Sogdians and Chinese engage in extensive commercial activities with each other under Tang rule.

The Sogdians are mostly Mazdaist at this time.

Turpan, renamed Xizhou by the Tang after their armies conquer it in 640, has a history of commerce and trade along the Silk Road already centuries old; it has many inns catering to merchants and other travelers, while brothels are recorded as having been numerously available in Kucha and Khotan.

As a result of the Tang conquest, policies forcing minority group relocation and encouraging Han settlement lead to Turpan's name in Sogdian language becoming known as “Chinatown” or "Town of the Chinese".