Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture

Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture^{[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]} is an autonomous prefecture in western Xinjiang, China, bordering Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Its capital is Artux. The prefecture is home to 622,222 people (as of 2020^[update]) and covers an area of 70,916 km² (27,381 sq mi). Most Kyrgyz in China reside in Kizilsu; they make up a little over a quarter of the prefecture's population. The Uyghurs are the largest ethnic group in Kizilsu, consisting of nearly two-thirds of the population.

Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture
Autonomous prefecture
Name transcription(s)
• Chinese	克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治州
• Uyghur	قىزىلسۇ قىرغىز ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى
• Kyrgyz	قىزىلسۇۇ قىرعىز اپتونوم وبلاسى
Kyrgyz yurts in Bulungkol, Akto County
Kizilsu Prefecture (red) in Xinjiang (orange)
Country	People's Republic of China
Region	Xinjiang
Capital	Artux
Area
• Total	70,916 km2 (27,381 sq mi)
Elevation [1]	1,150−7,000+ m (3,800−23,000+ ft)
Population  (2020 Census)
• Total	622,222
• Density	8.8/km2 (23/sq mi)
Demographics
• Major ethnic groups	66.2% Uyghurs 26.2% Kyrgyz 6.2% Han Chinese
GDP[2]
• Total	CN¥ 15.9 billion US$ 2.3 billion
• Per capita	CN¥ 25,556 US$ 3,698
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
ISO 3166 code	CN-XJ-30
Website	www.xjkz.gov.cn (in Chinese)

Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	克孜勒蘇柯爾克孜自治州
Simplified Chinese	克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治州
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Kèzīlèsū Kē'ěrkèzī Zìzhìzhōu Wade–Giles Kʻo4-tzŭ1-lê4-su1 Kʻo1-êrh3-kʻo4-tzŭ1 Tzŭ4-chih4-chou1 other Mandarin Xiao'erjing كْذِلْصُوَع كْعَركْذِ ذِجِجِوْ
Uyghur name
Uyghur	قىزىلسۇ قىرغىز ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى‎
Transcriptions Latin Yëziqi Qizilsu Qirghiz Aptonom Oblasti Yengi Yeziⱪ K̡izilsu K̡irƣiz Aptonom Oblasti SASM/GNC K̂izilsu K̂irĝiz Aptonom Oblasti Siril Yëziqi Қизилсу Қирғиз аптоном области
Kyrgyz name
Kyrgyz	قىزىلسۇۇ قىرعىز اپتونوم وبلاسى Кызылсуу Кыргыз аптоном обласы Kyzylsuu Kyrgyz aptonom oblasy

Etymology

For other uses, see Kyzyl-Suu (disambiguation).

The name Kizilsu (also spelled Kezilesu, derived from Chinese pinyin^[4][5]) refers to the Kezi River and means "red water" in the Kyrgyz language.^[6] Kiziloy, Kizilto, and the Kizil Caves are nearby places that also use the prefix kizil (red).

History

Kizilsu was within the territory of the First East Turkestan Republic, which lasted from November 1933 to April 1934. The establishment of the short-lived breakaway state was thanks in part to a political and military alliance between Uyghurs and Kyrgyz in western Xinjiang.

The Southern Xinjiang Administrative Office of the People's Republic of China established the Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Region on 14 July 1954. The autonomous region was reorganised as an autonomous prefecture in February 1955.^[7][1]

In 1955, the townships of Barin, Jamaterek, and Ujme were transferred from Yengisar County to Akto County, as was Bulungkol from Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Kashgar Prefecture.^[8]

In April 1990, a protest in Barin against Chinese rule in Xinjiang escalated into an armed insurrection, in what came to be known as the Barin uprising or Barin riot.^[9]

Subdivisions

Map including the westernmost point of China (DMA, 1982)

Kizilsu directly administers 1 county-level city and 3 counties.

