Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture (
Chinese: 伊犁"薩克自治州,
Pinyin:
Yīlí Hāsàkè zìzhìzhōu,
Kazakh: ىله قازاق اۆتونومىيالى وبلىسى /
Іле Қазақ автономиялы облысы,
Uyghur: ئىلى قازاق ئاپتونوم ۋىلايىتى /
Ili Ķazaķ aptonom wilayiti), in northernmost
Xinjiang, is the only
Kazakh autonomous prefecture of the
People's Republic of China.
*
Area: 273,200
km²*
Population: 3,880,000 (2000)
*
Capital: Ghulja (
Yining City)
*
Geographic coordinates: 79º50'30″ - 84º56'50″ East, 42º14'16″ - 44º50'30″ North
 |
Scene from Ili valley |
The Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture is west of
Mongolia, south of
Russia and east of
Kazakhstan. Its foreign boundary is 2,000 km. Its 8 functioning ports are:
* Khorghas (霍爾果斯): under Ili; a primary Chinese "national" border crossing point or port of entry (國家一類口岸)
* Dulat (都拉"): under Ili
* Muzart (木紮爾特): directly controlled by Ili; another primary point or port
* Bakhtu (巴克圖) of Tacheng; another primary point or port
* Taskhin ("克什肯) of Altay
* Khiziltaw (紅山嘴) of Altay
* Aqimbek (阿黑木別克) of Altay
* Jeminay (吉木乃) of Altay；another primary point or port (國家一類口岸)
Before the
Qin Dynasty, Ili was occupied by the
Ussuns, a tributary of the
Hun. The Ussuns were driven away in the 6th century A.D. by the northern Xiongnu, who established
Western Turk Khanate in 552. Later the Kulja territory became a dependency of
Dzungaria. During the
Tang Dynasty, the khnate was Anxi
Daduhufu (安西大都護府) of the Tang Empire.
The
Uyghurs, and in the
12th century the
Kara-Khitai, took possession of it 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; they kept it until
1755 as
Jagatai Khanate, when the
Manchus annexed it. During the insurrection of
1864 the
Dungans and the
Taranchis formed here the
Taranchi Sultanate. The insurgent Dungans massacred most of Manchu Kuljia's (New Kuljia) inhabitants. It had previously been the seat of the Chinese government for the province, with a large penal establishment and strong garrison. The sultanate led to the occupation of Kulja 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 St Petersburg of
1881.
On January 7, 1912, Yang Cuanxu (楊纘') of Ili occupied the Huiyuan (惠遠城) and shot the last
Qing general of Ili, Zhirui (志銳).
In July 1945, Chingil,
Bole and Quanxi (精河、博樂、溫泉) of Ili were made into a new autonomous prefecture now not part of Ili:
Bortala.In 1949, Ili was made a special area (專區) of Xinjiang, with one city and 9 counties, and was upgraded to a city in 1952. On November 27, 1954, the Ili Autonomous Prefecture was established to include the prefectures of Ili, Altay, and Tacheng. The Ili Prefecture was abolished in 1955. Its 1 city and 9 counties are now under the direct control of the autonomous prefecture.
Ili's primary subdivisions include
Tacheng (Qoqek, "城地區) and
Altay (阿'泰地區) Prefectures, Ili also directly controls 2 county-level cities, 7 counties, and 1 autonomous county. (see
Political divisions of China#Levels).: Some official placenames below are not in Chinese.
| Official name | Hanzi | Area | Population | Uyghur name |
|---|
| Tarbagatay Prefecture | "城地區 | 98824 | 910,000 | Tarbaƣatay |
| Altay Prefecture | 阿'泰地區 | 118015 | 590,000 | Altay |
| Qulja City | 伊寧市 | 575 | 340,000 | Ƣulja |
| Kuytun City | 奎屯市 | 1036 | 270,000 | Kuytun |
| Qulja County | 伊寧縣 | 4684 | 390,000 | Ƣulja |
| Huocheng County | 霍城縣 | 5428 | 340,000 | Ƣorƣas |
| Toqquztara County | 鞏留縣 | 4323 | 150,000 | Toķķuztara |
| Kunes County | 新源縣 | 6818 | 280,000 | Künəs |
| Zhaosu County | 昭蘇縣 | 11111 | 150,000 | Mongƣulkürə |
| Tekes County | 特克斯縣 | 7772 | 150,000 | Tekəs |
| Nilqi County | 尼'克縣 | 10145 | 150,000 | Nilķa |
| Chapchal Xibe Autonomous County | 察布查爾
錫伯自治縣 | 4469 | 160,000 | Qapqal |
|
* The
Kazakhs: 25.4%
* The
Han: 45.2%
* The
Uyghurs: 15.9%
* The
Hui: 8.3%
* The
Mongols: 1.69%
* The
Xibe: 0.83%
See also:
Xabib Yunic*
Official site (in
Simplified Chinese)
*
Subdivision info (in Simplified Chinese)
