| Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture | |
| Settlement Type: | Autonomous prefecture |
| Translit Lang1: | Name |
| Translit Lang1 Info: | Chinese: 伊犁哈萨克自治州 |
| Translit Lang1 Info1: | Uighur; Uyghur: ئىلى قازاق ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى |
| Translit Lang1 Info2: | Kazakh: ىلە قازاق اۆتونوميالىق وبلىسى |
| Coordinates: | 43.92°N 81.32°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | China |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Xinjiang |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Yining |
| Government Type: | Autonomous prefecture |
| Governing Body: | Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefectural People's Congress |
| Leader Title: | CCP Secretary |
| Leader Name: | Qiu Shuhua |
| Leader Title1: | Congress Chairman |
| Leader Name1: | Abdussalam Sadiq |
| Leader Title2: | Governor |
| Leader Name2: | Qadan Käbenuly |
| Leader Title3: | CPPCC Chairman |
| Leader Name3: | Serikzhan Orynbai |
| Area Land Km2: | 56381.52 |
| Area Blank1 Km2: | 268778.71 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 6,582,500 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Density Urban Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type2: | GDP[1] |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics2 Info1: | CN¥ 222.6 billion US$ 32.2 billion |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Per capita |
| Demographics2 Info2: | CN¥ 47,390 US$ 6,858 |
| Timezone: | China Standard |
| Utc Offset: | +8 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Iso Code: | CN-XJ-40 |
| Order: | st |
| S: | 伊犁哈萨克自治州 |
| T: | 伊犁哈薩克自治州 |
| P: | Yīlí Hāsàkè Zìzhìzhōu |
| Xej: | اِلِ هَاصَاكْ ذِجِجِوْ |
| Dungan: | Йили Хазах Зыҗыҗу |
| Dungan-Latin: | Yili Hazah Zıcıcu |
| Uig: | ئىلى قازاق ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى |
| Uly: | Ili Qazaq Aptonom Oblasti |
| Sgs: | Ili Kazak Aptonom Oblasti |
| Usy: | Или Қазақ аптоном вилайити |
| Lang1: | kk |
| Lang1 Content: | Kazakh: ىلە قازاق اۆتونوميالىق وبلىسى Kazakh: Іле Қазақ автономиялық облысы |
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in northern Xinjiang, China. Its capital is Yining, also known as Ghulja or Kulja.
Covering an area of 268,591 square kilometres (16.18 per cent of Xinjiang), Ili Prefecture shares a 2,019 kilometre-long border with Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia.[2] There are nine ports of entry in Ili Prefecture at the national level, including Jeminay and Khorgas. Directly administered regions (Chinese: 直辖区域) within the prefecture cover 56,622 square kilometres (21.08 per cent of Ili's total area) and have a population of 4,930,600 (63.95 per cent of Ili's registered population).[3] Kazakhs in China are the second largest ethnicity in the prefecture after the Han, and make up a little over a quarter of the population.
Ili is the only prefecture-level division that has other prefecture-level divisions (Altay and Tacheng Prefectures) under its administration. The term "sub-provincial autonomous prefecture" (Chinese: 副省级自治州) has often been applied to Ili, but it has no legal basis under Chinese law and is a misnomer.
Before the advent of the Qin dynasty (221BC – 206BC), Ili was inhabited by the Wusuns, a tributary tribe of the Huns. The Wusuns were driven away in the 6th century AD by the northern Xiongnu, who established the First Turkic Khaganate in 552. The area later became a dependency of Dzungaria. During the Tang dynasty (618–907), the khanate became the Protectorate General to Pacify the West of the Tang Empire.
Ili came under the control of the Uyghur Khaganate in the 8th and 9th centuries, the Qara Khitai in the 12th century, and Genghis Khan in the 13th century. The Oirats, specifically the Dzungars, conquered Ili at the end of the 16th or the beginning of the 17th century.
The Dzungar Khanate controlled both Dzungaria and the Ili basin until 1755, when the region was conquered by the Manchu-led Qing dynasty under the Qianlong Emperor. Having defeated the Dzungars in the Dzungarian and Ili basins, as well as the Afaqi Khojas in Kashgaria, the Qing court decided to make the Ili basin the main base of their control in Xinjiang.
