[Photo provided to China Daily]

The book is part of a series called One-minute China, which has already published books on the Tibet autonomous region and Xi'an, the capital city of Shaanxi province.

Both books have been well-received by readers.

"People are busy nowadays, and independent texts appeal to their fragmented reading demands," Yu says. He explains that the Chinese name of the book, Weiguan Xinjiang, literally means "see Xinjiang from the small things".

Some of the authors live in, or have been to, Xinjiang, such as linguist Wang Hui, poet Zhou Tao and writers Han Ziyong and Shen Wei.

Xing Guangcheng, a senior scholar with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, who has been to Xinjiang a number of times, speaks highly of the book.

The book reveals many sides of Xinjiang through engaging stories and descriptions, and breaks stereotypes, Xing says.

Xing says the book also enhances his knowledge of Xinjiang and often makes him break into laugher.

Chief editor Zuo Feng says when the project began in 2012, he was uncertain about its outcome. Now, however, with 200 photos and more than 500 snippets of text, he is confident the book will give readers a different idea about Xinjiang.

"Xinjiang is a vast land with abundant resources. It is of great significance to China in politics as it borders eight countries. But it is often regarded as a land of mystery because people know so little about it," Zuo says.

"We hope the book will demonstrate what Xinjiang really is to readers, and help people better understand Xinjiang and its people."

The book is also available at Amazon's Kindle.