Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture | |
|---|---|
| Name transcription(s) | |
| • Chinese | 伊犁哈萨克自治州 |
| • Uyghur | ئىلى قازاق ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى |
| • Kazakh | ىلە قازاق اۆتونوميالىق وبلىسى |
 Kalajun Grassland with theTian Shan in the background .jpeg) Steppe ofTekes County .jpg) Xiata Scenic Area inZhaosu County | |
 Ili Prefecture (red) in Xinjiang (orange) | |
| Coordinates:43°55′N81°19′E / 43.92°N 81.32°E /43.92; 81.32 | |
| Country | China |
| Region | Xinjiang |
| Capital | Yining |
| Government | |
| • Type | 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 |
| GDP[1] | |
| • Total | CN¥ 222.6 billion US$ 32.2 billion |
| • Per capita | CN¥ 47,390 US$ 6,858 |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| ISO 3166 code | CN-XJ-40 |
| Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||||||||||||
| Uyghur name | |||||||||||||
| Uyghur | ئىلى قازاق ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى | ||||||||||||
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| Kazakh name | |||||||||||||
| Kazakh | ىلە قازاق اۆتونوميالىق وبلىسى Іле Қазақ автономиялық облысы Ile Qazaq avtonomialyq oblysy | ||||||||||||
| Kyrgyz name | |||||||||||||
| Kyrgyz | ىلە قازاق اپتونوم وبلاسى Иле Казак автоном облусу Ile Kazak autonom oblusu | ||||||||||||
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture[note 1] is anautonomous prefecture in northernXinjiang, China. Its capital isYining, also known as Ghulja or Kulja. Covering an area of 268,591 square kilometres (16.18 per cent of Xinjiang), Ili Prefecture shares a 2,019-kilometer (1,255 mi)-long border withKazakhstan,Mongolia, andRussia.[2] There are nineports of entry in Ili Prefecture at the national level, notablyKhorgas. Directly administered regions (直辖区域) within the prefecture cover 56,622 square kilometres (21.08 per cent of Ili's total area) and have a population of 4,930,600 (63.95 per cent of Ili's registered population).[3]Kazakhs are the second largest ethnicity in the prefecture after theHan Chinese, and make up a little over a quarter of the population.
Ili is the onlyprefecture-level division that has other prefecture-level divisions (Altay andTacheng Prefectures) under its administration. The term "sub-provincial autonomous prefecture" (副省级自治州) has often been applied to Ili, but it has no legal basis under Chinese law and is a misnomer.
Before the advent of theQin dynasty (221 BC – 206 BC), Ili was inhabited by theWusuns, a tributary tribe of theHuns. The Wusuns were driven away in the 6th century AD by the northernXiongnu, who established theFirst Turkic Khaganate in 552. The area later became a dependency ofDzungaria. During theTang dynasty (618–907), the khanate became theProtectorate General to Pacify the West of the Tang Empire.
