Hotan–Ruoqiang Railway
The Hotan–Ruoqiang (Qakilik) railway () is a 825.5 km long railway line connecting the cities of Hotan and Ruoqiang in southern Xinjiang, China that opened on 16 June 2022 with a design speed of . It serves over 10 million people with 20 new stations. History Construction on the line began in December 2018. Tracklaying began in May 2020 and by April 2021, over half the track had been laid. On 27 September 2021, the construction of the track was fully completed with the laying of the last length of track. Rail welding was completed on 28 October 2021, with track bed tamping and fine adjustment of the line required before scheduled opening of the entire line in 2022. Route The line is long and runs from west to east. In Hotan it continues as the Kashgar–Hotan railway and in Qakilik (Ruoqiang), Ruoqiang (Qakilik) County it branches off the Golmud–Korla railway. Together with those railways it forms a loop around the west of the Tarim Basin, linking Hotan, Lop, Qira, Yuti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Heavy Rail
Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid acceleration. It uses passenger railcars operating singly or in multiple unit trains on fixed rails. It operates on separate rights-of-way from which all other vehicular and foot traffic are excluded (i.e. is fully grade-separated from other traffic). It uses sophisticated signaling systems, and high platform loading. Originally, the term ''rapid transit'' was used in the 1800s to describe new forms of quick urban public transportation that had a right-of-way separated from street traffic. This set rapid transit apart from horsecars, trams, streetcars, omnibuses, and other forms of public transport. A variant of the term, ''mass rapid transit (MRT)'', is also used for metro systems in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Though the term was almost alway ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, China." Hydrological Processes 20.10 (2006): 2207–2216.online 426 KB) Located in China's Xinjiang region, it is sometimes used synonymously to refer to the southern half of the province, or Southern Xinjiang, Nanjiang (), as opposed to the northern half of the province known as Dzungaria or Beijiang. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern boundary is the Kunlun Mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The Taklamakan Desert dominates much of the basin. The historical Uyghur name for the Tarim Basin is Altishahr (Uyghur language, Traditional spelling: 六城 or ), which means 'six cities' in Uyghur language, Uyghur. Geography and relation to Xinjiang Xinjiang consists of two main geographically, historically, and ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hippophae
''Hippophae'' is the genus of sea buckthorns, deciduous shrubs in the family Elaeagnaceae. The name sea buckthorn may be hyphenated to avoid confusion with the unrelated true buckthorns (''Rhamnus'', family Rhamnaceae). It is also referred to as sandthorn, sallowthorn, or seaberry. It produces orange-yellow berries, which have been used over centuries as food, traditional medicine, and skin treatment in Mongolia, Ladakh, Russia, Ukraine, and northern Europe, which are its origin regions. It is an exceptionally hardy plant able to withstand winter temperatures as low as . Because ''Hippophae'' develops an aggressive and extensive root system, it is planted to inhibit soil erosion and is used in land reclamation for its nitrogen fixing properties, wildlife habitat, and soil enrichment. ''Hippophae'' berries and leaves are manufactured into various human and animal food and skincare products. Description The shrubs reach tall, rarely up to in central Asia. The leaf arrangement ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Haloxylon Ammodendron
''Haloxylon ammodendron'', the saxaul, black saxaul, sometimes sacsaoul or saksaul ( rus, саксау́л, r=saksaúl, which is from kk, сексеуіл, r=seksewil), is a plant belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. Description The saxaul ranges in size from a large shrub to a small tree, , rarely tall. It has a brown trunk up to in diameter. The wood is heavy and coarse and the bark is spongy and water-soaked. The branches of the current year are green; older branches are brown, or gray to white. The leaves are reduced to very small cusp-like scales, so that the plant appears nearly leafless. The infloresences consist of short lateral shoots borne on stems of the previous year. The flowers are bisexual or male, very small, as long as or shorter than the bracteoles. The flowering period is from March to April. In fruit, the perianth segments develop spreading pale brown or white wings. The diameter of the winged fruit is about . The seed is in diameter. The fruiting peri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture
Bayingolin (; often abbreviated to Bayingol; also as Bayinguoleng) is an autonomous prefecture for Mongol people in the southeast of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Western China. It borders Gansu to the east, Qinghai to the southeast and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the south. It is the largest prefecture-level division nationally, with an area of , which is even larger than its neighboring province of Gansu. The prefectural capital is Korla. History In a 2017 announcement from officials in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, it was proclaimed that "there is a severe threat from international terrorism, and cars have been used as a key means of transport for terrorists as well as constantly serving as weapons. It is therefore necessary to monitor and track all vehicles in the prefecture." Demographics According to the 2000 census, Bayingolin has 1,056,970 inhabitants (population density: 2.28 per km2). As of 2015, 826,063 of the 1,393,812 residents of the coun ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Niya Town
