Oksalur Township (ئوقسالۇر يېزىسى / Wuheshalu, ) is a

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

Ulugqat County Ulugqat County (also known as Ulughchat County and Wuqia County; ) is a county in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. It is under the administration of the Kyrgyz autonomous prefecture of Kizilsu. The county has two towns, nine townships an ...

(Wuqia) in

Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture Kizilsu (also as Kezilesu; ; ug, قىزىلسۇ قىرغىز ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى; Kyrgyz: , , , ) is an autonomous prefecture of Kyrgyz people in the west of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, bordering with Kyrgyzstan and T ...

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

, China. Located in the southwest of the county, the township covers an area of 1,745.5 square kilometers with a population of 1,031 (as of 2017). It has 2

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

under its jurisdiction. Its seat is at Qat Village (). Oksalur Township is located 35 kilometers west of the county seat

Wuqia Town Wuqia Town () is a town and the county seat of Wuqia County in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. Located in the middle east of the county, the town covers an area of 288 square kilometers with a population of 13,898 (as of 2017). It has 5 ...

. It is adjacent to Kiziloy Township in the east, Boritokay Township in the south and

Ulugqat Township Ulugqat Township (ئۇلۇغچات يېزىسى ) is a township of Ulugqat County (Wuqia) in Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. Located in the middle north of the county, the township covers an area of 3 ...

in the northwest, and borders with the

Kyrgyz Republic Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east ...

in the west with a boundary line of 7 kilometers. There are 2

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

es and a river connecting with Kyrgyzstan.

Name

The word Oksalur (ئوقسالۇر) comes from the

Kyrgyz language Kyrgyz (; autonym: , tr. ''Kyrgyz tili'', ) is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch spoken in Central Asia. Kyrgyz is the official language of Kyrgyzstan and a significant minority language in the Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture in X ...

, which means '

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...

s in the chamber (of a gun)' or 'bullet in the bore (of a gun)'- ''Ok'' (ئوق), transliterated into Chinese characters as ''Wuhe'' (吾合) means 'bullet'. According to local tradition, there were numerous battles in this place, and the commanders ordered the locals' guns to be loaded with bullets. The name Oksalur is transliterated into Chinese characters as Wuheshalu (). In

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

maps of

Shufu County Shufu County, also transliterated from Uyghur as Konaxahar County or Konasheher County/Kona Sheher County, is a county in Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It contains an area of . According to the 2002 census, it ha ...

, Oksalur is transliterated into Chinese characters as ''Wohusulu'' ().

History

Oksalur was part of the 2nd district of Wuqia County in 1950. Oksalur Commune () was formed in 1958. In 1968 during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, the commune was renamed Weidong Commune (). The original name was restored in 1980, and the commune was reorganized as a township in 1984. In early 2017, a security checkpoint was set up outside the door of the Oksalur Township border guard office.

Geography

Oksalur is located on the northern bank of the

Kezi River Kezi may refer to: * Kezi, Iran * Kezi, Zimbabwe See also * KEZI Kezi may refer to: * Kezi, Iran * Kezi, Zimbabwe See also * KEZI Kezi may refer to: * Kezi, Iran * Kezi, Zimbabwe Khezi is a village in Matobo District, Matabeleland South provin ...

southwest of the county seat. There is a scrubland along the

including many

sea buckthorn ''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 ...

Settlements

The township has 2

administrative village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

s and 3

unincorporated village An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

s under its jurisdiction. * Qat Village (Qiati, ) meaning 'fork in the road' or 'junction' () * Oksalur Village (ئوقسالۇر كەنت / Wuheshalu, ) ** Maraltokay ()

Demographics

, the population of Kiziloy was 98%

Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...

Economy

The economy of Oksalur is based on agriculture and animal husbandry.

Transportation

Public roads to the north connect Oksalur to the road between

and

Artux Artux, Artush ( ug, ئاتۇش شەھىرى; ky, ارتىش, Артыш, Artysh), and officially rendered as Atuş ( zh, s=阿图什市, p=Ātúshí Shì),The official spelling according to is a county-level city and the capital of the Kyrgyz au ...

References

{{Administrative divisions of Wuqia County Township-level divisions of Wuqia County