The article considers the previously unknown pages of the history of the civil war in the Xinjiang province of the Republic of China from the late 1920s to the mid-1930s, in particular the rebellion of the local Muslims against the Chinese rule. This episode is studied from the viewpoint of its connection to the history of the civil war in Central Asia and the relations between China and Russia in the indicated period. The focus of the paper is placed on the participation in this war of the remnants of the defeated White Russian forces that took refuge in Western China after the end of the civil war in USSR in 1920. Driven by a desire to survive in exile, the remnants of the White Russian forces accepted the offer of the Chinese authorities and attacked the rebels. They played an important role in pacification of the province and restoration of the Chinese rule in this remote province. However, military potency and unpredictability of the White Cossacks shown during these events worried the Chinese and Soviet authorities. Eventually, the Chinese authorities and Soviet representatives in Xinjiang succeeded in neutralizing the exiled White Russians in this part of China.