Korla

Korla 库尔勒市 · كورلا شەھىرى‎ Kurla, Ku’erle
County-level city
Location of Korla City (pink) in Bayin’gholin Prefecture (yellow) and Xinjiang
Korla Location of the city centre in Xinjiang
Coordinates (Korla municipal government): 41°43′33″N 86°10′29″ECoordinates: 41°43′33″N 86°10′29″E
Country	People’s Republic of China
Autonomous region	Xinjiang
Autonomous prefecture	Bayingolin
Area
• County-level city	7,219.48 km2 (2,787.46 sq mi)
• Urban [1]	246 km2 (95 sq mi)
Population  (2010)[2]
• County-level city	549,324
• Urban  (2018)[3]	770,000
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code	841000[4]
Area code(s)	0996
Website	http://www.xjkel.gov.cn/

Korla,^[5][6] also known as Kurla^{[7][8][9][10][11]} or from Mandarin Chinese as Ku’erle or Kuerle,^[6][12] is the second largest city in Xinjiang. It is a county-level city and the seat of the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, the largest prefecture of China.

Korla has existed since at least the Han Dynasty. Korla is known for its production of fragrant pears and is a production center for the Tarim oil fields.

History[edit]

Han Dynasty[edit]

Korla was known as Yuli (尉犁) (reconstructed pronunciation of first character: *i̯wəd)^[13] during the Han Dynasty. Yuli is said in the Hanshu or ‘History of the Former Han’ (covering the period 125 BCE to 23 CE), to have had 1,200 households, 9,600 individuals and 2,000 people able to bear arms. It also mentions that it adjoined Shanshan and Qiemo (Charchan) to the south.^[14]

In 61 CE, the Xiongnu led some 30,000 troops from 15 kingdoms including Korla, Karashahr, and Kucha in a successful attack on Khotan.

In 94 CE, the Chinese general Ban Chao sent soldiers to punish the kingdoms of Yanqi (Karashahr), Weixu (Hoxud), Yuli (Korla), and Shanguo (in the western Kuruk mountains).

“He then sent the heads of the two kings of Yanqi (Karashahr) and Yuli (Korla) to the capital where they were hung in front of the residences of the Man and Yi princes in the capital (Luoyang). (Ban) Chao then appointed Yuan Meng, who was the Yanqi (Karashahr) Marquis of the Left, king (of Kashgar). The kings of Yuli (Korla), Weixu (Hoxud), and Shanguo (in the western Kuruk mountains) were all replaced.”^[15]

After the rebellion of the “Western Regions” (106−125 CE), only the kings of Korla and Hoxud refused to submit to the Chinese. Ban Yong, the son of Ban Chao, along with the Governor of Dunhuang, attacked and defeated them.^[16]

Tarim Basin in the 3rd century

Three Kingdoms era[edit]

The 3rd century Weilüe records that Korla, Hoxud and Shanwang (Shanguo) were all dependencies of Karashahr.^[17]

Yettishar[edit]

The contemporaneous historian Musa Sayrami (1836–1917) stated that ruler Yaqub Beg of Yettishar was poisoned on May 30, 1877 in Korla by the former hakim (local city ruler) Niyaz Hakim Beg of Yarkand,^[18] although Niyaz Hakim Beg and other sources stated that his death was by suicide or in battle against the Qing dynasty.^[18][19]

Qing dynasty[edit]

Francis Younghusband, passed through “Korlia” in 1887 on his overland journey from Beijing to India. He described it as being prosperous and the country round about well-cultivated, with more land under cultivation than any other town he had passed. Maize seemed to be the major crop but rice was also grown. There was a small Chinese town, about 400 yards (370 m) square with mud walls about 35 feet (11 m) high and with a ditch. There were round bastions at the angles, but none at the gateway. A mile (1.6 km) south was the Turk town, but its walls were in ruins. It had one main street about 700 yards (640 m) long. “The shops are somewhat better than at Karashar, but not so good as at Turfan.” ^[20]

People’s Republic of China[edit]

Korla was incorporated as a city on September 30, 1979.^[21]

On January 8, 1965, more than 170 Chinese Communist cadres were immolated by Mongols during an anti-Communist riot at a state farm in Korla (Kurla).^[10]

In September 2019, drone video appeared which ASPI (a defense contractors-funded Australian think-tank) ^[22] alleged as showing the mass transfer of hundreds of ethnic minority prisoners, which drew the comment “deeply disturbing” from Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne in describing the video.^[23]

Geography[edit]

Korla is approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) southwest from Ürümqi, although, due to the intervening Tian Shan, the road distance is considerably greater.

The Iron Gate Pass (Tiemen Pass) leading to Karasahr is about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) north of the city and, as it was easily defended, playing an important part in protecting the ancient Silk Roads from raiding nomads from the north.

The Kaidu River, also known as the Konqi River or Kongque River, flows through the center of Korla, a unique feature amongst cities in Xinjiang. While the literal meaning of the Chinese name “Kongque River” is “Peacock River”, the name originates from a semantically distorted transliteration of the Uyghur name “Konqi Darya” which means “Tanner’s River”.^[24]

Climate[edit]

Korla has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWk) with extreme seasonal variation in temperature. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −7.0 °C (19.4 °F) in January to 26.4 °C (79.5 °F), and the annual mean is 11.66 °C (53.0 °F), which is still warmer than most locales at the same latitude further east in the country. Precipitation totals only 57 millimetres (2.2 in) annually, and mostly falls in summer, as compared to an annual evaporation rate of about 2,800 mm (110 in); there are about 3,000 hours of bright sunshine annually. The frost-free period averages 210 days. The period between April and October closely resembles subtropical climates, but the continental nature is facilitated by the rapid drop of temperatures going into winter.

Administrative divisions[edit]

Korla administers 7 subdistricts, 3 towns, 9 townships, 9 township-level state farms, and 2 Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps regiments.^[25]

Subdistricts[edit]

The city’s 7 subdistricts are Tuanjie Subdistrict [zh], Sayibage Subdistrict [zh], Tianshan Subdistrict [zh], Xincheng Subdistrict [zh], Jianshe Subdistrict [zh], Chaoyang Subdistrict, and Lixiang Subdistrict.^[25]

Towns[edit]

The city’s 3 towns are Tashidian, Shanghu [zh], and Xini’er [zh].^[25]

Townships[edit]

The city’s 9 townships are Tiekeqi Township [zh], Qia’erbage Township [zh], Yingxia Township [zh], Langan Township [zh], Heshilike Township [zh], Halayugong Township [zh], Awati Township [zh], Tuobuliqi Township [zh], and Puhui Township [zh].^[25]

Township-level state farms[edit]

The city’s 9 township-level state farms are Ku’erchu Horticultural Farm [zh], Baotouhu Farm [zh], Puhui Farm [zh], Bayingolin Awati Farm [zh], Bayingolin Shayidong Horticultural Farm [zh], Bayingolin Cattle Farm [zh], Puhui Ranch [zh], Jingji Ranch [zh], and Korla City Seed Farm [zh].^[25]

Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps regiments[edit]

The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps has 2 regiments within Korla: its 29th Regiment [zh] and its 30th Regiment [zh].^[25]

Demographics[edit]

In the 2010 Chinese Census, the city had a total population of 549,324 people, a significant increase from the 381,943 recorded in the 2000 Census.^[2] The city is home to 23 ethnic groups.^[21]

The city had 430,000 inhabitants in 2007, increasing with 20,000 people every year, majority of whom were Han Chinese, with a large minority of Uyghurs (about 100,000) and smaller numbers of Mongols and Huis.^{[citation needed]}

Economy[edit]

Old and new live side-by-side in Korla

Korla has long been the biggest centre in the region after Karashahr itself, having abundant water and extensive farmlands, as well as controlling the main routes to the south and west of Karashahr.^{[citation needed]} Due to the discovery of oil in the Taklamakan Desert, Korla is now both more populous and developed than Karashar.^{[citation needed]} PetroChina‘s Tarim oil fields operations are headquartered in Korla.^[21][26]

The city reported a fiscal revenue of 4.572 billion Yuan in 2019.^[21] In the same year, the city’s GDP grew 5.6%, fixed asset investment grew 10%, the public budget grew 5%, retail sales grew 8%, and the city’s CPI grew 2.3%.^[21]

Korla is known for its production of fragrant pears (库尔勒香梨).^[27]

A panorama of Korla

Transportation[edit]

Korla is served by the national highways G218, G314, the Southern Xinjiang Railway and the Korla Airport.^[27]

Cultural sights[edit]

Iron Gate Pass

The city’s main attractions include the Iron Gate Pass, Lotus Pond (莲花池), Sun Island (太阳岛), Princess Peak (公主峰), Yuzigan Old City (玉子干旧城), Tuowuqi Ancient City (托务其古城), Ailike Ancient City (爱力克古城), Ku’erchu Mound (库尔楚土墩), Jiamai Mosque (加麦清真寺), and Yeyungou Ruins (野云沟遗址).^[27]

See also[edit]

• Yuli County