Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
Sub-provincial autonomous prefecture
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°E / 43.92; 81.32Coordinates: 43°55′N 81°19′E / 43.92°N 81.32°E / 43.92; 81.32
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^{[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.

History

Early history

Gold Mask Inlaid with Rubies, probably belonging to the Turkic Empire of Central Asia. 5th – 6th Century. Excavated at Boma Tomb in Zhaosu County, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture Museum collection.^[4]

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 map of the Ili region, c. 1809. It's "upside down", i.e. the south is on top, and the west, on the right. The nine fortified towns are shown as double squares.

Qing dynasty

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:

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.

Dzungar Ili delegates in Peking in 1761. 万国来朝图

Tacheng (Chuguchak) was among the towns that suffered grievously during the fighting in 1865.

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]

Modern times

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]

Geography

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]

Administrative divisions

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   Tacheng Prefecture   Altay Prefecture					Yining (city) Kuytun (city) Korgas (city) Yining County Qapqal County Huocheng County Gongliu County Xinyuan County Zhaosu County Tekes County Nilka County
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

Scene from Ili valley

Ethnic groups

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]

Tourism

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]

Transport

Road and Railway

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.

Border crossings

Ili Kazak's 8 functioning ports of entry are:

• With Kazakhstan
  • Aqimbek (Chinese: 阿黑木别克) of Altay Prefecture
  • Bakhtu (巴克图), 17 km (11 mi) from Tacheng; another primary point or port
  • Dulat (都拉塔), in Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County: under Ili
  • Jeminay (吉木乃) of Altay Prefecture; another primary point or port
  • Khorgas (霍尔果斯), in Huocheng County; under Ili; a primary Chinese "national" border crossing point or port of entry
  • Muzart (木扎尔特), in Zhaosu County: directly controlled by Ili; another primary point or port
• With Mongolia
  • Khiziltaw (红山嘴) of Altay Prefecture
  • Taskhin (塔克什肯) of Altay Prefecture to Khovd
  • Dayan-Khunshanzyui of Altay Prefecture to Bayan-Ölgii. Only open during Summer.^[19]

Head

First Secretary

1. Zhao Tianjie (赵天杰)

Governors

1. Fathan (Pätіhan) Dälelhanūly Sügіrbaev (Chinese: 帕提汗·苏古尔巴也夫 ^[zh]; Kazakh: Фатхан (Пәтіхан) Дәлелханұлы Сүгірбаев), November 1954 – June 1955
2. Jağda Babylyqūly (贾和达·巴巴里科夫; Жағда Бабалықұлы), June 1955 – February 1957 Acting Act, from May 1958
3. Qūrmanälі Ospanūly (库尔班阿里·乌斯曼诺夫 ^[zh]; Құрманәлі Оспанұлы ^[kk]), June 1958 – September 1963
4. Erğali Äbіlqaiyrūly(伊尔哈里·阿不力海依尔 ^[zh]; Ерғали Әбілқайырұлы), September 1963 – May 1969
5. Zhong Liangshu (钟良树;^[20] Чұң Лияң Шо), May 1969 – May 1970 (military government)
6. Wang Zhenzhong (王振中;^[20] Уаң Жын Жұң), May 1970 – July 1975 (military government)
7. Xie Gaozhong (谢高忠 ^[zh];^[20] Шие Гау Жұң), July 1975 – September 1975 (military government)
8. Jänäbil Smağūlūly (贾那布尔·司马胡里; Жанәбіл Смағұлұлы), September 1975 – February 1978
9. Qasymbek Seiіtjanūly (哈生别克·赛依提江; Қасымбек Сейітжанұлы), March 1979 – April 1983
10. Dıar Qūrmaşūly (迪牙尔·库马什; Дияр Құрмашұлы), April 1983 – May 1988
11. Ashat Kerimbay (艾斯海提·克里木拜; Асхат Керімбайұлы), May 1988 – May 1993
12. Bekmūhammed Mūsaūly (别克木哈买提·木沙; Бекмұхамет Мұсаұлы), April 1993 – March 1998
13. Alpysbai Rahymūly (阿勒布斯拜·拉合木; Алпысбай Рахымұлы), March 1998 – June 2001
14. Nurlan Äbilmäjinulı (努尔兰·阿不都满金; Нұрлан Әбілмәжінұлы), March 2002 – January 2003
15. Qyzaijan Seiіlqojaūly (柯赛江·赛力禾加; Қызайжан Сейілқожаұлы), March 2003 – November 2007
16. Mäuken Seiіtqamzaūly (毛肯·赛衣提哈木扎; Мәукен Сейітқамзаұлы), November 2007 – January 2012
17. Mänen Zeinelūly (马宁·再尼勒; Мәнен Зейнелұлы), February 2012 – January 2016
18. Qūrmaş Syrjanūly (库尔玛什·斯尔江; Құрмаш Сыржанұлы), from February 2016^[21][22][23]
19. Qadan Käbenuly (哈丹·卡宾; Қадан Кәбенұлы)2021.4

Notable persons

• Sayragul Sauytbay
• Ehmetjan Qasim
• Shayilan Nuerdanbieke