Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture

Ili (Yili) Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture 伊犁哈萨克自治州 ئىلى قازاق ئاپتونوم ۋىلايىتى ىله قازاق اۆتونومىيالى وبلىسى
—  Sub-Provincial Autonomous Prefecture  —
Chinese transcription(s)
• Pinyin	Yīlí Hāsàkè Zìzhìzhōu
Ili prefecture (red) in Xinjiang province (orange) and China
Country	China
Province	Xinjiang
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)

Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	伊犁哈薩克自治州
Simplified Chinese	伊犁哈萨克自治州
Transcriptions Mandarin - Hanyu Pinyin Yīlí Hāsàkè Zìzhìzhōu
Uyghur name
Uyghur	ئىلى قازاق ئاپتونوم ۋىلايىتى
Transcriptions - Latin Yëziqi Ili Qazaq aptonom wilayiti - Yengi Yezik̡ Ili Ķazaķ aptonom vilayiti
Kazakh name
Kazakh	ىله قازاق اۆتونومىيالى وبلىسى Іле Қазақ аутономиялық облысы

Ili (Yili) Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture (Kazakh: İle Qazaq awtonomïyalıq oblısı) in northernmost Xinjiang is the only Kazakh autonomous prefecture of the People's Republic of China.

Geography and coordinates

The following figures exclude both Tacheng Prefecture and Altay Prefecture.

• Area: 273,200 km²
• Population: 3,880,000 (2000)
• Capital: Yining City
• Geographic coordinates: 79º50'30″ - 84º56'50″ East, 42º14'16″ - 44º50'30″ North

The Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture is west of Mongolia, south of Russia and east of Kazakhstan. Its foreign boundary is 2,000 km. (The Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture interrupts the border with Kazakhstan for several km.)

The upper course of the Ili River and that of Irtysh River (Ertix River) flow through the prefecture.

Subdivisions

As a Sub-provincial Autonomous Prefecture, Ili's primary subdivisions include Tacheng (Qoqek, 塔城地区) and Altay (阿勒泰地区) Prefectures, both to the Northeast of the capital. Ili also directly controls 2 county-level cities, 7 counties, and 1 autonomous county. (see Administrative divisions of the People's Republic of China#Levels).

#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Uyghur (UEY)	Uyghur Latin (ULY)	Kazakh (Arabic script)	Population (2003 est.)	Area (km²)	Density (/km²)
*	Altay Prefecture	阿勒泰地区	Ālètài Dìqū	تارباغاتاي ۋىلايىتى	Altay Wilayiti	ئالتاي ۋىلايىتى	561,667	117,800	5
	Tacheng [Tarbagatay] Prefecture	塔城地区	Tǎchéng Dìqū	تارباغاتاي ۋىلايىتى	Tarbaghatay Wilayiti	تارباعاتاي ايماعى	892,397	104,546	16
1	Yining [Gulja]	伊宁市	Yīníng Shì	غۇلجا شەھىرى	Ghulja Shehiri	قۇلجا قالاسى	430,000	629	684
2	Kuytun	奎屯市	Kuítún Shì	كۈيتۇن شەھىرى	Küytun Shehiri	كۇيتۇن قالاسى	300,000	1,171	256
3	Yining [Gulja] County	伊宁县	Yīníng Xiàn	غۇلجا ناھىيىسى	Ghulja Nahiyisi	قۇلجا اۋدانى	360,000	4,486	80
4	Huocheng County	霍城县	Huòchéng Xiàn	قورغاس ناھىيىسى	Qorghas Nahiyisi	قورعاس اۋدانى	360,000	5,466	66
5	Gongliu [Tokkuztara] County	巩留县	Gǒngliú Xiàn	توققۇزتارا ناھىيىسى	Toqquztara Nahiyisi	توعىزتاراۋ اۋدانى	160,000	4,124	39
6	Xinyuan [Künes] County	新源县	Xīnyuán Xiàn	كۈنەس ناھىيىسى	Künes Nahiyisi	كۇنەس اۋدانى	300,000	7,583	40
7	Zhaosu [Mongolküre] County	昭苏县	Zhāosū Xiàn	موڭغۇلكۈرە ناھىيىسى	Mongghulküre Nahiyisi	موڭعۇلكۇرە اۋدانى	160,000	10,465	15
8	Tekes County	特克斯县	Tèkèsī Xiàn	تېكەس ناھىيىسى	Tékes Nahiyisi	تەكەس اۋدانى	160,000	8,080	20
9	Nilka County	尼勒克县	Nílèkè Xiàn	نىلقا ناھىيسى	Nilqa Nahiyisi	نىلقى اۋدانى	160,000	10,130	16
10	Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County	察布查尔锡伯自治县	Chábùchá'ěr Xībó Zìzhìxiàn	ئاپتونوم يېزىسى چاپچال شىبە	Chapchal Shibe Aptonom Nahiyisi	شاپشال سىبە اۆتونوميالى اۋدانى	170,000	4,489	38

