| Aral | |
| Native Name: | |
| Settlement Type: | County-level & sub-prefectural city |
| Pushpin Map: | China Xinjiang Southern#Xinjiang#China |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the seat within Xinjiang |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 275 |
| Coordinates: | 40.548°N 81.281°W |
| Coor Pinpoint: | Aral municipal government |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | China |
| Subdivision Type1: | Autonomous region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Xinjiang |
| Subdivision Type2: | County-level divisions |
| Seat Type: | Municipal seat |
| Seat: | Jinyinchuan Road Subdistrict |
| Leader Title: | CCP Secretary |
| Leader Name: | Ding Yiqiang |
| Leader Title1: | Mayor |
| Leader Name1: | Xiao Yong |
| Area Total Km2: | 5258.739 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 328,241 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Urban Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | China Standard |
| Utc Offset: | +8 |
| Order: | st |
| S: | 阿拉尔 |
| T: | 阿拉爾 |
| P: | Ālā'ěr |
| Also Known As: | Uyghur name |
| Uig: | ئارال |
| Uly: | Aral |
| Uyy: | Aral |
| Sgs: | Aral |
| Usy: | Арал |
Aral[2] [3] is a sub-prefecture-level city surrounded by Aksu Prefecture in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. Aral means "island" in Uyghur.[4] The city's name is often written as Alar.[5]
Aral is the headquarter of the 1st Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and currently administered by the 1st Division. Aral implemented the "division and city integration" (师市合一, shī shì héyī) management system, it shares the same leader group with the 1st Division.
According to Radio Free Asia, a United States government-funded news service, Aral was created in the 1950s by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps to facilitate Han Chinese immigration to the region.[6]
Aral became a city in 2002 and its population increased to 166,205 in 2010.
On January 23, 2013, 474.208km2 of territory was transferred from Awat County (Awati) to Aral city[7] and 802.733km2 of territory was transferred from Aksu city (Akesu) to Aral city.[8]
Aral contains three subdistricts, 15 towns, a township, and two township-equivalent regions:
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Administrative division code | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subdistricts | |||||||
| Jinyinchuan Road Subdistrict | Chinese: 金银川路街道 | 659002001 | |||||
| Xingfu Road Subdistrict | Chinese: 幸福路街道 | 659002002 | |||||
| Qingsong Road Subdistrict | Chinese: 青松路街道 | 659002003 | |||||
| Towns | |||||||
| Jinyinchuan Town (1st Regiment Farm)*| Chinese: 金银川镇 (Chinese: 一团)| | | | 659002100| de facto administered by the 7th Division since May 2017|-| Xinjingzi Town (2nd Regiment Farm)*| Chinese: 新井子镇 (Chinese: 二团)| | | | 659002101||-| Ganquan Town (3rd Regiment Farm)*| Chinese: 甘泉镇 (Chinese: 三团)| | | | 659002102||-| Yongning Town (4th Regiment Farm)* | Chinese: 永宁镇 (Chinese: 四团) | 659002103 | |||||
| Shahe Town (5th Regiment Farm)*| Chinese: 沙河镇 (Chinese: 五团)| | | | 659002104| de facto administered by the 11th Division (Construction Engineer Division) since May 2017|-| Shuangcheng Town (6th Regiment Farm)*| Chinese: 双城镇 (Chinese: 六团)| | | | 659002105||-| Huaqiao Town (11th Regiment Farm)*| Chinese: 花桥镇 (Chinese: 十一团)| | | | 659002106||-| Xingfu Town (13th Regiment Farm)* | Chinese: 幸福镇 (Chinese: 十三团) | 659002107 | |||||
| Jinyang Town (14th Regiment Farm)*| Chinese: 金杨镇 (Chinese: 十四团)| | | | 659002108||-| Matan Town (7th Regiment Farm)*| Chinese: 玛滩镇 (Chinese: 七团)| | | | 659002109||-| Tamen Town (8th Regiment Farm)* | Chinese: 塔门镇 (Chinese: 八团) | 659002110 | |||||
| Lihua Town (9th Regiment Farm)*| Chinese: 梨花镇 (Chinese: 九团)| | | | 659002111||-| Chang'an Town (10th Regiment Farm)*| Chinese: 昌安镇 (Chinese: 十团)| | | | 659002112||-| Tanan Town (12th Regiment Farm)* | Chinese: 塔南镇 (Chinese: 十二团) | 659002113 | |||||
| Xinkailing Town (16th Regiment Farm)*| Chinese: 新开岭镇 (Chinese: 十六团)| | | | 659002114||----------| colspan="7" style="text-align:center; background:#d3d3d3;"|Township|----------| Tokay Township| Chinese: 托喀依乡| | | | 659002200||----------| colspan="8" style="text-align:center; background:#d3d3d3;"|Township-equivalent regions|----------| Aral Industrial Park| Chinese: 工业园区| | | | 659002402||-| Aral Western Industrial Park| Chinese: 西工业园区| | | | 659002518||----------| colspan="8" | * One institution with two names. See also Tuntian#People's Republic of China. | |||||||
The city has an administrative area of 5258.739km2. It is bordered by mountainous regions to the north and northwest and the Taklamakan Desert to the east and south.
As of 2015, 167,697 (93.6%) of the 179,214 residents of the county were Han Chinese, 6,036 (3.4%) were Uyghur and 5,481 were from other ethnic groups.[9]
Tarim University is located in Aral.
Ala'er Talimu Airport is a regional airport located at 12 km south from Aral city.
Aral Railway Station is located at southwest suburban of the city.