(Note: This map does not reflect changes to the China–Tajikistan border.)
#	Name	Simplified Chinese	Hanyu Pinyin	Uyghur (UEY)	Uyghur Latin (ULY)	Kyrgyz (Arabic script)	Kyrgyz (Cyrillic script)	Kyrgyz Latin transcription	Population (2020 Census)	Area (km2)	Density (km2)
1	Artux	阿图什市	Ātúshí Shì	ئاتۇش شەھىرى	Atush Shehiri	ارتىش شاارى	Артыш шаары	Artysh shaary	290,936	15,698	18.53
2	Akto County	阿克陶县	Ākètáo Xiàn	ئاقتو ناھىيىسى	Aqto Nahiyisi	ﺍﻗﺘﻮﻭ وودانى	Актоо ооданы	Aktoo oodany	226,005	24,555	9.20
3	Akqi County	阿合奇县	Āhéqí Xiàn	ئاقچى ناھىيىسى	Aqchi Nahiyisi	اقچىي وودانى	Акчий ооданы	Akchiy oodany	44,369	11,545	3.84
4	Wuqia County[10]	乌恰县	Wūqià Xiàn	ئۇلۇغچات ناھىيىسى	Ulughchat Nahiyisi	ۇلۇۇچات وودانى	Улуучат ооданы	Uluuchat oodany	60,912	19,118	3.19

Demographics

According to the 2020 census, Kizilsu has 622,222 inhabitants with a population density of 6.36 inhabitants per km². Most Kyrgyz in China (80 per cent) reside in Kizilsu.^[11] As of 2013^[update], 27 per cent of the inhabitants of the prefecture were Kyrgyz.^[12]

Population by ethnicity

Nationality	2000[13]		2010[14]		2018[15]
	Population	%	Population	%	Population	%
Uyghur	281,306	63.98%	339,926	64.68%	413,655	66.24%
Kyrgyz	124,533	28.32%	143,582	27.32%	163,863	26.24%
Han	28,197	6.41%	35,629	6.78%	39,292	6.29%
Tajiks	4,662	1.06%	5,547	1.06%	6,097	0.98%
Hui	432	0.10%	447	0.08%	586	0.09%
Uzbek			44	0.01%	196	0.03%
Kazakhs			88	0.02%	180	0.03%
Manchu			33	0.01%	86	0.01%
Mongol			40	0.01%	66	0.01%
Tatars					35	0.01%
Sibe					33	0.01%
Russians					5	<0.01%
Daur					2	<0.01%
Tibetan			51	0.01%
Tujia			49	0.01%
Others	558	0.13%	134	0.03%	400	0.06%
Total	439,688	100%	525,570	100%	624,496	100%

Government

Party secretary

• Yan Fenxin [zh]
• Zeng Cun [zh]
• Zhang Jinbiao
• Liu Huijun [zh]^[16]
• An Zhengyu

Governor

• Horigul Jappar (1998–2006)^[17]
• Perhat Turdi (2007–2016)
• Dilshat Kidirhan (2017–present)^[16]

Notes

1. "Kyrgyz" is spelled "Kirgiz" by the Chinese government.^[3]
2. • Chinese: 克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治州; pinyin: Kèzīlèsū Kē'ěrkèzī Zìzhìzhōu
   • Uyghur: قىزىلسۇ قىرغىز ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى, romanized: Qizilsu Qirghiz Aptonom Oblasti
   • Kyrgyz: قىزىلسۇۇ قىرعىز اپتونوم وبلاسى, romanized: Kyzylsuu Kyrgyz aptonom oblasy

References

1. 夏征农; 陈至立, eds. (September 2009). 辞海：第六版彩图本 [Cihai (Sixth Edition in Color)] (in Chinese). 上海. Shanghai: 上海辞书出版社. Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House. p. 1246. ISBN 9787532628599.
2. "克孜勒苏州2019年国民经济和社会发展统计公报" (in Chinese). 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
3. "The Kirgiz ethnic minority". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. Retrieved 3 September 2020. The Kirgiz ethnic minority, with a population of 143,500, finds 80 per cent of its inhabitants in the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture in the southwestern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
4. "Addition of Certain Entities to the Entity List". Federal Register. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020. Kezilesu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture Public Security Bureau, including one alias (Kizilsu Autonomous Prefecture Public Security Bureau)
5. Eset Sulaiman, Paul Eckert (11 September 2017). "China Runs Region-wide Re-education Camps in Xinjiang for Uyghurs And Other Muslims". Radio Free Asia. Translated by Eset Sulaiman. Retrieved 21 September 2020. The officer from Ujme Township in Aktu (Aketao in Chinese) County, Kizilsu (Kezilesu) prefecture ...
6. Ole Olufsen (1904). Through the Unknown Pamirs. William Heinemann. p. 5 – via Internet Archive. The Kizilsu Surkhab (Kizilsu being Turkish for Red Water, and Surkhab the Persian for Red Water) has its source near the psas of Ton Murum in Transalai, and, with it broad fertile valley, forms the boundary between the Alai mountains and Transalai, the most northerly range of Pamir.
7. 克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治州历史沿革 [Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture Historical Development] (in Simplified Chinese). XZQH.org. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 6 September 2020. 1949年，新疆和平解放，境内阿合奇县辖于新疆省阿克苏专区，阿图什、乌恰等县辖于喀什专区。1954年7月，以柯尔克孜族为自治民族的克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治州成立。至此，克孜勒苏才形成一个统一的地区级行政建置。
8. Xie Yuzhong 解玉忠 (2003). 地名中的新疆 (in Simplified Chinese). Ürümqi: 新疆人民出版社. pp. 191–93. ISBN 7-228-08004-1.
9. Guo, Rongxing (15 July 2015). "Uyghur unrest and Xinjiang: Narrative". China's Spatial (Dis)integration: Political Economy of the Interethnic Unrest in Xinjiang. Chandos Publishing. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-0-08-100403-6.
10. The official spelling according to 中国地名录. Beijing: SinoMaps Press (中国地图出版社). 1997. ISBN 7-5031-1718-4.
11. "Kirgiz ethnic group". State Council Information Office. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2020. The Kirgiz ethnic minority, with a population of 160,823, finds 80 percent of its inhabitants in the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture in the southwestern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
12. "Central Officials Visit Kizilsu Region ahead of Xinjiang Autonomy Anniversary". China Central Television Video News Agency. 28 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2020 – via YouTube. Top Chinese political adviser Yu Zhengsheng visited China's westernmost Kizilsu region on Monday, as China prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
    Bordering Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Kizilsu is the only Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture in the country. Some 27 percent of the local population was Kyrgyz in 2013, local government figures show.
13. 2000年人口普查中国民族人口资料. Publishing House of Minority Nationalities. 2003. ISBN 7-105-05425-5.
14. Stanley W. Toops (August 2012). Susan M. Walcott; Corey Johnson (eds.). Eurasian Corridors of Interconnection: From the South China to the Caspian Sea. Routledge. pp. 65–66. ISBN 978-1135078751.
15. 3-7 各地、州、市、县(市)分民族人口数 [3-7 Population by Nationality by Prefecture, State, City and County (City)]. tjj.xinjiang.gov.cn (in Chinese). Statistical Bureau of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. 10 June 2020. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
16. Eset Sulaiman, Roseanne Gerin (12 April 2017). "Authorities Urge Kyrgyz Herdsmen to Spy on Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang". Radio Free Asia. Translated by Mamatjan Juma. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
17. "Yueerguli Jiapaer 约尔古丽·加帕尔". China Vitae. Archived from the original on 29 July 2019.

External links

• Official site (in Simplified Chinese)

39.71°N 76.17°E / 39.71; 76.17