Niya ( ug, Нийә; ), is a town in Minfeng County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. It is the county seat of Minfeng County, and therefore is commonly referred to as Minfeng, and is labeled so on less detailed maps. An ancient town also called Niya is located 115 km to the north of this modern Niya. History Niya/Minfeng was known in ancient time as Ronglu () during the Han dynasties (206 BC - 222 AD) and, according to the ''Hanshu'' Chapter 96A, was said to have had "240 households, 610 individuals with 300 persons able to bear arms" during the Former Han Dynasty (206 BC - 23 AD). It is situated about 115 km north of the modern town of Minfeng. Numerous Buddhist scriptures, sculptures, mummies and other precious archeological finds have been made in the region. The remains of more than seventy buildings have been discovered scattered over an area of some 45 km2. It was located on the southern branch of the Silk Road.Baumer, Christop ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Yutian County, Xinjiang
Yutian County ( zh, s= ), also transliterated from Uyghur as Keriya County ( ug, كېرىيە ناھىيىسى; zh, s= ), is a county in Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It is based at the Keriya Town, and is separate from Hotan County, which is another county in the same prefecture. The Yutian County has an area of . According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 220,000. The county is bounded on the north by Aksu Prefecture, on the east by Minfeng/Niya County, on the west by Qira County and on the south by the Rutog and Gertse counties of the Tibet Autonomous Region. Name The county derives its Chinese name from the Kingdom of Khotan. The name was written as '' at that time. This was later changed to '' (literally, Jade Field) following the adoption of Simplified Chinese and eventually to '' in 1959. The three names have a similar pronunciation in Mandarin Chinese. The original name of Hotan/Khotan is Gosthana/Gausthana/Gaustana, Gu-dana, G ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Qira County
Qira County ( Uyghur: ), alternatively Chira or Cele (from Mandarin Chinese), is a county in Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. Almost all the residents of the county are Uyghurs and live around oases situated between the desolate Taklamakan Desert and Kunlun Mountains. The county is bordered to the north by Aksu Prefecture, to the east by Yutian / Keriya County, to the northwest by Lop County, to the southwest by Hotan County including the China-India disputed Aksai Chin area and to the south by Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture in Tibet. History The sixth century Dandan Oilik oasis town archaeological site where Buddhist shrines and texts were discovered is located in the desert of northern Qira (Chira) County. Qira town (Chira), the town that is the current county seat of Qira County, has been forced to change locations on three occasions due to encroachment by the sands of the Taklamakan Desert. In his 1900-01 expedition in the region, Aurel Stein trav ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lop Nur
Lop Nur or Lop Nor (from a Mongolian name meaning "Lop Lake", where "Lop" is a toponym of unknown origin) is a former salt lake, now largely dried up, located in the eastern fringe of the Tarim Basin, between the Taklamakan and Kumtag deserts in the southeastern portion of the Xinjiang (Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region). Administratively, the lake is in Lop Nur town (), also known as Luozhong () of Ruoqiang County, which in its turn is part of the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture. The lake system into which the Tarim River and Shule River empty is the last remnant of the historical post-glacial Tarim Lake, which once covered more than in the Tarim Basin. Lop Nur is hydrologically endorheic – it is landbound and there is no outlet. The lake measured in 1928, but has dried up due to construction of dams which blocked the flow of water feeding into the lake system, and only small seasonal lakes and marshes may form. The dried-up Lop Nur Basin is covered with a salt cru ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ruoqiang County
Ruoqiang County () as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Uyghur as Qakilik County (; ), is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China under the administration of the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture. It covers an area of (about twice the size of Zhejiang province and similar to Kyrgyzstan or Senegal), making it the largest county-level division in the country. The county seat is in Ruoqiang Town. This is the location which less-detailed maps will label as "Ruoqiang". It lies at an altitude of . History The ancient settlement of Charklik was located in what is today Ruoqiang County. The Charkhlik Revolt took place here in 1935 when Uyghurs revolted against the Hui-dominated Tunganistan, which was controlled by the 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army). The Uyghurs were defeated. The county was established in 1902 as (''Ruòqiāng'', "recalcitrant Qiang"). In 1959, the less-offensive written form of "若羌" ("like the Qiang") ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hotan Railway Station
Hotan railway station () is a passenger railway station in Hotan, and is the main railway station of Hotan. It opened in 2011. History The station was completed on 28 June 2011. The station temporarily closed on 12 February 2014 due to the 2014 Yutian earthquake. Architecture The station building of Hotan Station has a modern and elegant shape. The outer wall is made of white granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro .... The front facade has white granite reliefs. The overall design fully reflects Hotan jade culture. The facade of the station building has a convex design. The main building has 3 floors. From bottom to top, there is the plaza floor, the platform floor, and the elevated floor. There are ticket halls and VIP halls on both sides, and there is a bridge ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and borders fourteen countries by land, the most of any country in the world, tied with Russia. Covering an area of approximately , it is the world's third largest country by total land area. The country consists of 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities, and two Special Administrative Regions (Hong Kong and Macau). The national capital is Beijing, and the most populous city and financial center is Shanghai. Modern Chinese trace their origins to a cradle of civilization in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. The semi-legendary Xia dynasty in the 21st century BCE and the well-attested Shang and Zhou dynasties developed a bureaucratic political system to serve hereditary monarchies, or dyna ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |