Kuqa (/ˈkuːtʃə/ KOO-chə) is a county-level city in Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It was once the homeland of the ancient Buddhist Kingdom of Kucha.

According to the Book of Han (completed in 111 CE), Kucha was the largest of the "Thirty-six Kingdoms of the Western Regions", with a population of 81,317, including 21,076 persons able to bear arms.

In 630, Xuanzang, a well-known Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler and translator visited Kucha during the Early Tang period.

In the book "Hudud ul-'alam min al-mashriq ila al-maghrib", written in 982 by an unknown Arab or Persian writer, and presented to Abu'l Haret Muhammad, the ruler of Guzgan, the following is written regarding Kucha:

"Kucha is located on the Chinese border and belongs to China, but the indigenous people, Dokuzoguzes, at times are engaged in raids and looting. This city has many advantages."

Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, a military general, in his historical book Tarikh-i-Rashidi used the word "Kūsān" for Kucha.

Mahmud Kashgari, in his Compendium of Turkic Languages (Divân-ı Lügati't-Türk), wrote the following about Kucha: "It is one of the cities built by Zülqarnayin (Alexander the Macedonian).". He also wrote that Kucha was a Uyghur town.

In 1758, the Qing Dynasty took control of the area, and the Chinese character name 'Kuche' (庫車) was made the name of the area.

In 1991, there was a bombing attack at a Kuqa County government office and at an XPCC unit.

In an interview with Radio Free Asia, an officer at the Kuchar County Police Department reported that from June to December 2018, 150 people at the No. 1 Internment Camp in the Yengisher district of Kuchar county had died, corroborating earlier reports attributed to Himit Qari, former area police chief.

On December 20, 2019, Kuqa County was disestablished and Kuqa City was created.

• Ta-mu had 170 priests.
• Around Che-hu-li, on a hill north of the city of Po-shan, there were 50 or 60 monks.
• Another Monastery was founded by King Wen-Su (Uch-Turfan) and had 70 monks.

There were two convents in A-li (Avania).

• Liun-jo-kan: 50 nuns
• A-li-po: 30 nuns

Another monastery, Tsio-li, north of Kucha and a famous place where Kumārajīva's mother Jīva retreated.

Known as Po-Yen, a priest from the royal family who traveled to the Chinese capital Luoyang between 256 and 260 BC. He translated six Buddhist texts into Chinese within the year 258 BC.

Po-Po-Śrīmitra is another priest from Kuqa who traveled Southern China between 307 and 312 BC and translated three Buddhist texts.

A second Buddhist priest from Kuqa, known as Po-Yen, also went to Liangzhou (present-day Wuwei district in Gansu). Although not so well known in China, he translated many texts.

The city is located at the southern periphery of the Tian Shan range, the northern portion of the Tarim Basin, and the centre of the autonomous region. It occupies part of the northeastern portion of Aksu Prefecture, bordering Xinhe County, Xayar County, and Luntai County, Heiing County, and Lopnur County in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Region.

Kuqa has a continental desert climate (Köppen BWk), with an average annual precipitation of 74.6 millimetres (2.94 in), a majority of which occurs in summer. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) in January to 25.3 °C (77.5 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 11.29 °C (52.3 °F). The frost-free period lasts for 266 days on average. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 54% in March to 69% in September and October, sunshine is abundant and the city receives 2,712 hours of bright sunshine annually.

Kuqa has 4 subdistricts, 8 towns, 6 townships and one other area under its administration:

