Altay Prefecture

Not to be confused with the neighbouring Russian federal subject of Altai Republic and the other Russian federal subject of Altai Krai.

Altay Prefecture is located in Northern Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. It has an area of 118,015 km² (45,566 sq mi) and a population of 561,667 (2000). It is a part of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. As of the 2000 census, Altay was the only major subdivision of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture with an ethnic Kazakh majority (about 51%). In 2007, it had a GDP of RMB 9.9 billion with a 12% growth rate. It also shares an international border with the neighboring Altai Republic, located within Russia.

Altay Prefecture 阿勒泰地区 (Chinese) التاي ايماعى (Kazakh) ئالتاي ۋىلايىتى (Uyghur)
Prefecture
Black Irtysh river in Burqin County
Altay Prefecture (red) in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture (light red) and Xinjiang (orange)
Coordinates (Altay City): 47.83°N 88.13°E / 47.83; 88.13
Country	People's Republic of China
Province	Xinjiang
Sub-provincial	Ili Prefecture
Seat	Altay City
Area
• Prefecture	117,710 km2 (45,450 sq mi)
• Metro	10,826 km2 (4,180 sq mi)
Population  (2020 census)
• Prefecture	648,173
• Density	5.5/km2 (14/sq mi)
• Metro	221,454
• Metro density	20/km2 (53/sq mi)
GDP[1]
• Prefecture	CN¥ 33.9 billion US$ 4.9 billion
• Per capita	CN¥ 51,524 US$ 7,469
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
ISO 3166 code	CN-XJ-43
Website	Altay Prefecture Government

Altay Prefecture
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	阿勒泰地区
Traditional Chinese	阿勒泰地區
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Ālètài Dìqū Wade–Giles A¹-lê⁴-tʻai⁴ Ti⁴-chʻü¹ other Mandarin Xiao'erjing اَلَ‌تَیْ دِکِیُوِ
Uyghur name
Uyghur	ئالتاي ۋىلايىتى‎
Transcriptions Latin Yëziqi Altay Wilayiti Yengi Yeziⱪ Altay Vilayiti SASM/GNC Altay Vilayiti Siril Yëziqi Алтай Вилайити
Kazakh name
Kazakh	التاي ايماعى Altaı Aımaǵy

Altay is considered the birthplace of skiing, based on 10,000 to 30,000 year old cave paintings depicting skiers.^[2][3]

Geography

Both the Irtysh River and the Ulungur River run through the prefecture. The Kanas Lake and Ulungur Lake reside in the north.

The Altay Prefecture has an average elevation of 1,408 meters; with a minimum elevation of 246 meters and a maximum of 4, 178 meters. ^[4]

Subdivisions

The prefecture is divided into one county-level city and six counties.

#	Name	Hanzi	Hanyu Pinyin	Uyghur (UEY)	Uyghur Latin (ULY)	Kazakh (Arabic script)	Kazakh Latin alphabet	Population (2020 Census)	Area (km2)	Density (/km2)
1	Altay City	阿勒泰市	Ālètài Shì	ئالتاي شەھىرى	Altay Shehiri	التاي قالاسى	Altaı qalasy	221,454	10,826	20.46
2	Burqin County	布尔津县	Bù'ěrjīn Xiàn	بۇرچىن ناھىيىسى	Burchin Nahiyisi	بۋىرشىن اۋدانى	Býyrshyn aýdany	72,894	10,345	7.05
3	Fuyun County[5]	富蕴县	Fùyùn Xiàn	كوكتوقاي ناھىيىسى	Koktoqay Nahiyisi	كوكتوعاي اۋدانى	Kóktoǵaı aýdany	99,748	32,209	3.10
4	Fuhai County[5]	福海县	Fúhǎi Xiàn	بۇرۇلتوقاي ناھىيىسى	Burultoqay Nahiyisi	بۋرىلتوعاي اۋدانى	Buryltoǵaı aýdany	75,537	33,261	2.27
5	Habahe County[5]	哈巴河县	Hābāhé Xiàn	قابا ناھىيىسى	Qaba Nahiyisi	قابا اۋدانى	Qaba aýdany	82,524	8,181	10.09
6	Qinghe County[5]	青河县	Qīnghé Xiàn	چىڭگىل ناھىيىسى	Chinggil Nahiyisi	شىڭگىل اۋدانى	Shińgil aýdany	61,680	15,743	3.92
7	Jeminay County	吉木乃县	Jímùnǎi Xiàn	جېمىنەي ناھىيىسى	Jëminey Nahiyisi	جەمەنەي اۋدانى	Jemeneı aýdany	34,336	7,146	4.80

Demographics

Ethnic composition in Altay Prefecture Ethnic groups Proportion / % Ethnic Minority (Non-Han) Combined   60.15% Kazakhs   52.76% Han   39.85% Hui   3.82% Uyghurs   1.42% Mongols   0.99% Others   1.16% Source of the population statistics :[6]

Administration

Secretary of the Party Committee

• Zhang Yan
• Mar.2017–

Administrative Commissioner

1. Mawken Seyitqamzaüli 2003 – 2007
2. Aitzhanuly Sabir
3. Talgat Usen zh:塔里哈提·吾逊 2012? — 1 April 2017
4. Qadan Käbenuly 1 April 2017 — April 2021
5. Zhenis Khadis 2021 – ?
6. Aydyn Toleukhanuly