In the 1760s, the Qing built nine fortified towns in the Ili basin:
| Original Chinese name | Chinese | Turki (Uyghur) name[4] | Modern name[5] | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Huiyuan Cheng | Chinese: 惠遠城 | Old Huiyuan was the residence of the General of Ili from 1765 to 1866. New Huiyuan was the residence of the General of Ili from 1894 to 1912. Historically known as New / Manchu Kulja or Ili. | |||
| Ningyuan Cheng | Chinese: 寧遠城 | Yining | Also was known as Old Kulja or Taranchi Kulja. County seat of Ningyuan County (1888–1914) and Yining County (1914–1952). | ||
| Huining Cheng | Chinese: 惠寧城 | Bayandai Town (Chinese: 巴彥岱鎮) within Yining, some 10[6] to 18[7] kilometres to the west of Yining's city centre | |||
| Taleqi Cheng | Chinese: 塔勒奇城 | ||||
| Zhande Cheng | Chinese: 瞻德城 | Qingshuihe Town (Chinese: 清水河鎮) in Huocheng County | |||
| Guangren Cheng | Chinese: 廣仁城 | Lucaogou Town (Chinese: 蘆草溝鎮) in Huocheng County, NE of Qingshuihe | |||
| Gongchen Cheng | Chinese: 拱宸城 | Khorgas City (Chinese: 霍爾果斯市) | |||
| Xichun Cheng | Chinese: 熙春城 | Area commonly referred to as Chengpanzi (Chinese: 城盤子). Located in Hanbin Township (Chinese: 漢賓鄉) within Yining, a few kilometres west of the city centre. | |||
| Chinese: 綏定城 | Shuiding Town (Chinese: 水定鎮), county seat of Huocheng County since 1966 | Also known as New / Manchu / Chinese Kulja. Renamed Shuiding in 1965. Residence of the General of Ili from 1762 to 1765 and 1883 to 1894. County seat of Suiding County (1888–1965) and Shuiding County (1965–1966). |
Huiyuan Cheng, as the residence of the General of Ili, the chief commander of Qing troops in Xinjiang, became the administrative capital of the region. It was provided with a large penal establishment and a strong garrison. This city was called "New Kulja", "Manhcu Kulja" or "Chinese Kulja" by foreigners to distinguish it from Ningyuan / Yining, known as "Old Kulja" or "Taranchi Kulja".
The first General of Ili was Ming Rui. The Qing tradition, unbroken until the days of Zuo Zongtang in the 1870s, was to only appoint Manchus as officials in Xinjiang.
During the Muslim revolt of 1864, Dungans and Taranchis of the area formed the Taranchi Sultanate. Huiyuan Cheng was the last Qing fortress in the Ili basin to fall to the rebels. The Dungan rebels massacred most of the city's inhabitants; Governor General Mingsioi (Mingxu) assembled his family and staff in his mansion and blew it up, dying under its ruins.
The insurrection led to the occupation of the Ili basin by the Russians in 1871. Ten years later, part of the territory was returned to China in accordance with the 1881 Treaty of Saint Petersburg.
In October 1884, the Qing government officially approved the establishment of Xinjiang Province and the local political system in Ili consequently went through major reforms. The Amban (Chinese: 軍府制) and Baig systems (Chinese: 伯克制) were abolished and replaced by circuit, urban prefecture, prefecture, and county systems. The position of General of Ili was renamed Ili Garrison General (Chinese: 伊犁駐防將軍) and its responsibilities were greatly reduced. The Ili Garrison General would only oversee the military affairs of Ili and Tacheng instead of the whole of Xinjiang, the latter responsibility being delegated to the newly created position of Xinjiang Grand Coordinator (Chinese: 新疆巡撫). The Ili Garrison General was based in Huiyuan Town.