Scene from Ili valley

Geographically, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture can be divided into two parts. Altay Prefecture and Tacheng Prefectures, together with the city of Kuitun, occupy most of the Dzungarian Basin in northern Xinjiang, north of the Borohoro Range. The rest of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is located entirely within the Ili River Basin, between Borohoro and the main range of Tian Shan. This latter region is exactly coterminous with the historical area that in the past was often called by Russians and Westerners as Kulja or Kuldja (see, e.g. 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article on Kulja) or Ili.

History

The map of the Ili region, ca. 1809. It's "upside down", i.e. the south is on top, and the west, on the right. The nine fortified towns are shown as double squares

Pre-Qing

Before the Qin Dynasty, Ili was occupied by the Ussuns, a tributary of the Hun. The Ussuns were driven away in the 6th century A.D. by the northern Xiongnu, who established Western Turk Khanate in 552. Later the Kulja territory became a dependency of Dzungaria. During the Tang Dynasty, the khanate was Anxi Daduhufu (安西大都护府) of the Tang Empire.

The Uyghurs, and in the 12th century the Kara-Khitai, took possession of it in turn. Genghis Khan conquered Kulja in the 13th century, and the Mongol Khans resided in the valley of the Ili. It is supposed that the Oirats conquered it at the end of the 16th or the beginning of the 17th century.

Qing Dynasty

The Oirats, or more precisely Dzungars, controlled both Dzungaria and the Ili Basin it until 1755 as Zunghar Khanate, when the Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty under Emperor Qianlong annexed it. Having defeated Dzungars in the Dzunagrian and Ili Basins, as well as the Ishāqī 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 (九城) in the Ili Basin:

Original Chinese name	Hanzi	Turki (Uyghur) name	Modern name of the location	Notes
Huiyuan Cheng	惠远城	Kürä Shahr	Huiyuan town (惠远镇)	Was the residence of the Ili Governor General until 1866, and also known as New Kulja, Manchu Kulja, or Ili at the time.
Ningyuan Cheng	宁远城	Kulja (Ghulja)	Yining City (伊宁)	Also was known as Old Kulja or Taranchi Kulja
Huining Cheng	惠宁城	Bayandai	Bayandai township (巴彦岱镇) within Yining City, some 10 to 18 km to the west of the Yining center city
Taleqi Cheng	塔勒奇城	Tarchi	Within Huocheng County(霍城县)
Zhande Cheng	瞻德城	Chaghan Usu	Qingshuihe town (清水河镇) in Huocheng County, some 60–70 km NW of Yining
Guangren Cheng	广仁城	Ukurborosuk	Lucaogou town (芦草沟镇) in Huocheng County, NE of Qingshuihe
Gongchen Cheng	拱宸城	Khorgos	In Huocheng County; was county seat of Huocheng County until 1966
Xichun Cheng	熙春城	Khara Bulaq	Area commonly referred to as Chengpanzi (城盘子) in the Hanbin village (汉宾乡) within Yining City, a few km west of the city center
Suiding Cheng	绥定城	Ukharliq	County seat of Huocheng County since 1966, some 40 km NW of Yining. Renamed Shuiding town (水定镇) in 1965	Governor's residence 1883-1912, when it became known as New/Manchu/Chinese Kulja

Huiyuan Cheng, as the seat of the Ili Governor General (Chinese: 伊犁将军; pinyin: Yīlí Jiāngjūn), who was the chief commander of the Qing troops in entire Xinjiang, became the administrative capital of the region. It was provided with a large penal establishment and strong garrison. This city was called New Kulja, Manhcu Kulja, Chinese Kulja, or Ili by the Russians and Westerners, to distinguish it from Nigyuan/Yining, known as Old Kulja or Taranchi Kulja.

