Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture

From Kazakhstan Encyclopedia

Template:Infobox settlement Template:Chinese Ili or Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture (Template:Zh; Template:Lang-kk; Template:Lang-ug; Template:Lang-dng) in northernmost Xinjiang is the only Kazakh autonomous prefecture in China.

Geography and coordinates

The Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is west of Mongolia, south of Russia and east of Kazakhstan. Its foreign boundary is Template:Convert, generally located between Altai Mountains and the main range of Tian Shan, occupying most of the Dzungarian Basin in northern Xinjiang and the Ili River Basin.

The prefecture-level city of Karamay is completely surrounded and divided by the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture but is not part of it.

The upper course of the Ili River and that of Irtysh River (Ertix River) flow through the prefecture.

Administrative divisions

Template:Main As a Sub-provincial Autonomous Prefecture, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is administratively divided into three parts -- Altay Prefecture and Tacheng Prefectures, together with a directly administrated county-level prefecture that includes Yining City, 2 other county-level cities, 7 counties, and 1 autonomous county (see Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China#Levels). The directly administrated region is exactly coterminous with the historical area that in the past was often called by Russians and Westerners as Kulja or Kuldja.[1]

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# Name Chinese Hanyu Pinyin Uyghur (UEY) Uyghur Latin (ULY) Kazakh (Arabic script) Kazakh Latin transcription Population Template:Small Area (km²) Density (/km²)
* Altay Prefecture Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 603,283 117,800 5.12
* Tacheng [Tarbagatay] Prefecture Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 1,219,369 104,546 11.66
1 Yining [Gulja] Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 515,082 629 818.89
2 Kuytun Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 166,261 1,171 141.98
24 Korgas [Huocheng] Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 85,000(?) 1,900 44.73
3 Yining [Gulja] County Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 372,590 4,486 83.05
4 Huocheng County Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 352,689 5,466 64.52
5 Gongliu [Tokkuztara] County Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 164,860 4,124 39.97
6 Xinyuan [Künes] County Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 282,718 7,583 37.28
7 Zhaosu [Mongolküre] County Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 148,187 10,465 14.16
8 Tekes County Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 142,713 8,080 17.66
9 Nilka County Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 157,743 10,130 15.57
10 Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang Template:Lang 179,744 4,489 40.04
File:Ilipicture.jpg
Scene from Ili valley

History

File:Yili-military-complex-ca-1809.jpg
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

Early history

Before the advent of the Qin dynasty (221Template:NbspBCTemplate:Snd206Template:NbspBC), Ili was occupied by the Ussuns, a tributary tribe of the Huns. The Ussuns were driven away in the 6th century AD by the northern Xiongnu, who established the Turkic Khaganate in 552. Later this Khulja territory became a dependency of Dzungaria. During the Tang dynasty (618Template:Ndash907), 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.Template:Citation needed

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 (Template:Lang) in the Ili Basin:

Original Chinese name Chinese Turki (Uyghur) name[2] Modern name of the location[3] Notes
Huiyuan Cheng Template:Lang Template:Lang Huiyuan Town (Template:Lang) 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 Template:Lang Template:Lang 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 Template:Lang Template:Lang Bayandai Town (Template:Lang) within Yining City, some 10[4] to 18[5] km to the west of the Yining center city
Taleqi Cheng Template:Lang Template:Lang Within Huocheng County
Zhande Cheng Template:Lang Template:Lang Qingshuihe Town (Template:Lang) in Huocheng County
Guangren Cheng Template:Lang Template:Lang Lucaogou Town (Template:Lang) in Huocheng County, NE of Qingshuihe
Gongchen Cheng Template:Lang Template:Lang Khorgas City (Template:Lang)
Xichun Cheng Template:Lang Template:Lang Area commonly referred to as Chengpanzi (Template:Lang) in the Hanbin Township (Template:Lang) within Yining City, a few km west of the city center
Suiding Cheng Template:Lang Template:Lang Shuiding Town (Template:Lang), 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.

File:Vereshchagin-Ruins-of-the-Theater-in-Chuguchak.jpg
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 sultanate led to the occupation of the Ili basin (Kulja in contemporary Western terms) by the Russians in 1871. Ten years later the territory was restored to China, and its boundary with Russia was assigned in accordance to the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881).

After Chinese authority was restored, a new Huiyuan Town was built, some Template:Convert north of the old Huiyuan site.

On JanuaryTemplate:Nbsp7, 1912, Template:Interlanguage link multi of Ili occupied Huiyuan Town and shot the last Qing General of Ili, Template:Interlanguage link multi.

The Republic of China

In July 1945, Chingil, Bole and Quanxi (Template:Lang) of Ili were made into a new autonomous prefecture now not part of Ili: Bortala.

The People's Republic of China

In 1949, Ili was made a special area (Template:Lang) of Xinjiang, with one city and nine counties, and was upgraded to a city in 1952. On NovemberTemplate:Nbsp27, 1954, the Ili Autonomous Prefecture was established to include the prefectures of Ili, Altay, and Tacheng. The Ili Prefecture was abolished in 1955. Its one city and nine counties are now under the direct control of the autonomous prefecture.

Demographics

Tourism

Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is a famous tourist destination for its relatively humid climate, which earned its reputation as 'wetland in Central Asia'. 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.[6]

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:

See also

References

Citations

Template:Reflist

Sources

External links

Template:Commons category

Template:Coord Template:Xinjiang Template:Other ethnic minorities autonomy in the People's Republic of China
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