Yutian County ( zh, s= ), also transliterated from Uyghur as Keriya County ( ug, كېرىيە ناھىيىسى; zh, s= ), is a county in

Hotan Prefecture Hotan PrefectureThe official spelling is "Hotan" according to (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is located in the Tarim Basin region of southwestern Xinjiang, China, bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region ...

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 ...

, China. It is based at the

Keriya Town Keriya Town or Mugala Town is a town in Yutian (Keriya) County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, China, on the old Southern Silk Road. As the commercial and administrative centre of Keriya County, it is about 166 km east of Hotan, 80 km east ...

, and is separate from

Hotan County Hotan County (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a county in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. Almost all the residents of t ...

, 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 Aksu PrefectureThe official spelling according to is located in mid-Western Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. It has an area of and 2.37 million inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 535,657 lived in the built-up (or metro) area made up of A ...

, on the east by Minfeng/Niya County, on the west by

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 ...

and on the south by the Rutog and Gertse counties of the

Tibet Autonomous Region The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a Provinces of China, province-level Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China in Southwest China. I ...

Name

The county derives its Chinese name from the

Kingdom of Khotan The Kingdom of Khotan was an ancient Buddhist Saka kingdom located on the branch of the Silk Road that ran along the southern edge of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin (modern Xinjiang, China). The ancient capital was originally sited to ...

. The name was written as '' at that time. This was later changed to '' (literally, Jade Field) following the adoption of

Simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions, ...

and eventually to '' in 1959. The three names have a similar pronunciation in

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 of ...

. The original name of Hotan/Khotan is Gosthana/Gausthana/Gaustana, Gu-dana, Godana or Godaniya, the name used in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

cosmological texts and also how the area is historically referred to as. Gosthana/Gausthana/Gaustana/Godana/Godaniya translates to "land of cows" in Sanskrit. The pronunciation changed over the years to Kho-tan. However, the Tibetans continue to call it Gosthana, which also carries the meaning of "land of cows". Keriya, the English-language form of the Uyghur name for the county, is derived from the name of the

Keriya River The Keriya River is a river in the province of Xinjiang in China. It flows for from the Kunlun Shan mountain range north into the endorheic Tarim Basin, but is lost in the desert several hundred kilometers south of the Tarim River. The only majo ...

. Yutian County is dubbed the "Home of Jade".

History

The ancient name of Keriya was Yumi (扜彌, Gyuymi, Umi). The name Yumi was used by the Chinese envoy

Zhang Qian Zhang Qian (; died c. 114) was a Chinese official and diplomat who served as an imperial envoy to the world outside of China in the late 2nd century BC during the Han dynasty. He was one of the first official diplomats to bring back valuable inf ...

in his 125 BCE report on his embassy's travels. Yutian County () was formed in 1882, its administrative center was Karakash, and Keriya was only a post station. In 1885, the administrative center of the county was moved to Keriya.

Aurel Stein Sir Marc Aurel Stein, ( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at ...

travelled along the

in his early 20th century expeditions in the region. In 1920, the area was part of ''Hotan Dao'' (). In 1950, the area was part of ''Hotan Special Area'' (). In 1959, the Chinese character name for the county was set as ''. In 1977, the area became part of Hotan Prefecture. In November 1980, the Yutian hydroelectric plant, located on the

, went into operation. On March 21, 2008, the county was at the epicenter of a 7.1/7.3 magnitude earthquake. In February 2014, the county was at the epicenter of the 6.8 magnitude 2014 Yutian earthquake. No injuries or deaths were reported. In 2018, the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

reported that the Yutian county vocational training centre, among the largest of the

Xinjiang re-education camps The Xinjiang internment camps, officially called vocational education and training centers ( zh, 职业技能教育培训中心, Zhíyè jìnéng jiàoyù péixùn zhōngxīn) by the government of China, are internment camps operated by ...

