Yengisar County, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (also known as Yangi Hissar); via

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...

known as Yingjisha, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Ying-chi-sha), is a county in the southwest of the

Xinjiang Uyghur 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 ...

. It is under the administration of the

Kashgar Prefecture Kashgar Prefecture, also known as Kashi Prefecture, is located in southwestern Xinjiang, China, located in the Tarim Basin region (roughly the southern half of Xinjiang). It has an area of and 4,499,158 inhabitants at the 2015 census with a pop ...

. It contains an area of . As of the 2002 census, it had a population of 230,000. The county seat is the city of Yengisar, a town that is best known among the local

Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia, Cent ...

for its handmade knives. The finely-tuned skill of knife making used to be passed down among generations in Yengisar, but is slowly dying due to China's strict response to deadly clashes in the Xinjiang region.

History

In 1499, Ahmad Alaq seized

Kashgar Kashgar ( ug, قەشقەر, Qeshqer) or Kashi ( zh, c=喀什) is an oasis city in the Tarim Basin region of Southern Xinjiang. It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. ...

and Yengisar from Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat. In 1847 and again in 1857, Kashgar and Yengisar were captured. In 1882, Yengisar ''Zhili Ting'' () was created. In 1913, Yengisar ''Zhili Ting'' became Yengisar County. The Battle of Yangi Hissar took place here in April 1934, when

Ma Zhancang Ma Zhancang (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a Hui Chinese Muslim general of the New 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army), who served under Generals Ma Zhongying and Ma Hushan. At the Battle of Kashgar (1933), he repulsed an attack of Uighurs led ...

led the

Chinese Muslim Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui Muslims are the most num ...

36th division to attack the Turkic Muslim Uighur forces at Yangi Hissar, wiping out the entire Uighur force of 500 and killing the Emir

Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra ( ug, (Kona Yëziq) نۇر ئەخمەتجان بۇغرا, نور احمد جان بغرا; zh, s=努尔·阿合买提江·布格拉, t=努爾·阿合買提江·布格拉, p=Nǔ'ěr·Āhémǎitíjiāng·Bùgélā; died April 1 ...

. In 1955, Barin, Jamaterek and

Ujme Ujme / Ojma ( or Yumai ) is a township of Akto County in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. Located in the northeast of the county, the township covers an area of 194 square kilometers with a population of 26,107 (as of 2015). It has 15 a ...

were transferred from Yengisar County to

Akto County Akto County (also known as Aqtu, Aktu, or Aketao; ) is a county in Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The county borders Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and has two towns, 11 townships, four state-owned far ...

. In September 2017, Horigul Nasir, then 21, was jailed for ten years for allegedly promoting the wearing of head scarves. Her brother Yusupjan Nasir was subsequently demoted from his position as an assistant officer of the Saghan township police office to a security guard at the township's Family Planning Department.

Administrative Divisions

, Yengisar County included four

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an or ...

, ten townships, and two other areas: Town ( / ) *

Yengisar Town Yengisar County, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (also known as Yangi Hissar); via Mandarin Chinese known as Yingjisha, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Ying-chi-sha), is a county in the southwest of ...

(Yingjisha; / ), Ulugqat (Wuqia, Ulughchat; / , formerly 乌恰乡), Mangshin (Mangxin; / , formerly / ), Saghan (Sahan; , formerly / ) Township ( / ) * Sheher Township (Chengguan; / ), Qolpan Township (Qiaolepan, Cholpan; / ), Lompa Township (Longfu; / ), Siyitle Township (Setili; / 色提力乡), Yengiyer Township (Yingye'er; / ),

Qizil Township Qizil may refer to: * Kizil Caves, in Baicheng County (Bay), Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, China * Qizil, Iran Qazal ( fa, قزل, also Romanized as Qezel; also known as Qizil) is a village in Poshtdarband Rural District, in the Central District of K ...

