Іле Қазақ Автономдық Облысы: Тарихы мен Географиясы

Autonomous prefecture in northern Xinjiang, China

Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in northern Xinjiang, China. Its capital is Yining, also known as Ghulja or Kulja. Covering an area of 268,591 square kilometres (16.18 per cent of Xinjiang), Ili Prefecture shares a 2,019 kilometre long border with Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Russia. There are nine ports of entry in Ili Prefecture at the national level, including Jeminay and Khorgas. Directly administered regions (直辖区域) within the prefecture cover 56,622 square kilometres (21.08 per cent of Ili's total area) and have a population of 4,930,600 (63.95 per cent of Ili's registered population). Kazakhs in China are the second largest ethnicity in the prefecture after the Han, and make up a little over a quarter of the population. Ili is the only prefecture level division that has other prefecture level divisions (Altay and Tacheng Prefectures) under its administration. The term "sub provincial autonomous prefecture" (副省级自治州) has often been applied to Ili, but it has no legal basis under Chinese law and is a misnomer.

Before the advent of the Qin dynasty (221BC – 206BC), Ili was inhabited by the Wusuns, a tributary tribe of the Huns. The Wusuns were driven away in the 6th century AD by the northern Xiongnu, who established the First Turkic Khaganate in 552. The area later became a dependency of Dzungaria. During the Tang dynasty (618–907), the khanate became the Protectorate General to Pacify the West of the Tang Empire. Ili came under the control of the Uyghur Khaganate in the 8th and 9th centuries, the Qara Khitai in the 12th century, and Genghis Khan in the 13th century. The Oirats, specifically the Dzungars, conquered Ili at the end of the 16th or the beginning of the 17th century.

The Xinhai Revolution broke out on 10 October 1911. Under the leadership of Yang Zuanxu (楊纘緒), a general of the Ili New Army, an armed rebellion against the Qing broke out on 7 January 1912. The rebels occupied Huiyuan Town and killed Zhi Rui (志銳), the Ili Garrison General. On 12 February 1912, the Provisional Government of the Republic of China was established in Beijing, and on 15 March, it ordered the Xinjiang Grand Coordinator, Yuan Dahua (袁大化), to end Qing rule in Xinjiang. With the end of hostilities between Qing and Republican forces, the position of Grand Coordinator of Xinjiang was abolished and replaced with the position of Military Governor of Xinjiang (都督). Guang Fu (廣福), Zhi Rui's predecessor as Ili Garrison General, was appointed Xinjiang's first military governor. On 25 April, Yuan Dahua was forced to resign as Grand Coordinator of Xinjiang. On 18 May, Yang Zengxin (楊增新) was recommended for the position of Military Governor of Xinjiang. On 8 July, the Qing and Republican governments signed a peace agreement, which stipulated that the position of Ili Garrison General would be replaced by the position of Defence Governor of Ili (伊犁鎮邊使), under the direct supervision of the Republican government in Beijing. Guang Fu was subsequently appointed as the first Defence Governor of Ili. The agreement also recognised Yang Zengxin as the top military and political authority in all of Xinjiang. In August 1912, the Republican government adjusted Ili's administrative divisions. The Defence Governor of Ili headquarters were established in Huiyuan Town, the Counsellor's (參贊) in Tacheng, and the Business Executive's (辦事長官) in Altay. Yita Circuit (伊塔道) was retained to govern local civil affairs; it was placed under the administration of the Defence Governor. The position of Ili Defence Governor became vacant after Guang Fu died of illness on 1 February 1914. Yang Zengxin flew to Beijing to petition the Beiyang government (Republican government) to appoint Yang Feixia (楊飛霞) as Guang Fu's replacement. The appointment was approved by Beijing, and the administrative jurisdiction of the position was transferred from the central government to the government of Xinjiang Province. Yita Circuit was then divided into two circuits, Ili and Tacheng, in 1916. The Circuit Governor of Tacheng (塔城道尹) replaced the Counsellor of Tacheng (塔城參贊) with the establishment of Tacheng Circuit. In December 1953, the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Region was established. It was declared a prefecture level division under the jurisdiction of Xinjiang Province, with the three prefectures of Ili, Tacheng, and Altay under its administration. Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture was created in July 1954 from the counties of Bole, Jinghe, and Wenquan, three counties of Ili Prefecture. Ili Kazakh Autonomous Region was renamed Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture on 5 February 1955. During the Yi–Ta incident from March to May 1962, a mass exodus of 14,000 people from Ili Prefecture occurred. Chinese citizens, predominantly Kazakhs, left through the border port of Korgas, driven by deteriorating living conditions in Xinjiang and rumours of Soviet citizenship. To compensate for the loss in manpower brought about by the exodus, thousands of Bingtuan soldiers were relocated to northern Xinjiang from the region's interior. The Chinese government also encouraged the migration of hundreds of thousands of Han Chinese youth from major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Tianjin. By 1969 the number of Han Chinese in Ili Prefecture had reached 1.2 million, outnumbering the number of Kazakhs and Uyghurs combined.

Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture is located in the hinterland of Eurasia, in the northwest of Xinjiang, north of the Tian Shan. It covers a total area of 268,591 square kilometres, accounting for 16.18 per cent of the total area of Xinjiang. The autonomous prefecture is bordered to the north by Russia, to the east by Mongolia, to the west by Kazakhstan and Bortala Autonomous Prefecture, and to the south by Aksu Prefecture, Bayingolin Autonomous Prefecture, Changji Autonomous Prefecture, Ürümqi, and Shihezi.

Ili's major tourist attractions include the Narati Grassland, Guozigou Lake, and Kanas Lake. In 2015, Ili saw over 25 million visitors and earned over CN¥19 billion (US$2.92 billion) in tourism revenue.

An extensive road network is being built across the prefecture for economic development. In 2015, 66 million passengers travelled on Ili's roads. The railway has extended to the northern extremes of Altay and the westmost city of Khorgas on the China–Kazakhstan border.