Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture | |
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Name transcription(s) | |
• Chinese | 伊犁哈萨克自治州 |
• Uyghur | ئىلى قازاق ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى |
• Kazakh | ىله قازاق اۆتونومىيالى وبلىسى |
Downtown Yining (Ghulja) | |
Ili Prefecture (red) in Xinjiang (orange) | |
Coordinates: 43°55′N 81°19′E / 43.92°N 81.32°ECoordinates: 43°55′N 81°19′E / 43.92°N 81.32°E | |
Country | China |
Region | Xinjiang |
Prefecture seat | Yining (Ghulja) |
Government | |
• Type | Sub-provincial autonomous prefecture |
• Body | Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefectural People's Congress |
• CCP Secretary | Qiu Shuhua |
• Congress Chairman | Abdussalam Sadiq |
• Governor | Qadan Käbenuly |
• CPPCC Chairman | Serikzhan Orynbai |
Area | |
• Land | 56,381.52 km2 (21,769.03 sq mi) |
• inc. Altay & Tacheng | 268,778.71 km2 (103,776.04 sq mi) |
Population (2020) | |
• Total | 6,582,500 |
Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
ISO 3166 code | CN-XJ-40 |
GDP (2019)[1] | CNY 222.645 billion US$32.2 billion (including Altay & Tacheng) |
– Per capita | CNY 47,390 US$6,858 (including Altay & Tacheng) |
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture | |||||||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 伊犁哈萨克自治州 | ||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 伊犁哈薩克自治州 | ||||||||||||
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Dunganese name | |||||||||||||
Dungan | Йили Хазах Зыҗыҗу | ||||||||||||
Romanization | Yili Hazah Zıcıcu | ||||||||||||
Uyghur name | |||||||||||||
Uyghur | ئىلى قازاق ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى | ||||||||||||
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Kazakh name | |||||||||||||
Kazakh | ىله قازاق اۆتونومىيالى وبلىسى Іле Қазақ автономиялық облысы Ile Qazaq aýtonomııalyq oblysy |
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture[note 1] is an autonomous prefecture for Kazakh people in Northern Xinjiang, China, one of five autonomous prefectures in Xinjiang. Yining City is its capital. It is bordered by Mongolia, Russian Federation and Republic of Kazakhstan on the northeast to southwest, with a boundary line of 2,019 kilometers. Including Khorgas, Bakhty and Jeminay, there are 9 ports of entry at the national level. With the unique location advantage, Ili has been an important commercial hub and international channel of opening up to the west.
The autonomous prefecture covers an area of 268,591 square kilometers, accounting for 16.18% of Xinjiang.[2] Direct-administered regions (直辖区域) within the prefecture cover 56,622 square kilometers (21.08% of total area) and have a population of 4,930,600 (or 63.95% of registered population).[3]
The Kazakh autonomous prefecture of Ili (伊犁哈萨克自治州) is a special case of administrative divisions in China, its legal status is actually an administrative division at prefecture-level. It is the only autonomous prefecture in the country that has both directly administered county-level divisions and prefectures under its jurisdiction. When the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, the 3 prefectures of Altay, Ili and Tacheng were directly under the leadership of Xinjiang provincial government. The Mongol autonomous prefecture of Bortala was founded from Bole, Jinghe and Wenquan, 3 counties of Ili Prefecture (伊犁专区) in July 1954.
The Kazakh autonomous prefecture of Ili had 3 prefectures of Altay, Ili and Tacheng under its administration when it was established in November 1954. The Ili Prefecture (伊犁专区) firstly ceased to be as a separate prefecture in December 1955, its county-level administrative units were directly administered by the autonomous prefecture of Ili. Since then, the Kazakh autonomous prefecture of Ili has existed as a separate administrative division. Its administrative divisions have either been reduced to the geographical scope of the former Ili Prefecture or expanded back to the territory of the former 3 prefectures. As a separate administrative unit, Ili Prefecture (伊犁地区) existed until its final dissolution in 2001.
Before the advent of the Qin dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC), Ili was occupied by the Wusuns, a tributary tribe of the Huns. The Ussuns were driven away in the 6th century AD by the Northern Xiongnu, who established the First Turkic Khaganate in 552. Later this Khulja territory became a dependency of Dzungaria. During the Tang dynasty (618–907), the khanate became the Protectorate General to Pacify the West of the Tang Empire.