Yita Circuit (Chinese: 伊塔道) was formed in Ili and Tacheng in 1888, as a subdivision of Xinjiang Province. It was headquartered in Ningyuan County (present-day Yining). Yita Circuit was divided into Ili Prefecture (Chinese: 伊犁府), Tacheng Directly Administered Division (Chinese: 塔城直隸廳), and Jinghe Directly Administered Division (Chinese: 精河直隸廳). Altay region was formed from Khovd (Chinese: 科布多; seat in Khovd Town) in 1904.[8]
The Xinhai Revolution broke out on 10 October 1911. Under the leadership of Yang Zuanxu (Chinese: 楊纘緒), a general of the Ili New Army, an armed rebellion against the Qing broke out on 7 January 1912. The rebels occupied Huiyuan Town and killed Zhi Rui (Chinese: 志銳), the Ili Garrison General. On 12 February 1912, the Provisional Government of the Republic of China was established in Beijing, and on 15 March, it ordered the Xinjiang Grand Coordinator, Yuan Dahua (Chinese: 袁大化), to end Qing rule in Xinjiang.
With the end of hostilities between Qing and Republican forces, the position of Grand Coordinator of Xinjiang was abolished and replaced with the position of Military Governor of Xinjiang (Chinese: 都督). Guang Fu (Chinese: 廣福), Zhi Rui's predecessor as Ili Garrison General, was appointed Xinjiang's first military governor. On 25 April, Yuan Dahua was forced to resign as Grand Coordinator of Xinjiang. On 18 May, Yang Zengxin (Chinese: 楊增新) was recommended for the position of Military Governor of Xinjiang. On 8 July, the Qing and Republican governments signed a peace agreement, which stipulated that the position of Ili Garrison General would be replaced by the position of Defence Governor of Ili (Chinese: 伊犁鎮邊使), under the direct supervision of the Republican government in Beijing. Guang Fu was subsequently appointed as the first Defence Governor of Ili. The agreement also recognised Yang Zengxin as the top military and political authority in all of Xinjiang.
In August 1912, the Republican government adjusted Ili's administrative divisions. The Defence Governor of Ili headquarters were established in Huiyuan Town, the Counsellor's (Chinese: 參贊) in Tacheng, and the Business Executive's (Chinese: 辦事長官) in Altay. Yita Circuit (Chinese: 伊塔道) was retained to govern local civil affairs; it was placed under the administration of the Defence Governor.
The position of Ili Defence Governor became vacant after Guang Fu died of illness on 1 February 1914. Yang Zengxin flew to Beijing to petition the Beiyang government (Republican government) to appoint Yang Feixia (Chinese: 楊飛霞) as Guang Fu's replacement. The appointment was approved by Beijing, and the administrative jurisdiction of the position was transferred from the central government to the government of Xinjiang Province. Yita Circuit was then divided into two circuits, Ili and Tacheng, in 1916. The Circuit Governor of Tacheng (Chinese: 塔城道尹) replaced the Counsellor of Tacheng (Chinese: 塔城參贊) with the establishment of Tacheng Circuit.[8]
In 1919, the Beiyang government placed the Altay Chief under the jurisdiction of the government of Xinjiang Province and Ashan Circuit (Chinese: 阿山道) was established from the Altay region. In August 1939, by decree of the Beiyang government, the mingyan (Chinese: 千戶長) and centenari (Chinese: 百戶長) administrative divisions were abolished and replaced with district and township divisions. Kazakh pastoral affairs were gradually integrated into local government services.[8]