Ili came under the control of theUyghur Khaganate in the 8th and 9th centuries, theQara Khitai in the 12th century, andGenghis Khan in the 13th century. TheOirats, specifically theDzungars, conquered Ili at the end of the 16th or the beginning of the 17th century.[citation needed]
TheDzungar Khanate controlled both Dzungaria and the Ili basin until 1755, when the region was conquered by theManchu-ledQing dynasty under theQianlong Emperor. Having defeated the Dzungars in the Dzungarian and Ili basins, as well as theAfaqiKhojas inKashgaria, 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 in the Ili basin:
| Original Chinese name | Chinese | Turki (Uyghur) name[5] | Modern name[6] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huiyuan Cheng | 惠遠城 | Kürä Shahr | Huiyuan Town (惠遠鎮) inHuocheng County | Old Huiyuan was the residence of the General of Ili from 1765 to 1866. New Huiyuan was the residence of the General of Ili from 1894 to 1912. Historically known as New / Manchu Kulja or Ili. |
| Ningyuan Cheng | 寧遠城 | Kulja (Ghulja) | Yining | Also was known as Old Kulja orTaranchi Kulja. County seat of Ningyuan County (1888–1914) and Yining County (1914–1952). |
| Huining Cheng | 惠寧城 | Bayandai | Bayandai Town (巴彥岱鎮) within Yining, some 10[7] to 18[8] kilometres to the west of Yining's city centre | |
| Taleqi Cheng | 塔勒奇城 | Tarchi | WithinHuocheng County | |
| Zhande Cheng | 瞻德城 | Chaghan Usu | Qingshuihe Town (清水河鎮) in Huocheng County | |
| Guangren Cheng | 廣仁城 | Ukurborosuk | Lucaogou Town (蘆草溝鎮) in Huocheng County, NE of Qingshuihe | |
| Gongchen Cheng | 拱宸城 | Khorgos | Khorgas City (霍爾果斯市) | |
| Xichun Cheng | 熙春城 | Khara Bulaq | Area commonly referred to as Chengpanzi (城盤子). Located in Hanbin Township (漢賓鄉) within Yining, a few kilometres west of the city centre. | |
| Suiding Cheng | 綏定城 | Ukharliq | Shuiding Town (水定鎮), county seat ofHuocheng County since 1966 | Also known as New / Manchu / Chinese Kulja. Renamed Shuiding in 1965. Residence of the General of Ili from 1762 to 1765 and 1883 to 1894. County seat of Suiding County (1888–1965) and Shuiding County (1965–1966). |
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Huiyuan Cheng, as the residence of theGeneral of Ili, the chief commander of 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" or "Chinese Kulja" by foreigners to distinguish it from Ningyuan / Yining, known as "Old Kulja" or "Taranchi Kulja".
The first General of Ili wasMing Rui. The Qing tradition, unbroken until the days ofZuo Zongtang in the 1870s, was to only appointManchus as officials in Xinjiang.
During theMuslim revolt of 1864, Dungans and Taranchis of the area formed the Taranchi Sultanate. Huiyuan Cheng was the last Qing fortress in the Ili basin to fall to the rebels. The Dungan rebels massacred most of the city's inhabitants; Governor GeneralMingsioi (Mingxu) 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 by the Russians in 1871. Ten years later, part of the territory was returned to China in accordance with the1881 Treaty of Saint Petersburg.
In October 1884, the Qing government officially approved the establishment ofXinjiang Province and the local political system in Ili consequently went through major reforms. TheAmban (軍府制) andBaig systems (伯克制) were abolished and replaced bycircuit,urban prefecture,prefecture, andcounty systems. The position of General of Ili was renamed Ili Garrison General (伊犁駐防將軍) and its responsibilities were greatly reduced. The Ili Garrison General would only oversee the military affairs of Ili and Tacheng instead of the whole of Xinjiang, the latter responsibility being delegated to the newly created position of XinjiangGrand Coordinator (新疆巡撫).[9] The Ili Garrison General was based inHuiyuan Town.
Yita Circuit (伊塔道) was formed in Ili and Tacheng in 1888, as a subdivision of Xinjiang Province. It was headquartered in Ningyuan County (present-day Yining). Yita Circuit was divided into Ili Prefecture (伊犁府), Tacheng Directly Administered Division (塔城直隸廳), and Jinghe Directly Administered Division (精河直隸廳). Altay region was formed fromKhovd (科布多; seat inKhovd Town) in 1904.[9]
TheXinhai Revolution broke out on 10 October 1911. Under the leadership of Yang Zuanxu (楊纘緒), a general of the IliNew Army, an armed rebellion against the Qing broke out on 7 January 1912. The rebels occupied Huiyuan Town and killed Zhi Rui (志銳), the Ili Garrison General. On 12 February 1912, theProvisional Government of the Republic of China was established in Beijing, and on 15 March, it ordered the Xinjiang Grand Coordinator, Yuan Dahua (袁大化), to end Qing rule in Xinjiang.
