| Alashankou | |
| Native Name: | |
| Settlement Type: | County-level city |
| Pushpin Map: | China Xinjiang Northern#Xinjiang#China |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Xinjiang |
| Pushpin Relief: | yes |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | China |
| Subdivision Type1: | Autonomous region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Xinjiang |
| Subdivision Type2: | Autonomous prefecture |
| Subdivision Name2: | Bortala |
| Seat Type: | Municipal seat |
| Seat: | Alataw Subdistrict |
| Unit Pref: | metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 1,204 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 11,097 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | China Standard Time |
| Utc Offset: | +8 |
| Coordinates: | 45.1733°N 82.5546°W |
| P: | Ālāshānkǒu shì |
| P2: | Ālātào'āgézī |
| Mon: | Алаг уул хот |
| Uig: | Uighur; Uyghur: ئالاتاۋ ئېغىزى شەھىرى or Uighur; Uyghur: ئالاتاۋ ئېغىزى |
| Uly: | Alataw ëghizi shehiri / Alataw shehiri |
| Uyy: | Alataw eƣizi xəⱨiri / Alataw xəⱨiri |
| Sgs: | Alataw egizi xäĥiri / Alataw xäĥiri |
| Usy: | Алатавеғизи шәһири / Алатав шәһири |
| Lu: | Alatau Pass |
| Order: | st |
| Lang1: | kk |
| Lang1 Content: | Kazakh: الاتاۋ ساعاسى قالاسى or Kazakh: الاتاۋ قالاسى |
Alashankou is a border city in Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It is a port of entry by both railroad and highway from Kazakhstan as part of the Eurasian Land Bridge.
The city is located at the Dzungarian Gate[2] (Alashankou in Chinese), a pass connecting the two countries through the Dzungarian Alatau mountains. West of the pass, the port of entry on the Kazakhstan side is Dostyk. Alashankou is 73km (45miles) from Bole, 460km (290miles) from Ürümqi, and 580km (360miles) from Almaty.[3] The weather in Alashankou is harsh.[4]
Alashankou is one of China's national first-class ports of entry. The volume of imports and exports passing through Alashankou accounts for 90% of the total for all of Xinjiang.[5] Since 2010, it has surpassed Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia to become the busiest land port-of-entry in China.[6]
Formerly a township-level port commission under the administration of Bole City, Alashankou was upgraded to a county-level city in December 2012. The city governs an area of, including of built-up area, which is divided into Alatao and Aibihu subdistricts. It has a permanent population of 10,000 and a floating population of 30,000.[6]
The agreement between the Soviet Union and the China to connect Kazakhstan with Western China by rail was achieved in 1954. On the Soviet side, the railway reached the border town of Druzhba (Dostyk) in 1959. On the Chinese side, however, the westward construction of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway was stopped once it reached Ürümqi in 1962. Due to the Sino-Soviet split, the railway link was not completed until September 12, 1990. The highway port of entry was opened in December 1995.
The railway networks of the two countries use different gauges (China, like most of Europe, uses the standard gauge of, but Kazakhstan uses the broader gauge of), so there are breaks of gauge. It is proposed to build a standard gauge transcontinental railway to link Europe and China to bypass these two breaks of gauge. This project was signed in 2004.[7]
On July 10, 2010, Bole Alashankou Airport was opened with scheduled flights to Ürümqi.[8]
Alashankou has again become a major transportation hub due to freight associated with the Belt and Road Initiative's Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor.
Alashankou is made up of 1 subdistrict and 1 town.
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Mongolian (traditional) | Mongolian (Cyrillic) | Administrative division code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subdistrict | ||||||||
| Alataw Subdistrict | Chinese: 阿拉套街道 | Uighur; Uyghur: ئالاتاۋ كوچا باشقارمىسى | Mongolian: Алаг уул зээл гудамж | 652702001 | ||||
| Town | ||||||||
| Ebinur Town | Chinese: 艾比湖镇 | Uighur; Uyghur: ئېبنۇر كۆلى بازىرى | Mongolian: Эв нуур балгас | 652702100 | ||||