Yining
 |
Town square in Yining/Ghulja, July 2005 |
Yining (;
Uighur كۇلژا Kulja; also Kuldja, Gulja, Ghulja, Ining) is a city in western
Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of northwestern
China, and the capital of the
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. Population: 280,000 in 1999.
Kulja was also a name of the
Ili region in the past.
Yining was seized by the
Russians in
1871 during
Yakub Beg's independent rule of
Kashgaria. It was restored to
China in
1881.
Yining became the capital of an autonomous district in
1954. In
1962, major Sino-Soviet clashes took place along the
Ili River.
Yining is located on the Ili River in the
Dzungarian basin, near the border with
Kazakhstan, and about 390 km west of
Urumqi. The Ili River valley is far wetter than any other part of
Xinjiang and has rich
grazing land.
Yining is the chief city,
agricultural market, and
commercial centre of the Ili River valley. It is an old commercial center trading in
tea and
cattle, and it is still an agricultural area with extensive livestock raising. It has fruit orchards.
Iron and
coal are mined nearby.