Ili Prefecture (Chinese: 伊犁專區) was established in 1943, with 11 counties and Xinyuan Division (Chinese: 新源設治局; present-day Xinyuan County) under its administration. The 11 counties were Yining, Suiding (Chinese: 綏定; part of present-day Huocheng), Khorgas (present-day Huocheng), Gongliu, Tekes, Gongha (Chinese: 鞏哈; present-day Nilka), Ningxi (Chinese: 寧西; present-day Qapqal), Jinghe, Bole, Wenquan and Zhaosu.[9] In December 1953, the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Region was established. It was declared a prefecture-level division under the jurisdiction of Xinjiang Province, with the three prefectures of Ili, Tacheng, and Altay under its administration. Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture was created in July 1954 from the counties of Bole, Jinghe, and Wenquan, three counties of Ili Prefecture. Ili Kazakh Autonomous Region was renamed Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture on 5 February 1955.[10]
During the Yi–Ta incident from March to May 1962, a mass exodus of 14,000 people from Ili Prefecture occurred. Chinese citizens, predominantly Kazakhs, left through the border port of Korgas, driven by deteriorating living conditions in Xinjiang and rumours of Soviet citizenship.[11] To compensate for the loss in manpower brought about by the exodus, thousands of Bingtuan soldiers were relocated to northern Xinjiang from the region's interior. The Chinese government also encouraged the migration of hundreds of thousands of Han Chinese youth from major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. By 1969 the number of Han Chinese in Ili Prefecture had reached 1.2 million, outnumbering the number of Kazakhs and Uyghurs combined.[12]
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is located in the hinterland of Eurasia, in the northwest of Xinjiang, north of the Tian Shan. It covers a total area of 268,591 square kilometres, accounting for 16.18 per cent of the total area of Xinjiang. The autonomous prefecture is bordered to the north by Russia, to the east by Mongolia, to the west by Kazakhstan and Bortala Autonomous Prefecture, and to the south by Aksu Prefecture, Bayingolin Autonomous Prefecture, Changji Autonomous Prefecture, Ürümqi, and Shihezi.[2] Karamay is an enclave within Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture.
Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe Railway, G218 National Highway, G217 National Highway and S316 Provincial Highway pass through the autonomous prefecture. It has a 2,019 kilometre-long international border with nine ports of entry, including Khorgas, Bakhty, and Jeminay. Due to its strategic location in the middle of Asia, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture has become an important commercial hub and dry port for trade with Europe and the Middle East.[2]
In the autonomous prefecture, there are four types of landforms: 83,632 square kilometres of mountains, 62,989 square kilometres of hills, 102,974 square kilometres of plains, and 20,439 square kilometres of desert. Three major mountain rangesthe Altai, Dzungarian Alatau, and Tian Shanstand from the north to south, with year-round ice and snow. Friendship Peak in Burqin County is the highest peak of the Altai mountain range, standing at 4,374 metres high. The snow line is 3,000 to 3,200 metres high, the glacier area is 293.2 square kilometres, and the glacier reserves are 16.4 billion cubic metres. The peaks of the Dzungarian Alatau are 3,500 to 3,700 metres high. The snow line of Tian Shan is 3,600 to 4,400 metres high with a glacier area of 3,139 square kilometres, and its glacier reserves are 118.5 billion cubic metres.[13]
See main article: List of administrative divisions of Ili. Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture administers the directly-administered, county-level city of Yining; 2 other county-level cities; 7 counties; 1 autonomous county; and the two prefectures of Altay and Tacheng, despite Ili being a prefecture-level division itself.[14]