With the end of hostilities between Qing and Republican forces, the position of Grand Coordinator of Xinjiang was abolished and replaced with the position of Military Governor of Xinjiang (都督). Guang Fu (廣福), Zhi Rui's predecessor as Ili Garrison General, was appointed Xinjiang's first military governor. On 25 April, Yuan Dahua was forced to resign as Grand Coordinator of Xinjiang. On 18 May,Yang Zengxin (楊增新) was recommended for the position of Military Governor of Xinjiang. On 8 July, the Qing and Republican governments signed a peace agreement, which stipulated that the position of Ili Garrison General would be replaced by the position of Defence Governor of Ili (伊犁鎮邊使), under the direct supervision of the Republican government in Beijing. Guang Fu was subsequently appointed as the first Defence Governor of Ili. The agreement also recognised Yang Zengxin as the top military and political authority in all of Xinjiang.
In August 1912, the Republican government adjusted Ili's administrative divisions. The Defence Governor of Ili headquarters were established in Huiyuan Town, the Counsellor's (參贊) in Tacheng, and the Business Executive's (辦事長官) in Altay. Yita Circuit (伊塔道) was retained to govern local civil affairs; it was placed under the administration of the Defence Governor.
The position of Ili Defence Governor became vacant after Guang Fu died of illness on 1 February 1914. Yang Zengxin flew to Beijing to petition theBeiyang government (Republican government) to appoint Yang Feixia (楊飛霞) as Guang Fu's replacement. The appointment was approved by Beijing, and the administrative jurisdiction of the position was transferred from the central government to the government of Xinjiang Province. Yita Circuit was then divided into two circuits, Ili and Tacheng, in 1916. The Circuit Governor of Tacheng (塔城道尹) replaced the Counsellor of Tacheng (塔城參贊) with the establishment of Tacheng Circuit.[9]
In 1919, the Beiyang government placed the Altay Chief under the jurisdiction of the government of Xinjiang Province and Ashan Circuit (阿山道) was established from the Altay region. In August 1939, by decree of the Beiyang government, themingyan (千戶長) andcentenari (百戶長) administrative divisions were abolished and replaced with district and township divisions. Kazakh pastoral affairs were gradually integrated into local government services.[9]
Ili Prefecture (伊犁專區) was established in 1943, with 11 counties and Xinyuan Division (新源設治局; present-dayXinyuan County) under its administration. The 11 counties wereYining, Suiding (綏定; part of present-dayHuocheng), Khorgas (present-dayHuocheng),Gongliu,Tekes, Gongha (鞏哈; present-dayNilka), Ningxi (寧西; present-dayQapqal),Jinghe,Bole,Wenquan andZhaosu.[10] In December 1953, the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Region was established. It was declared a prefecture-level division under the jurisdiction of Xinjiang Province, with the three prefectures of Ili, Tacheng, and Altay under its administration.Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture was created in July 1954 from the counties of Bole, Jinghe, and Wenquan, three counties of Ili Prefecture. Ili Kazakh Autonomous Region was renamed Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture on 5 February 1955.[11]
During theYi–Ta incident from March to May 1962, a mass exodus of 14,000 people from Ili Prefecture occurred. Chinese citizens, predominantlyKazakhs, left through the border port ofKorgas, driven by deteriorating living conditions in Xinjiang and rumours of Soviet citizenship.[12] To compensate for the loss in manpower brought about by the exodus, thousands ofBingtuan soldiers were relocated to northern Xinjiang from the region's interior.[13] The Chinese government also encouraged the migration of hundreds of thousands of Han Chinese youth from major cities such asBeijing,Shanghai, andTianjin.[13] By 1969 the number of Han Chinese in Ili Prefecture had reached 1.2 million, outnumbering the number of Kazakhs and Uyghurs combined.[14]
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is located in the hinterland ofEurasia, in the northwest of Xinjiang, north of theTian Shan. It covers a total area of 268,591 square kilometres, accounting for 16.18 per cent of the total area of Xinjiang. The autonomous prefecture is bordered to the north byRussia, to the east byMongolia, to the west byKazakhstan andBortala Autonomous Prefecture, and to the south byAksu Prefecture,Bayingolin Autonomous Prefecture,Changji Autonomous Prefecture,Ürümqi, andShihezi.[2]Karamay is anenclave within Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture.
Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway,G218 National Highway,G217 National Highway and S316 Provincial Highway pass through the autonomous prefecture. It has a 2,019 kilometre-long international border with nineports of entry, includingKhorgas, Bakhty, andJeminay. Due to its strategic location in the middle of Asia, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture has become an important commercial hub and dry port for trade with Europe and the Middle East.[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, and 20,439 square kilometres of desert. Three major mountain ranges – theAltai,Dzungarian Alatau, andTian Shan – stand from the north to south, with year-round ice and snow.Friendship Peak inBurqin County is the highest peak of the Altai mountain range, standing at 4,374 metres high. The snow line is 3,000 to 3,200 metres high, the glacier area is 293.2 square kilometres, and the glacier reserves are 16.4 billion cubic metres. The peaks of the Dzungarian Alatau are 3,500 to 3,700 metres high. The snow line of Tian Shan is 3,600 to 4,400 metres high with a glacier area of 3,139 square kilometres, and its glacier reserves are 118.5 billion cubic metres.[15]
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture administers the directly-administered, county-level city ofYining; 2 other county-level cities; 7 counties; 1 autonomous county; and the two prefectures ofAltay andTacheng, despite Ili being a prefecture-level division itself.[16]
 Districts under direct administration of Ili Prefecture | |||||||||||
| Part | Division code | Name | Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Kazakh (Arabic script) | Kazakh Latin alphabet Kazakh Cyrillic Alphabet | Population (2020 Census) | Area (km2) | Density (/km2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Districts under direct administration of Ili Prefecture | 自治州直辖县级行政单位 | Zìzhìzhōu zhíxiá xiàn jí xíngzhèng dānwèi | ئوبلاستقا بىۋاستە قاراشلىق رايونلار | Oblastqa biwaste qarashliq rayonlar | وبلىسقا تىكەلەي باعىناتىن اۋداندار | Oblysqa tıkelei bağynatyn audandar Облысқа тікелей бағынатын аудандар | 2,778,869 | 56,522.92 | 49.16 | ||
| Districts under direct administration of Ili Prefecture | 654002 | Yining[17] | 伊宁市 | Yīníng Shì | غۇلجا شەھىرى | Ghulja Shehiri | قۇلجا قالاسى | Qūlja qalasy Құлжа қаласы | 778,047 | 644 | 1208.15 |
| 654003 | Kuytun[17] | 奎屯市 | Kuítún Shì | كۈيتۇن شەھىرى | Küytun Shehiri | كۇيتۇن قالاسى | Küitūn qalasy Қойтүн қаласы | 229,122 | 1,171 | 195.66 | |
| 654004 | Korgas[17] | 霍尔果斯市 | Huò'ěrguǒsī Shì | قورغاس شەھىرى | Qorghas Shehiri | قورعاس قالاسى | Qorğas qalasy Қорғас қаласы | 71,466 | 1,908 | 37.46 | |
| 654021 | Yining County[17] | 伊宁县 | Yīníng Xiàn | غۇلجا ناھىيىسى | Ghulja Nahiyisi | قۇلجا اۋدانى | Qūlja aýdany Құлжа ауданы | 365,307 | 4,476 | 81,61 | |
| 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 اۆتونوميالىق اۋدانى | Şapşal-Sibe avtonomiyalyq audany Шапшал-Сібе автономиялық ауданы | 157,764 | 4,469 | 35.30 | |
