| Tacheng | |
| Other Name: | Tarbagatay, Chuguchak, Qoqek |
| Settlement Type: | County-level city |
| Pushpin Map: | China Xinjiang Northern#Xinjiang#China |
| Pushpin Label Position: | left |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location of the city centre in Xinjiang |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Coor Pinpoint: | Tacheng municipal government |
| Coordinates: | 46.7517°N 82.9869°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | China |
| Subdivision Type1: | Autonomous region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Xinjiang |
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture |
| Subdivision Name2: | Tacheng |
| Seat Type: | Municipal seat |
| Seat: | Heping Subdistrict |
| Area Total Km2: | 3,991.9 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 158,098 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | China Standard |
| Utc Offset1: | +8 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 834700 |
| C: | 塔城 |
| P: | Tǎchéng |
| C2: | 缺切克 |
| P2: | Quēqièkè |
| C3: | 楚呼楚 |
| P3: | Chǔhūchǔ |
| S4: | 塔尔巴哈台 |
| T4: | 塔爾巴哈台 |
| P4: | Tǎ'ěrbāhātái |
| Uig: | چۆچەك |
| Uly: | Chöchek |
| Uyy: | Qɵqək |
| Sgs: | Qoqek |
| Usy: | Чөчәк |
| Mon: | Тарвагатай |
| Lang1: | kk |
| Lang1 Content: | Kazakh: شاۋەشەك قالاسى Kazakh: Шәуешек қаласы Kazakh: Şäueşek qalasy |
| Lang2: | dta |
| Lang2 Content: | Тарбгьти Tarbgti |
| Order: | st |
Tacheng[2], also known as Tarbagatay, Chuguchak or Qoqek,[3] is a county-level city and the administrative seat of Tacheng Prefecture, in northern Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. The Chinese name "Tacheng" is an abbreviation of "Tarbagatay City", a reference to the Tarbagatay Mountains. Tacheng is located in the Dzungarian Basin, some 10km (10miles) from the Chinese border with Kazakhstan. For a long time it has been a major center for trade with Central Asia because it is an agricultural hub. Its industries include food processing, textiles, and utilities.
In the mid-19th century, Chuguchak was considered the most important commercial center of Western China after Ghulja (Yining), being an important center of trade between China and Russia, in particular in tea. The city, surrounded by an earth wall, was the residence of two Qing ambans and had a garrison of some 1,000 Chinese soldiers and 1,500 Manchu and Mongol soldiers.
Chuguchak suffered harshly in 1865 during the fighting between the Qing forces and the Dungan and Hui rebels.
Tacheng is the site of an internment camp for Turkic Muslims such as the Uyghurs and Kazakhs; it is one of many such camps in Xinjiang. The Chinese government maintains that they are "vocational education centers" for citizens to learn trade skills and the Chinese language, and that the camp was shut down in 2019. However, satellite imagery shows that the camp expanded five-fold later that year.[4] [5]
The Baktu border crossing into Kazakhstan is located 17km (11miles) from Tacheng. The checkpoint on the Kazakh side of the border is also known as Bakhty and is located 60km (40miles) from Makanchi in East Kazakhstan Province. In April 1962, during the Yi–Ta incident, over 60,000 Chinese citizens, including around 48,000 Tacheng residents, crossed the Xinjiang–Kazakh SSR border, leading to massive economic loss in Tacheng; the border crossing closed in August of that year.[6] The crossing re-opened on 20 October 1990, and was deemed a "first-class port of entry" (Chinese: 一类口岸) on 14 March 1994. On 1 July 1995, the crossing opened to use by third nations.[6]
Tacheng is divided into 3 subdistricts, 2 towns, 3 townships, and 1 ethnic township,
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Kazakh (Arabic script) | Kazakh (Cyrillic script) | Administrative division code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subdistricts | ||||||||
| Heping Subdistrict | Chinese: 和平街道 | Uighur; Uyghur: تېنچىلىق كوچا باشقارمىسى | Kazakh: بەيبىت ءمالى باسقارماسى | 654201001 | ||||
| Dubik Subdistrict | Chinese: 杜别克街道 | Uighur; Uyghur: دۇبىك كوچا باشقارمىسى | Kazakh: دۋبەك ءمالى باسقارماسى | 654201002 | ||||
| Xincheng Subdistrict | Chinese: 新城街道 | Uighur; Uyghur: يېڭى شەھەر كوچا باشقارمىسى | Kazakh: جاڭا قالا ءمالى باسقارماسى | 654201003 | ||||
| Towns | ||||||||
| Ergong Town | Chinese: 二工镇 | Uighur; Uyghur: ئەرگۇڭ بازىرى | Kazakh: ارگۇڭ قالاشىعى | 654201100 | ||||
| Chasha Town | Chinese: 恰夏镇 | Uighur; Uyghur: چاشا بازىرى | Kazakh: شاشا قالاشىعى | 654201101 | ||||
| Bozdakh Town | Chinese: 博孜达克镇 | Uighur; Uyghur: بوزداق بازىرى | Kazakh: بوزداق قالاشىعى | 654201102 | ||||
| Townships | ||||||||
| Karakabak Township | Chinese: 喀拉哈巴克乡 | Uighur; Uyghur: قاراقاباق يېزىسى | Kazakh: قاراقاباق اۋىلى | 654201200 | ||||
| Abdira Township | Chinese: 阿不都拉乡 | Uighur; Uyghur: ئابدىرا يېزىسى | Kazakh: ابدىرا اۋىلى | 654201203 | ||||
| Ëmil Township | Chinese: 也门勒乡 | Uighur; Uyghur: ئېمىل يېزىسى | Kazakh: ەمىل اۋىلى | 654201204 | ||||
| Ethnic Township | ||||||||
| Axili Daur Ethnic Township | Chinese: 阿西尔达斡尔民族乡 | Uighur; Uyghur: ئاشىلى داغۇر يېزىسى | Kazakh: اشىلى داعۇر ۇلتتىق اۋىلى | 654201202 | ||||
Tacheng has a typical Xinjiang cool semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk) that is almost moist enough to be a hot summer humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), as being on the west side of the Altay Mountains the region receives more winter snowfall than most of Xinjiang.
The Karamay–Tacheng Railway (opened on May 30, 2019) connects Tacheng with Baikouquan Station (Chinese: 百口泉站) on the Kuytun–Beitun Railway in Karamay City. It takes 9 hours from Tacheng to Ürümqi.[7]
Tacheng is also served by the Tacheng Qianquan Airport with flights to Ürümqi and other cities in Xinjiang.