| Districts under direct administration of Ili Prefecture Tacheng Prefecture Altay Prefecture | ||||||||||||
| Part | Division code | Name | Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Kazakh (Arabic script) | Kazakh Latin alphabet Kazakh Cyrillic Alphabet | Population | Area (km2) | Density (/km2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Districts under direct administration of Ili Prefecture | Chinese: 自治州直辖县级行政单位 | Uighur; Uyghur: ئوبلاستقا بىۋاستە قاراشلىق رايونلار | Kazakh: وبلىسقا تىكەلەي باعىناتىن اۋداندار | 2,778,869 | 56,522.92 | 49.16 | ||||||
| Districts under direct administration of Ili Prefecture | 654002 | Yining[15] | Chinese: 伊宁市 | Uighur; Uyghur: غۇلجا شەھىرى | Kazakh: قۇلجا قالاسى | 778,047 | 644 | 1208.15 | ||||
| 654003 | Kuytun | Chinese: 奎屯市 | Uighur; Uyghur: كۈيتۇن شەھىرى | Kazakh: كۇيتۇن قالاسى | 229,122 | 1,171 | 195.66 | |||||
| 654004 | Korgas | Chinese: 霍尔果斯市 | Uighur; Uyghur: قورغاس شەھىرى | Kazakh: قورعاس قالاسى | 71,466 | 1,908 | 37.46 | |||||
| 654021 | Yining County | Chinese: 伊宁县 | Uighur; Uyghur: غۇلجا ناھىيىسى | Kazakh: قۇلجا اۋدانى | 365,307 | 4,476 | 81,61 | |||||
| 654020 | Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County | Chinese: 察布查尔锡伯自治县 | Uighur; Uyghur: چاپچال شىبە ئاپتونوم ناھىيىسى | Kazakh: شاپشال سىبە اۆتونوميالىق اۋدانى | 157,764 | 4,469 | 35.30 | |||||
| 654023 | Huocheng County | Chinese: 霍城县 | Uighur; Uyghur: قورغاس ناھىيىسى | Kazakh: قورعاس اۋدانى | 243,303 | 3,546 | 68.61 | |||||
| 654024 | Gongliu County | Chinese: 巩留县 | Uighur; Uyghur: توققۇزتارا ناھىيىسى | Kazakh: توعىزتاراۋ اۋدانى | 175,766 | 4,111 | 42.76 | |||||
| 654025 | Xinyuan County | Chinese: 新源县 | Uighur; Uyghur: كۈنەس ناھىيىسى | Kazakh: كۇنەس اۋدانى | 306,525 | 7,581 | 40.43 | |||||
| 654026 | Zhaosu County | Chinese: 昭苏县 | Uighur; Uyghur: موڭغۇلكۈرە ناھىيىسى | Kazakh: موڭعۇلكۇرە اۋدانى | 146,887 | 10,427 | 14.09 | |||||
| 654027 | Tekes County | Chinese: 特克斯县 | Uighur; Uyghur: تېكەس ناھىيىسى | Kazakh: تەكەس اۋدانى | 148,945 | 8,066 | 18.47 | |||||
| 654028 | Nilka County | Chinese: 尼勒克县 | Uighur; Uyghur: نىلقا ناھىيىسى | Kazakh: نىلقى اۋدانى | 155,737 | 10,123 | 15.538 | |||||
| ↪ Altay Prefecture | Chinese: 阿勒泰地区 | Uighur; Uyghur: ئالتاي ۋىلايىتى | Kazakh: التاي ايماعى | 648,173 | 117,710 | 5.51 | ||||||
| ↪ Tacheng Prefecture | Chinese: 塔城地区 | Uighur; Uyghur: تارباغاتاي ۋىلايىتى | Kazakh: تارباعاتاي ايماعى | 1,108,747 | 94,869 | 11.69 | ||||||
Ili is a multi-ethnic autonomous prefecture; there are 13 local ethnic groups: the Han, Kazakhs, Uyghurs, Hui, Mongols, Xibe, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Manchus, Tatar, Russians, Daur, and Chinese Tajiks.[16], Ili had a population of 4,582,500, 2,745,500 (59.9 per cent) of whom were part of an ethnic minority.
A 2015 report provided the following ethnic breakdown of the population: 1,934,571 Han (41.2 per cent), 1,257,003 Kazakhs (26.8 per cent), 819,701 Uyghurs (17.45 per cent), 433,045 Hui (9.2 per cent), 75,597 Mongols (1.6 per cent), 34,457 Xibe, 22,428 Kyrgyz, 8,298 Uzbeks, 8,298 Daurs, 5,394 Russians, 5,199 Manchus, 2,852 Tatars, 153 Chinese Tajiks and 91,749 "others".[17]
Ili's major tourist attractions include the Narati Grassland, Guozigou Lake, and Kanas Lake. In 2015, Ili saw over 25 million visitors and earned over CN¥19 billion (US$2.92 billion) in tourism revenue.[18]
An extensive road network is being built across the prefecture for economic development. In 2015, 66 million passengers travelled on Ili's roads.
The railway has extended to the northern extremes of Altay and the westmost city of Khorgas on the China–Kazakhstan border.
Ili has nine international ports of entry: