellions elsewhere reduced, the Qing court backed Zuo Zongtang’s campaign to reconquer Xinjiang in the mid-to-late 1870s. The offensive relied on long supply lines through Gansu and incorporated Hui (Dungan) forces fighting for the Qing.
In 1876, Qing armies advanced into northern Xinjiang and entered Ürümqi with little resistance, signaling the start of rapid territorial rollback against Yakub Beg’s regime and allied forces.
Yakub Beg died in 1877 (reported around mid-May) near Korla as Qing pressure mounted; contemporary accounts vary on the exact cause. His death accelerated the collapse of the Kashgaria/Yettishar state.
By late 1877, Qing troops advanced into the Tarim Basin; Kashgar fell in December, completing the reconquest of Xinjiang and ending the revolt’s second major theater tied to the Kashgaria regime.
Qing envoy Chonghou signed the Treaty of Livadia on 1879-10-02 to resolve Russia’s 1871 occupation of Ili. The Qing court refused to ratify it, prompting renegotiation on more favorable terms.
On 1881-02-24, Qing China and Russia signed the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (Treaty of Ili), returning most of the Ili Valley to Qing control in exchange for concessions including an indemnity—closing a major international consequence of the Dungan Revolt era.
Dungan Revolt (1862–1877)