| 654023 | Huocheng County[17] | 霍城县 | Huòchéng Xiàn | قورغاس ناھىيىسى | Qorghas Nahiyisi | قورعاس اۋدانى | Qorğas audany Қорғас ауданы | 243,303 | 3,546 | 68.61 | |
| 654024 | Gongliu County[17] | 巩留县 | Gǒngliú Xiàn | توققۇزتارا ناھىيىسى | Toqquztara Nahiyisi | توعىزتاراۋ اۋدانى | Toğyztarau audany Тоғызтарау ауданы | 175,766 | 4,111 | 42.76 | |
| 654025 | Xinyuan County[17] | 新源县 | Xīnyuán Xiàn | كۈنەس ناھىيىسى | Künes Nahiyisi | كۇنەس اۋدانى | Künes audany Күнес ауданы | 306,525 | 7,581 | 40.43 | |
| 654026 | Zhaosu County[17] | 昭苏县 | Zhāosū Xiàn | موڭغۇلكۈرە ناھىيىسى | Mongghulküre Nahiyisi | موڭعۇلكۇرە اۋدانى | Moŋğolküre audany Моңғолкүре ауданы | 146,887 | 10,427 | 14.09 | |
| 654027 | Tekes County | 特克斯县 | Tèkèsī Xiàn | تېكەس ناھىيىسى | Tëkes Nahiyisi | تەكەس اۋدانى | Tekes audany Текес ауданы | 148,945 | 8,066 | 18.47 | |
| 654028 | Nilka County | 尼勒克县 | Nílèkè Xiàn | نىلقا ناھىيىسى | Nilqa Nahiyisi | نىلقى اۋدانى | Nylqy audany Нылқы ауданы | 155,737 | 10,123 | 15.538 | |
| ↪Altay Prefecture | 阿勒泰地区 | Ālètài Dìqū | ئالتاي ۋىلايىتى | Altay Wilayiti | التاي ايماعى | Altai aimağy Алтай аймағы | 648,173 | 117,710 | 5.51 | ||
| ↪Tacheng Prefecture[17] | 塔城地区 | Tǎchéng Dìqū | تارباغاتاي ۋىلايىتى | Tarbaghatay Wilayiti | تارباعاتاي ايماعى | Tarbağatai aimağy Тарбағатай аймағы | 1,108,747 | 94,869 | 11.69 | ||
Ili is a multi-ethnic autonomous prefecture; there are 13 localethnic groups: theHan,Kazakhs,Uyghurs,Hui,Mongols,Xibe,Kyrgyz,Uzbek,Manchus,Tatar,Russians,Daur, andChinese Tajiks.[18] As of 2018[update], Ili had a population of 4,582,500, 2,745,500 (59.9 per cent) of whom were part of an ethnic minority.[3]
A 2015 report provided the following ethnic breakdown of the population: 1,934,571 Han (41.2 per cent), 1,257,003 Kazakhs (26.8 per cent), 819,701 Uyghurs (17.45 per cent), 433,045 Hui (9.2 per cent), 75,597 Mongols (1.6 per cent), 34,457 Xibe, 22,428 Kyrgyz, 8,298 Uzbeks, 8,298 Daurs, 5,394 Russians, 5,199 Manchus, 2,852 Tatars, 153 Chinese Tajiks and 91,749 "others".[19]
| Year | Kazakhs | Uyghurs | Han Chinese |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | 361,655 | 171,823 | 38,099 |
| 1959 | 427,425(+18.2%) | 238,870(+39.0%) | 365,250(+858.7%) |
| 1969 | 471,770(+10.4%) | 295,153(+23.6%) | 1,196,477(+227.6%) |
Ili's major tourist attractions include the Narati Grassland, Guozigou Lake, andKanas Lake. In 2015, Ili saw over 25 million visitors and earned over CN¥19 billion (US$2.92 billion) in tourism revenue.[22]
An extensive road network is being built across the prefecture for economic development. In 2015, 66 million passengers travelled on Ili's roads.
The railway has extended to the northern extremes of Altay and the westmost city of Khorgas on theChina–Kazakhstan border.
Ili has nine internationalports of entry:
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