(Kezile; / ), Topluq Township (Tuopuluke; / ), Soget Township (Sugaiti; / ), Egus Township (Aigusi; / ), Egizyer Township (Yigeziye'er; / / ) Others *

Yengisar County Dongfeng Farm Yengisar County, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (also known as Yangi Hissar); via Mandarin Chinese known as Yingjisha, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (Ying-chi-sha), is a county in the southwest of ...

(英吉沙县东风农场), Regiment Dongfeng Farm (兵团东风农场)

Climate

Economy

, there was about 72,700 acres (480,014 '' mu'') of cultivated land in Yengisar.

Demographics

As of 2015, 297,290 of the 302,542 residents of the county were Uyghur, 25,404 were

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...

and 851 were from other ethnic groups. As of 1999, 97.82% of the population of Yengisar (Yingjisha) County was Uyghur and 1.79% of the population was Han Chinese.

Transportation

Yengisar is served by

China National Highway 315 Constructed in 1954, the Qinghai-Xinjiang Highway, also known as the China National Highway 315 (G315) runs west from Xining, Qinghai towards Kashgar, Xinjiang. It is in length. In 1994 the departments of communication and transportation in Qingh ...

and the Southern Xinjiang railway.

Wildlife

The city of Yengisar gave its name to Yangihissar gecko (''Cyrtopodion elongatum'') lizard species, which occurs throughout eastern

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

, including Xinjiang and

Gansu Province Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

br>

Notable persons

* Isa Alptekin, Uyghur nationalist *

Erkin Alptekin Erkin Alptekin (; ; born 4 July 1939) is a Uyghur activist from Germany. Alptekin is the son of Isa Alptekin, who claimed that during 1933–1934, he was the General Secretary of the First East Turkestan Republic in Western China when in reali ...

, 1st President of the

World Uyghur Congress The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) is an international organization of exiled Uyghur groups that claims to "represent the collective interest of the Uyghur people" both inside and outside of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's ...

Arken Imirbaki Arken Imirbaki ( ug, ئاركەن ئىمىرباكى, lat=, zh, s=艾力更·依明巴海, p=Àilìgēng Yīmíngbāhǎi; born September 1953) is a Chinese politician of Uyghur ethnicity. Biography Arken was born in September 1953 in Yengis ...

* Yulbars Khan

Gallery

File:KKH.png, Map of the

Karakoram Highway The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...

including Yengisar File:NJ-43-7 Ying-Chi-Sha, China.jpg, Map including Yengisar (labeled as YING-CHI-SHA) (

ACIC The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) is a law enforcement agency established by the Australian federal government on 1 July 2016, following the merger of the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and CrimTrac. It has specialist i ...

, 1969) File:STANFORD(1917) p61 PLATE19. SINKIANG (14597194848).jpg, Map including Yengisar (labeled as Yangihissar) (1917) File:Txu-oclc-6654394-nj-43-5th-ed.jpg, Map including Yengisar (labeled as YING-CHI-SHA (YANGI HISSAR)) and surrounding region from the International Map of the World ( AMS, 1966) File:Operational Navigation Chart G-7, 6th edition.jpg, From the Operational Navigation Chart; map including Yengisar (Ying-chi-sha) (

DMA DMA may refer to: Arts * DMA (magazine), ''DMA'' (magazine), a defunct dance music magazine * Dallas Museum of Art, an art museum in Texas, US * Danish Music Awards, an award show held in Denmark * BT Digital Music Awards, an annual event in the U ...

, 1980) File:Txu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566 g-7a.jpg, Map including Yengisar (Ying-chi-sha) (

, 1984) File:Yengisar Knife Factory.jpg, Yengisar Knife Factory File:抵达英吉沙县.jpg, Yengisar

File:英吉沙街景 - Streetview of Yengisar County - 2015.04 - panoramio.jpg

Notes

References

{{Coord, 38, 55, 33, N, 76, 10, 17, E, source:trwiki_region:CN-65_type:adm3rd, display=title County-level divisions of Xinjiang Populated places along the Silk Road Kashgar Prefecture