, had opened a forced labour facility including eight factories spanning shoemaking, mobile phone assembly and tea packaging, giving a base monthly salary of ￥1,500 ($220). Between 2016 and 2018, the centre expanded 269 percent in total area. In 2018, Regiment 225 (, part of Kunyu, was listed as part of the county.

Administrative divisions

As of 2018, the county includes two

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 ori ...

and thirteen

townships 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 ...

: Towns: *

(Mugala; / ), Xambabazar (Xianbai Bazha; / ) Townships: *Jay (Jiayi; / ), Kokyar (Kekeya, K'o-k'o-ya; / ), Aral (Arele; / ), Arix (Arixi, Arish; / ), Bogazlanggar (Langan, Lengger; / ), Siyak (Siyeke, Siyek; / ), Tagdaxman (Tuogeri Gazi; / ), Karaki (Kalake'er, Qarqi; / ), Oytograk (Aoyituo Gelake, Oytoghraq, Wo-t'o-la-k'o, Ao-i-t'o-ko-la-k'o; / ), Aqqan (Aqiang, Achchan; / ), Yengibag (Yingbage; / ), Shiwol (Xiwule; / ), Darya Boyi (Daliya Buyi, Deryaboyi, Daliya Boyi; / /) Others: * National (Kunlun) Sheep Farm (), Yutian Prison (), Regiment 225 (, part of Kunyu)

Climate

Economy

The county is known for its production of

jade Jade is a mineral used as jewellery or for ornaments. It is typically green, although may be yellow or white. Jade can refer to either of two different silicate minerals: nephrite (a silicate of calcium and magnesium in the amphibole group of ...

. Agriculture and livestock farming in the county produces corn, wheat, rice, cotton, grapes and melons. Industries in the county include jade mining, cotton ginning, tractor repair and preserved fruit processing.

Demographics

As of 2015, 277,206 of the 282,182 residents of the county were Uyghur, 4,678 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 va ...

and 298 were from other ethnic groups. In the late 2010s,

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

made up 98.3% of the population of the county. As of 1999, 98.56% of the population of Keriya (Yutian) County was Uyghur and 1.37% of the population was Han Chinese.

Transportation

* China National Highway 315 * Yutian Wanfang Airport

Notable persons

Kurban Tulum Kurban Tulum ( ug, قۇربان تۇلۇم, translit=qurban tulum, ; 1883 – May 26, 1975), also called Uncle Kurban (), was a Uyghur who lived in Yutian County, Xinjiang, China in what was the Keriya oasis. He has been promoted by the Communi ...

, promoted by the Communist Party of China as a symbol of unity with the Uyghurs

Gallery

File:Johnson-journey-ilchi1865-mapa.jpg, Map including Kiriá (1865) File:Txu-oclc-6654394-nj-44-3rd-ed.jpg, Map including Yutian (labeled as YÜ-TIEN (KERIYA) (YÜ-T'IEN)) and surrounding region in the

International Map of the World The International Map of the World or IMW (also called the Millionth Map of the World, after its scale of 1:1 000 000) was a project to create a complete map of the world according to internationally agreed standards. It was first proposed by th ...

( USATC, 1971) File:NJ-44-15 Yu-Tien China.jpg, Map including Keriya (labeled as YÜ-TIEN (YUT'IEN) ( ATC, 1971) File:Txu-oclc-6654394-ni-44-3rd-ed.jpg, Map including the southern part of Yutian/Keriya County and the county's border with Tibet (

AMS AMS or Ams may refer to: Organizations Companies * Alenia Marconi Systems * American Management Systems * AMS (Advanced Music Systems) * ams AG, semiconductor manufacturer * AMS Pictures * Auxiliary Medical Services Educational institutions * A ...

, 1950) File:Operational Navigation Chart G-7, 6th edition.jpg, Map including Yutian (labeled as YUTIAN (YÜ-T'IEN)) and surrounding region ( DMA, 1980)