Name	Simplified Chinese	Hanyu Pinyin	Uyghur (UEY)	Uyghur Latin (ULY)	Administrative division code
Subdistricts
Reste Subdistrict	热斯坦街道	Rèsītǎn Jiēdào	رەستە كوچا باشقارمىسى	reste kocha bashqarmisi	652902001
Saqsaq Subdistrict	萨克萨克街道	Sàkèsàkè Jiēdào	ساقساق كوچا باشقارمىسى	saqsaq kocha bashqarmisi	652902002
Yengisheher Subdistrict (Xincheng Subdistrict)	新城街道	Xīnchéng Jiēdào	يېڭىشەھەر كوچا باشقارمىسى	yëngisheher kocha bashqarmisi	652902003
Sherqiy Subdistrict (Dongcheng Subdistrict)	东城街道	Dōngchéng Jiēdào	شەرقىي شەھەر كوچا باشقارمىسى	sherqiy sheher kocha bashqarmisi	652902004
Towns
Uchar Town	乌恰镇	Wūqià Zhèn	ئۇچار بازىرى	Uchar baziri	652902101
Alakaga Town	阿拉哈格镇	Ālāhāgé Zhèn	ئالاقاغا بازىرى	Alaqagha baziri	652902102
Chimen Town	齐满镇	Qímǎn Zhèn	چىمەن بازىرى	chimen baziri	652902103
Dongqotan Town	墩阔坦镇	Dūnkuòtǎn Zhèn	دۆڭقوتان بازىرى	döngqotan baziri	652902104
Yaqa Town	牙哈镇	Yáhā Zhèn	ياقا بازىرى	yaqa baziri	652902105
Uzun Town	乌尊镇	Wūzūn Zhèn	ئۇزۇن بازىرى	Uzun baziri	652902106
Ishxila Town	伊西哈拉镇	Yīxīhālā Zhèn	ئىشخىلا بازىرى	Ishxila baziri	652902107
Erbatey Town	二八台镇	Èrbātái Zhèn	ئەرباتەي بازىرى	Erbatey baziri	652902108
Townships
Uchosteng Township	玉奇吾斯塘乡	Yùqíwúsītáng Xiāng	ئۈچئۆستەڭ يېزىسى	Üch'östeng yëzisi	652902201
Biyixbag Township	比西巴格乡	Bǐxībāgé Xiāng	بېھىشباغ يېزىسى	bëhishbagh yëzisi	652902202
Xanqitam Township	哈尼喀塔木乡	Hāníkātǎmù Xiāng	خانقىتام يېزىسى	xanqitam yëzisi	652902203
Aqosteng Township	阿克吾斯塘乡	Ākèwúsītáng Xiāng	ئاقئۆستەڭ يېزىسى	Aq'östeng yëzisi	652902204
Aghi Township	阿格乡	Āgé Xiāng	ئاغى يېزىسى	Aghi yëzisi	652902205
Tarim Township	塔里木乡	Tǎlǐmù Xiāng	تارىم يېزىسى	tarim yëzisi	652902206

Agricultural products include wheat, corn, rice, cotton as well as pears, apricots, melons, grapes, pomegranates, figs, etc. Specialty products include Sanbei Sheep (三北羊) lambskin, white apricots and thin-shelled walnuts. Mineral resources include oil and coal. Industries include coal mining, tractor manufacturing and repair, construction and processing for non-staple foods.

As of 1885, there was about 99,200 acres (654,476 mu) of cultivated land in Kuqa.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2000	388,593	—
2010	462,588	+1.76%

As of 2015, 440,125 of the 492,535 residents of Kuqa County were Uyghur, 49,021 were Han Chinese and 3,389 were from other ethnic groups.

As of 2002, the county had a population of 450,000.

As of 1999, 89.93% of the population of Kuqa County were Uyghur and 9.49% of the population was Han Chinese.

Kuqa is served by China National Highway 217, China National Highway 314, the Southern Xinjiang Railway and Kuche Qiuci Airport.

Kuqa is also the name of the central town (Chinese: 库车镇), located in the easternmost area of Kuqa. It is the second largest town of Aksu Prefecture. Its area size is 14,528.74 square meters and population 470,600, composed of fourteen peoples including the Uyghurs, Hans, Huis, and Mongols. Kuqa is a thriving town of oil and natural gas development of the Tarim Basin, and of tourism, as it was once the homeland of the ancient Buddhist Kingdom of Kucha. Its tourist attractions are:

• Kumtura Caves
• Subashi Temple Ruins
• Kizilgaha Caves

• Qurban Mamut, former editor-in-chief of the official Xinjiang Cultural Journal (《新疆文化》) and detainee in the Xinjiang internment camps

Historical English-language maps including Kuqa:

• 
  Map including Kuqa (labeled as K'U-CH'E (KUCHA)) and surrounding region from the International Map of the World (AMS, 1950)
• 
  Map including Kuqa (labeled as Kuga/ Kuche/ Kuqaxian) (DMA, 1981)
• 
  From the Operational Navigation Chart; map including Kuqa (K'u-ch'e) (DMA, 1985)
• 
  Kucha in the Kushan Empire under Kanishka the Great