Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture is an

autonomous prefecture Autonomous prefectures ( zh, c=自治州, p=zìzhìzhōu) are one type of autonomous administrative divisions of China, autonomous administrative division in China, existing at the Prefecture-level divisions of China, prefectural level, with eith ...

in western

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

, China, bordering

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

and

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

. Its

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

is Artush. The prefecture is home to 622,222 people () and covers an area of . Most

Kyrgyz in China The Kyrgyz are a Turkic ethnic group and one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China. Mainly distributed in Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, in the southwest of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a ...

reside in Kizilsu; they make up a little over a quarter of the prefecture's population. The

Uyghurs The Uyghurs,. alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the ti ...

are the largest ethnic group in Kizilsu, consisting of nearly two-thirds of the population.

Etymology

The name ''Kizilsu'' (also spelled ''Kezilesu'', derived from Chinese

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means 'Han Chinese, Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin' ...

) refers to the Kezi River and means "red water" in the

Kyrgyz language Kyrgyz is a Turkic language of the Kipchak branch spoken in Central Asia. Kyrgyz is the official language of Kyrgyzstan and a significant minority language in the Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture in Xinjiang, China and in the Gorno-Badak ...

Kiziloy Kiziloy Township (قىزىلئۆي يېزىسى / Heiziwei, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency zh, s=, p=Hēizīwěi Xiāng) is the former county seat before 1989 and a township of Wuqia County in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Re ...

, Kizilto, and the

Kizil Caves The Kizil Caves (also romanized as Qizil or Qyzyl; ; zh, s=克孜尔千佛洞, l=Kizil Caves of the Thousand Buddhas) are a set of Buddhist rock-cut caves located near Kizil Township ( zh, s=克孜尔乡, p=Kèzī'ěr Xiāng, labels=no) in Ba ...

are nearby places that also use the prefix ''kizil'' (red).

History

Kizilsu was within the territory of the

First East Turkestan Republic The Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan (TIRET) was a breakaway state centered on the city of Kashgar, located in the far west of China's Xinjiang Province, Republic of China, Xinjiang Province. It is often described as the First East T ...

, which lasted from November 1933 to April 1934. The establishment of the short-lived

breakaway state Breakaway or Break Away may refer to: Film, television and radio * ''Breakaway'' (1955 film), a British film * ''Breakaway'' (1966 film), an American short film by Bruce Conner * ''Breakaway'' (1990 film), an Australian film featuring Deborah ...

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. In 1955, the townships of Barin, Jamaterek, and Ujme were transferred from

Yengisar County Yengisar County, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (formerly transliterated as Yangi Hissar, from , United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency), also known as Yingjisha County, United States National Geospatial- ...

Akto County Akto County (also known as Aqtu, Aktu, or Aketao; zh, c=阿克陶县, p=Ākètáo Xiàn) is a county in Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The county borders Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and has five ...

, as was Bulungkol from

Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County (often shortened to Tashkurgan County and officially spelled Taxkorgan) is an autonomous county of Kashgar Prefecture, in western Xinjiang, China. The county seat is Tashkurgan. The county is the only Tajik ...

Kashgar Prefecture Kashgar, also known as Kashi, is a prefecture located in southwestern Xinjiang, China, located in the Tarim Basin region (roughly the southern half of Xinjiang). It has an area of and 4,496,377 inhabitants at the 2020 census with a population d ...

. 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 The Baren Township conflict (also known by other names) was an armed conflict between Uyghur militants and Chinese government forces from 4 to 10 April 1990 in the Barin Township in Xinjiang, China. Violence began on the evening of 4 April, ...

or Barin riot.

Subdivisions

Kizilsu directly administers 1

county-level city A county-level city () is a County-level divisions of China, county-level administrative division of the China, People's Republic of China. County-level cities have judiciary, judicial but no legislature, legislative rights over their own local or ...

and 3

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Demographics

According to the 2020 census, Kizilsu has 622,222 inhabitants with a population density of 6.36 inhabitants per km². Most

(80 per cent) reside in Kizilsu. , 27 per cent of the inhabitants of the prefecture were Kyrgyz. ;Population by ethnicity

Government

Party secretary

* * * Zhang Jinbiao * * An Zhengyu

Governor

* Horigul Jappar (1998–2006) * Perhat Turdi (2007–2016) * Dilshat Kidirhan (2017–present)

Notes

References

External links

Official site
(in

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), according to a well-founded ordering. Examples include: ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture Prefecture-level divisions of Xinjiang Autonomous prefectures of the People's Republic of China Kyrgyz in China Turkic autonomous regions in China