The first Ili Governor General was Ming Rui (明瑞). The Qing tradition, not broken until the days of Zuo Zongtang in the 1870s, was to only appoint Manchus as officials in Xinjiang.

Tacheng (Chuguchak) was among the towns that suffered grievously during the fighting in 1865

During the insurrection of 1864 the Dungans and the Taranchis formed here the Taranchi Sultanate. Huiyuan (Manchu Kulja) was the last Qing fortress in the Ili Valley to fall to the rebels. The insurgent Dungans massacred most of Manchu Kulja's inhabitants; Governor General Mingsioi (Ming Xü) (明绪) assembled his family and staff in his mansion, and blew it up, dying under its ruins.

The sultanate led to the occupation of the Ili basin (Kulja, in contemporary Western terms) by the Russians in 1871. Ten years later the territory was restored to China, and its boundary with Russia was assigned in accordance to the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881).

After Chinese authority was restored, the "Manchu Kuldja" was rebuilt, now as the city of Suiding (today's Shuiding), some 8 km north of the old Huiyuan site.

On January 7, 1912, Yang Cuanxu (杨缵绪) of Ili occupied Huiyuan (惠远城) and shot the last Qing Governor General of Ili, Zhi Rui (志锐).

Republic of China

In July 1945, Chingil, Bole and Quanxi (精河、博乐、温泉) of Ili were made into a new autonomous prefecture now not part of Ili: Bortala.

People's Republic

In 1949, Ili was made a special area (专区) of Xinjiang, with one city and 9 counties, and was upgraded to a city in 1952. On November 27, 1954, the Ili Autonomous Prefecture was established to include the prefectures of Ili, Altay, and Tacheng. The Ili Prefecture was abolished in 1955. Its one city and nine counties are now under the direct control of the autonomous prefecture.

Demographics

^{[citation needed]}

• Han: 45.2%
• Kazakhs: 25.4%
• Uyghurs: 15.9%
• Hui: 8.3%
• Mongols: 1.69%
• Xibe: 0.83%

Transport

Border crossings

Ili Kazak's 8 functioning ports of entry are:

• With Kazakhstan
  • Aqimbek (阿黑木别克) of Altay Prefecture
  • Bakhtu (巴克图), 17 km from Tacheng; another primary point or port
  • Dulat (都拉塔), in Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County: under Ili
  • Jeminay (吉木乃) of Altay Prefecture；another primary point or port (国家一类口岸)
  • Khorgas (霍尔果斯), in Huocheng County; under Ili; a primary Chinese "national" border crossing point or port of entry (国家一类口岸)
  • Muzart (木扎尔特), in Zhaosu County: directly controlled by Ili; another primary point or port

• With Mongolia
  • Khiziltaw (红山嘴) of Altay Prefecture
  • Taskhin (塔克什肯) of Altay Prefecture

Sources

• Henry Lansdell, "Russian Central Asia: Including Kuldja, Bokhara, Khiva and Merv". Full text available at Google Books; there is also a 2001 facsimile reprint of the 1885 edition, ISBN 1402177623. (Chapters XIV-XVI describe Lansdell visit to the area in the early 1880s, soon after the Russian withdrawal). (English)

External links

• Official site (in Simplified Chinese)
• Subdivision info (in Simplified Chinese)
• A TALE OF TWO CITIES: NEW MUSEUMS FOR YINING AND URUMQI "CHINA HERITAGE NEWSLETTER", China Heritage Project, The Australian National University. ISSN 1833-8461. No. 3, September 2005. (Talks about Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture Museum in Yining).