The Uyghur Khaganate and in the 12th century the Kara-Khitai, took possession of the area in turn. Genghis Khan conquered Kulja in the 13th century and the Mongol Khans resided in the valley of the Ili. It is supposed that the Oirats conquered it at the end of the 16th or the beginning of the 17th century.[citation needed]
The Oirats or more precisely Dzungars, controlled both Dzungaria and the Ili Basin until 1755 as the Dzungar Khanate, when it was annexed by the Manchu-run Qing dynasty under the Qianlong Emperor. Having defeated the Dzungars in the Dzungarian and Ili Basins, as well as the Afaqi Khojas in Kashgaria, the Qing court decided to make the Ili basin the main base of their control in Xinjiang.
In the 1760s, the Qing built nine fortified towns (九城) in the Ili Basin:
Original Chinese name | Chinese | Turki (Uyghur) name[5] | Modern name of the location[6] | Notes |
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Huiyuan Cheng | 惠远城 | Kürä Shahr | Huiyuan Town (惠远镇) in Huocheng County | The Old Huiyuan was the residence of the General of Ili from 1765 to 1866. The New Huiyuan was the residence of the General of Ili from 1894 to 1912. Also known as New Kulja, Manchu Kulja or Ili at the time. |
Ningyuan Cheng | 宁远城 | Kulja (Ghulja) | Yining City | Also was known as Old Kulja or Taranchi Kulja. County seat of Ningyuan County (1888–1914) and Yining County (1914–1952) |
Huining Cheng | 惠宁城 | Bayandai | Bayandai Town (巴彦岱镇) within Yining City, some 10[7] to 18[8] km to the west of the Yining center city | |
Taleqi Cheng | 塔勒奇城 | Tarchi | Within Huocheng County | |
Zhande Cheng | 瞻德城 | Chaghan Usu | Qingshuihe Town (清水河镇) in Huocheng County | |
Guangren Cheng | 广仁城 | Ukurborosuk | Lucaogou Town (芦草沟镇) in Huocheng County, NE of Qingshuihe | |
Gongchen Cheng | 拱宸城 | Khorgos | Khorgas City (霍尔果斯市) | |
Xichun Cheng | 熙春城 | Khara Bulaq | Area commonly referred to as Chengpanzi (城盘子) in the Hanbin Township (汉宾乡) within Yining City, a few km west of the city center | |
Suiding Cheng | 绥定城 | Ukharliq | Shuiding Town (水定镇), county seat of Huocheng County since 1966 | General of Ili's residence 1762–1765 and 1883–1894, when it became known as New/Manchu/Chinese Kulja. County seat of Suiding County (1888–1965) and Shuiding County (1965–1966). Renamed Shuiding in 1965. |
Huiyuan Cheng, as the seat of the General of Ili, the chief commander of the Qing troops in Xinjiang, became the administrative capital of the region. It was provided with a large penal establishment and a strong garrison. This city was called New Kulja, Manhcu Kulja, Chinese Kulja or Ili by the Russians and Westerners, to distinguish it from Nigyuan/Yining, known as Old Kulja or Taranchi Kulja.
The first General of Ili was Ming Rui. The Qing tradition, unbroken until the days of Zuo Zongtang in the 1870s, was to only appoint Manchus as officials in Xinjiang.
During the insurrection of 1864 the Dungans and Taranchis of the area formed the Taranchi Sultanate. Huiyuan (Manchu Kulja) was the last Qing fortress in the Ili Valley to fall to the rebels. The insurgent Dungans massacred most of Manchu Kulja's inhabitants; Governor General Mingsioi (Ming Xü) assembled his family and staff in his mansion and blew it up, dying under its ruins.
The insurrection led to the occupation of the Ili basin (Kulja in contemporary Western terms) by the Russians in 1871. Ten years later, part of the territory was restored to China and its boundary with Russia was assigned in accordance with the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881).
In October 1884, the Qing Government officially approved the foundation of Xinjiang Province. First of all, a major reform of General Ili system was made and the Amban (军府制) and Baig systems (伯克制) were abolished and replaced by circuit, urban prefecture, prefecture and county systems. Although General Ili still existed, but its name was changed to "Ili Garrison General" (伊犁驻防将军). its power and management scope greatly were reduced, no longer the military affairs in the entire territory of Xinjiang, only the military and defensive affairs in Ili and Tacheng, and the Ili Garrison General and Xinjiang Grand coordinator (新疆巡抚) were separate directly under the Qing Government.[9]
As a subdivision of Xinjiang Province, Yita Circuit (伊塔道) was formed in Ili and Tacheng in 1888, it was headquartered in Ningyuan County (present Yining). Yita Circuit was divided into Ili Prefecture (Yili Fu, 伊犁府), Tacheng Direct-administered Division (塔城直隶厅) and Jinghe Direct-administered Division (精河直隶厅). Meanwhile, Ili Garrison General in charge of frontier defence and station troops, was headquartered in Huiyuan Town. Altay region was formed from Khovd (科布多; headquartered in Khovd Town) in 1904.[9]
The Xinhai Revolution broke out in October 1911. Under the leadership of Yang Zuanxu (楊纘緒), a general of Ili New Army, an armed rebellion against Qing Government broke out on January 7, 1912. The rebels occupied Huiyuan Town and killed Zhi Rui (志锐), the Ili Garrison General, whose predecessor Guang Fu (广福) served as the military governor (都督) of Ili provisional government. On February 12, 1912, the Provisional Government of the Republic of China was established in Beijing and on March 15, the Beijing government ordered Yuan Dahua (袁大化) of the Xinjiang Grand Coordinator (新疆巡抚) to end the Qing dynasty's rule in Xinjiang.
The conflict between the two sides was over, the position of military governor (都督) replaced grand coordinator (巡抚). On April 25, Yuan Dahua was forced to announce his resignation from the grand coordinator of Xinjiang. On May 18, with shrewdness and actual strength, Yang Zengxin (杨增新) was recommended for the Military Governor of Xinjiang, meanwhile both sides continued peace negotiations. On July 8, the two sides signed a peace agreement, that the position of Garrison General of Ili (伊犁驻防将军) was replaced by Defence Governor of Ili (伊犁镇边使) with the responsibilities and rights by the former garrison general of Ili. Guang Fu (广福) still served as the Defence Governor of Ili (伊犁镇边使) under the jurisdiction of Beijing central government.
The two sides confirmed republican and democratic system, Yang Zengxin presided over the military and political affairs and recognized Yang Zengxin as the top military and political chief in the whole territory of Xinjiang. In August 1912, the Nationalist Government adjusted administrative divisions, the Defence Governor of Ili (伊犁镇边使) headquartered in Huiyuan Town, the Counsellor (参赞) established from Tacheng and the Business Executive (办事长官) found in Altay were directly under the central government, as a division of local civil affairs, Yita Circuit (伊塔道) was retained and under the administration of the Defence Governor of Ili (伊犁镇边使).
The position of Ili Defence Governor (伊犁镇边使) was vacant after that Guang Fu died of illness on February 1, 1914. Yang Zengxin, the Military Governor of Xinjiang flew a petition to Beiyang government, finally Yang Feixia (杨飞霞) held the position of Ili Defence Governor (伊犁镇守使), its administrative jurisdiction was changed to Xinjiang Province from the central government. Yita Circuit was divided into Ili and Tacheng two circuits, the circuit governor of Tacheng (塔城道尹) replaced the counsellor of Tacheng (塔城参赞) with the establishment of Tacheng Circuit (塔城道) in 1916.[9]
The Beiyang government assigned the Altay Chief to Xinjiang Province and Ashan Circuit (阿山道) of Xinjiang was established from the Altay region in 1919. With the decree for the abolition of minggans (千户长) and centenarii (百户长) and the establishment of district and township divisions issued in August 1939, Kazakh pastoral affairs was gradually integrated into Local government services.[9]
Ili Prefecture (伊犁专区) was established in 1943, there were 11 counties and Xinyuan Division (新源设治局, present Xinyuan County), including Yining, Suiding (绥定; part of present Huocheng), Khorgas (present Huocheng), Gongliu, Tekes, Gongha (巩哈, present Nilka), Ningxi (宁西, present Qapqal), Jinghe, Bole, Wenquan and Zhaosu Counties under its administration.[10] In December 1953, the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Region was approved to set up. It was an administrative division at prefecture-level and under the jurisdiction of Xinjiang Province, the 3 prefectures of Ili, Tacheng and Altay were under its administration. The Mongol autonomous prefecture of Bortala was founded from Bole, Jinghe and Wenquan, 3 counties of Ili Prefecture (伊犁专区) in July 1954. Ili Kazakh Autonomous Region was renamed to Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture on February 5, 1955.[11]
The autonomous prefecture of Ili is located in the hinterland of Eurasia, the northwest of Xinjiang and north of Tianshan, between the north latitude of 40 degrees 14′16″ - 49 degrees 10′45″, the east longitude of 80 degrees 09′42″ - 91 degrees 01′45″. It covers a total area of 268,591 square kilometers, accounting for 16.18% of the total area of Xinjiang. The autonomous prefecture, which is bordered on the east by Mongolia, by Aksu Prefecture, Bayingolin Autonomous Prefecture, Changji Autonomous Prefecture, Ürümqi City and the provincial direct-administered county-level city of Shihezi to the south.[2]
To the west, it is bordered by Bortala Autonomous Prefecture, by the Republic of Kazakhstan to the northwest, by the Russian Federation to the north, the prefecture-level city of Karamay in the middle south, is located in the north west corner of China. Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway, G218, G217 National Highways and S316 Provincial Highway pass through its territory. With a boundary line of 2,019 kilometers, including Khorgas, Bakhty (巴克图) and Jeminay, there are 9 ports of entry at the national level. With the unique location advantage, Ili has been an important commercial hub and international channel of opening up to the west.[2]
In the autonomous prefecture, there are four types of landforms, 83,632 square kilometres of mountains, 62,989 square kilometres of hills, 102,974 square kilometres of plains, 20,439 square kilometres of deserts. Three major mountain ranges of Altai, Dzungar (准噶尔山) and Tianshan with year-round ice and snow stand from north to south. Located in Burqin County, the highest Friendship Peak of the Altai Range is 4,374 meters high. The snow line is 3,000 - 3,200 meters high, the glacier area is 293.2 square kilometers and the glacier reserves are 16.4 billion cubic meters. The peaks of Dzungar Mountains (准噶尔山) are 3,500-3,700 meters high. The snow line of Tianshan Mountains is 3,600-4,400 meters high with a glacier area of 3,139 square kilometers and its glacier reserves of 118.5 billion cubic meters.[12]
Main article: List of administrative divisions of Ili |
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is administratively divided into three parts -- Altay Prefecture and Tacheng Prefecture. A directly-administered region includes Yining City, 2 other county-level cities, 7 counties and 1 autonomous county. In the legal status itself, it is only a prefecture-level division, which is a special case in China's administrative divisions.[13]
It is not accurate to regard Ili Kazakh Autonomous Region as a sub-provincial division, which has no legal basis. This situation can only assume that, the autonomous prefecture enjoys partial authority in sub-provincial division. Its direct-administered region is exactly coterminous with the historical area that in the past was often called by Russians and Westerners as Kulja or Kuldja.[13]
Ili Prefecture under its direct administration |
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Part | Division code |
Name | Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Kazakh (Arabic script) |
Kazakh Latin alphabet Kazakh Cyrillic Alphabet |
Population (2010 Census) |
Area (km2) | Density (/km2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ili Prefecture (direct administration) |
654002 | Yining[14] | 伊宁市 | Yīníng Shì | غۇلجا شەھىرى | Ghulja Shehiri | قۇلجا قالاسى | Qūlja qalasy Құлжа қаласы |
515,082 | 629 | 818.89 |
654003 | Kuytun[14] | 奎屯市 | Kuítún Shì | كۈيتۇن شەھىرى | Küytun Shehiri | كۇيتۇن قالاسى | Küitūn qalasy Қойтүн қаласы |
166,261 | 1,171 | 141.98 | |
654004 | Korgas[14] | 霍尔果斯市 | Huò'ěrguǒsī Shì | قورغاس شەھىرى | Qorghas Shehiri | قورعاس قالاسى | Qorğas qalasy Қорғас қаласы |
85,000(?) | 1,900 | 44.73 | |
654021 | Yining County[14] | 伊宁县 | Yīníng Xiàn | غۇلجا ناھىيىسى | Ghulja Nahiyisi | قۇلجا اۋدانى | Qūlja aýdany Құлжа ауданы |
372,590 | 4,486 | 83.05 | |
654020 | Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County | 察布查尔锡伯自治县 | Chábùchá'ěr Xībó Zìzhìxiàn | چاپچال شىبە ئاپتونوم ناھىيىسى | Chapchal Shibe Aptonom Nahiyisi | شاپشال سىبە اۆتونوميالى اۋدانى | Şapşal-Sіbe avtonomiyalyq audany Шапшал-Сібе автономиялық ауданы |
179,744 | 4,489 | 40.04 | |
654023 | Huocheng County[14] | 霍城县 | Huòchéng Xiàn | قورغاس ناھىيىسى | Qorghas Nahiyisi | قورعاس اۋدانى | Qorğas audany Қорғас ауданы |
352,689 | 5,466 | 64.52 | |
654024 | Gongliu County[14] | 巩留县 | Gǒngliú Xiàn | توققۇزتارا ناھىيىسى | Toqquztara Nahiyisi | توعىزتاراۋ اۋدانى | Toğyztarau audany Тоғызтарау ауданы |
164,860 | 4,124 | 39.97 | |
654025 | Xinyuan County[14] | 新源县 | Xīnyuán Xiàn | كۈنەس ناھىيىسى | Künes Nahiyisi | كۇنەس اۋدانى | Künes audany Күнес ауданы |
282,718 | 7,583 | 37.28 | |
654026 | Zhaosu County[14] | 昭苏县 | Zhāosū Xiàn | موڭغۇلكۈرە ناھىيىسى | Mongghulküre Nahiyisi | موڭعۇلكۇرە اۋدانى | Moŋğolküre audany Моңғолкүре ауданы |
148,187 | 10,465 | 14.16 | |
654027 | Tekes County | 特克斯县 | Tèkèsī Xiàn | تېكەس ناھىيىسى | Tëkes Nahiyisi | تەكەس اۋدانى | Tekes audany Текес ауданы |
142,713 | 8,080 | 17.66 | |
654028 | Nilka County | 尼勒克县 | Nílèkè Xiàn | نىلقا ناھىيىسى | Nilqa Nahiyisi | نىلقى اۋدانى | Nylqy audany Нылқы ауданы |
157,743 | 10,130 | 15.57 | |
↪ Altay Prefecture | 阿勒泰地区 | Ālètài Dìqū | ئالتاي ۋىلايىتى | Altay Wilayiti | التاي ايماعى | Altai aimağy Алтай аймақы |
603,283 | 117,800 | 5.12 | ||
↪ Tacheng Prefecture[14] | 塔城地区 | Tǎchéng Dìqū | تارباغاتاي ۋىلايىتى | Tarbaghatay Wilayiti | تارباعاتاي ايماعى | Tarbağatai aimağy Тарбағатай аймақы |
1,219,369 | 104,546 | 11.66 |
Ili is a multi-ethnic autonomous prefecture, there are 13 local ethnic groups: Kazakh, Han, Uyghur, Hui, Mongol, Xibe, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Manchu, Tatar, Russ, Daur and Tajik peoples.[15] As of the end of 2018, it had a population of 4,582,500. 2,745,500 were ethnic minorities, which accounted for 59.9% of its total population.[3]
A 2015 report provided the following ethnic breakdown of the population: the Han people numbered at 1,934,571 (making up 41.2% of the population), the Kazakh population was 1,257,003 (26.8%), Uyghurs were 819,701 (17.45%), Hui at 433,045 (9.2%), Mongols were 75,597 (1.6%), Xibes were 34,457, 22,428 Kyrgyz, 8,298 Uzbeks, 8,298 Daurs, 5,394 Russians, 5,199 Manchus, 2,852 Tatars, 153 Tajiks and 91,749 'others'.[16]
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is a famous tourist destination for its relatively humid climate, which earned its reputation as 'wetland in Central Asia'.[citation needed] Major tourist attractions include Narati Grassland, Guozigou and Kanas Lake. In 2015 alone, Ili has seen over 25 million travellers and earned over 19 billion CNY (US$2.92 billion) tourism receipts.[18]
An extensive road network is being built across the prefecture for economic development. In 2015, 66 million passengers travelled on road.
The railway has extended to both the very north part of Altay City and the westmost city of Khorgas on the China-Kazakhstan border.
Ili Kazak's 8 functioning ports of entry are: