Xayar County,, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency also Shayar County or, from

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin ( ; zh, s=, t=, p=Guānhuà, l=Mandarin (bureaucrat), officials' speech) is the largest branch of the Sinitic languages. Mandarin varieties are spoken by 70 percent of all Chinese speakers over a large geographical area that stretch ...

, Shaya, is a county in the

Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC: previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest of the country at the crossroads ...

and is under the administration of the Aqsu Prefecture. It contains an area of . According to the 2004 census it has a population of 210,000.

History

In 1902, Xayar County was established. In March 1964, Tarim Farm () was founded. In 1970, Tarim Farm was renamed Nong Yi Shi 15th Regiment (). In 1973, Nong Yi Shi 15th Regiment was renamed Third Laogai Detachment (). As of 1982, the prison had a cotton processing factory. In 1985, Third Laogai Detachment was renamed Tarim Laogai Detachment (). In 1994, Tarim Laogai Detachment was renamed Tarim Prison (). On July 15, 1996, a prison rebellion in Xayar County led to the deaths of fifteen. In 1998, Tarim Prison was renamed Xayar Prison (). In June 2008, Gezqum Township (Gaizikumu) was established. On December 30, 2008, the township's government started operation. In 2011, Yantaqsheher Township (Yangtakexiehai'er) was established. In 2012, Xadadong (Hadedun) was established. On February 25, 2013, the town's government started operation. On May 26, 2014, Gulbagh (Gulebage), then a township, was made a town.

Administrative divisions

Xayar County included seven

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

, four

townships A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

and four other areas: Other areas: Xinken Farm (), No. 2 Pasture (), Xayar Prison (Xinjiang Shaya Prison, ), Xayar County Industrial Zone ().

Climate

Economy

Agriculture and animal husbandry are equally strong in the county. Agricultural products include wheat, corn and cotton as well as melons, ''yema'' (), walnut,

velvet antler Velvet antler is the whole cartilaginous antler in a precalcified growth stage of the Cervidae family including the species of deer such as elk, moose, and caribou. Velvet antler is covered in a hairy, velvet-like "skin" known as velvet and its ...

muskrat The muskrat or common muskrat (''Ondatra zibethicus'') is a medium-sized semiaquatic rodent native to North America and an introduced species in parts of Europe, Asia, and South America. The muskrat is found in wetlands over various climates ...

, and

licorice root Liquorice (Commonwealth English) or licorice (American English; see spelling differences; ) is the common name of ''Glycyrrhiza glabra'', a flowering plant of the bean family Fabaceae, from the root of which a sweet, aromatic flavouring is ...

. The county is the main location for Sanbei Sheep () lambskin production. Industries include knitting, leather making, food processing and others. The seven major speciality products of the county include Tarim Huyang, cotton, red deer, dates,

Karakul sheep Karakul or Qaraqul (named after Qorakoʻl, a city in Bukhara Region in Uzbekistan) is a breed of domestic fat-tailed sheep which originated in Central Asia. Some archaeological evidence points to Karakul sheep being raised there continuously sinc ...

salt cedar The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Ta ...

, and sword-leaf dogbane. , there was about 45,900 acres (303,747 '' mu'') of cultivated land in Xayar.

Demographics

As of 2015, 230,129 of the 274,382 residents of the county were

Uyghur Uyghur may refer to: * Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia (West China) ** Uyghur language, a Turkic language spoken primarily by the Uyghurs *** Old Uyghur language, a different Turkic language spoken in the Uyghur K ...

, 41,463 were

Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...

and 2,790 were from other ethnic groups. Most residents of Xayar are Muslim Uyghurs. As of 1999, 84.05% of the population of Xayar (Shaya) County was Uyghur and 14.6% of the population was Han Chinese.

Transportation

China National Highway 217 China National Highway 217 (G217) runs south from Altay, Xinjiang, Altay, Xinjiang to Hotan, Xinjiang. It is 1,753 kilometres in length and runs southwest from Altay, Xinjiang, Altay towards Kuqa County and from there southwards through the Tak ...

Historical maps

Historical English-language maps including Xayar: File:STANFORD(1917) p61 PLATE19. SINKIANG (14597194848).jpg, Map including Xayar (labeled as Shahyar) (1917) File:A-k`o-su NK-44 (1950) - panoramio.jpg, Map including Xayar and surrounding region from the

International Map of the World The International Map of the World (IMW; also the Millionth Map of the World, after its scale of 1:1000000) was a project to create a complete map of the world according to internationally agreed standards. It was first proposed by the German g ...

(

AMS AMS or Ams may refer to: Organizations Companies * Alenia Marconi Systems * American Management Systems * AMS (Advanced Music Systems) * ams AG, semiconductor manufacturer * AMS Pictures * Auxiliary Medical Services Educational institutions ...

, 1950) File:Txu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566 f-6c.jpg, Map including Xayar (

DMA DMA may refer to: Arts * ''DMA'' (magazine), a defunct dance music magazine * Dallas Museum of Art, in Texas, US * BT Digital Music Awards, an annual event in the UK * Danish Music Awards * Detroit Music Awards * Doctor of musical arts, a degree ...

, 1981) File:Operational Navigation Chart F-6, 6th edition.jpg, From the Operational Navigation Chart; map including Xayar (labeled as Sha-ya (Xayar)) (

, 1985)

Notes

References

{{authority control County-level divisions of Xinjiang Aksu Prefecture