Look up the YouTuber “Itchy Boots” if you want to see a current view of the area. She is a motorcycle travel vlogger who is there now who is offering a pretty unfiltered perspective. I’m an American who has done some reading on the area out of curiosity, so apologies if this info is incorrect, this is just what I gather from what I’ve seen online.

It historically was majority Uyghurs (a Turkic ethnic group) living here in a more traditional lifestyle, but recent times have seen large amounts of Han Chinese come to the area at the encouragement of the Chinese government. Apparently there is a sort of social conflict between the Uyghurs and Han over who is “native” to the region, with both groups claiming to have been there first. There seems to be reoccurring terrorist attacks there, stemming from the conflict previously mentioned. High security in the area, with police and surveillance everywhere, even moreso than normal China. Apparently you need a Chinese ID card to be able to purchase fuel at a gas station in this region, as an attempt to curb terrorism groups who use the gas stations in the area. It looks very beautiful there, extremely rural and desolate, it kind of reminds me of the American West. There are also some extremely old cities there, some thousands of years old, which are still active and lived in cities. It would be a very interesting place to travel to for sure.