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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Yutian County, Xinjiang
Yutian County (Chinese: 于田县), also transliterated from Uyghur as Keriya County (Uyghur: كېرىيە ناھىيىسى; Chinese: 克里雅县), is a county in Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It is based at the Keriya Town, and is separate from Hotan County, which is another county in the same prefecture. The Yutian County has an area of 39,023 km (15,067 sq mi). According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 220,000. The county is bounded on the north by Aksu Prefecture, on the east by Minfeng/Niya County, on the west by Qira County and on the south by the Rutog and Gertse counties of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Name

The county derives its Chinese name from the Kingdom of Khotan. The name was written as '于闐' at that time. This was later changed to '玉田' (literally, Jade Field) following the adoption of Simplified Chinese and eventually to '于田' in 1959. The three names have a similar pronunciation in Mandarin Chinese.

"Keriya", the Latin transliteration of the Uyghur name for the county, is derived from the name of the Keriya River.

Yutian County is dubbed the "Home of Jade".

History

The ancient name of Keriya was Yumi (扜彌, Gyuymi, Umi). The name Yumi was used by the Chinese envoy Zhang Qian in his 125 BCE report on his embassy's travels.

Yutian County (于阗县) was formed in 1882, its administrative center was Karakash, and Keriya was only a post station. In 1885, the administrative center of the county was moved to Keriya.

Aurel Stein travelled along the Keriya River in his early 20th century expeditions in the region.

In 1920, the area was part of Hotan Dao (和闐道).

In 1950, the area was part of Hotan Special Area (和闐專區).

In 1959, the Chinese character name for the county was set as '于田'.

In 1977, the area became part of Hotan Prefecture.

In November 1980, the Yutian hydroelectric plant, located on the Keriya River, went into operation.

On March 21, 2008, the county was at the epicenter of a 7.1/7.3 magnitude earthquake.

In February 2014, the county was at the epicenter of the 6.8 magnitude 2014 Yutian earthquake. No injuries or deaths were reported.

In 2018, the Financial Times reported that the Yutian county vocational training centre, among the largest of the Xinjiang internment camps, had opened a forced labour facility including eight factories spanning shoemaking, mobile phone assembly and tea packaging, giving a base monthly salary of ￥1,500 ($220). Between 2016 and 2018, the centre expanded 269 percent in total area.

In 2018, Regiment 225 (兵团二二五团, part of Kunyu, was listed as part of the county.

Administrative divisions

Yutian county includes two towns and thirteen townships:

Name Simplified Chinese Hanyu Pinyin Uyghur (UEY) Uyghur Latin (ULY) Administrative division code
Towns
Mughalla Town 木尕拉镇 Mùgǎlā Zhèn مۇغاللا بازىرى mughalla baziri 653226100
Xambabazar Town 先拜巴扎镇 Xiānbàibāzhā Zhèn شەنبە بازار بازىرى shenbebazar baziri 653226101
Townships
Jay Township 加依乡 Jiāyī Xiāng جاي يېزىسى jay yëzisi 653226200
Kokyar Township 科克亚乡 Kēkèyà Xiāng كۆكيار يېزىسى kökyar yëzisi 653226201
Aral Township 阿热勒乡 Ārèlè Xiāng ئارال يېزىسى Aral yëzisi 653226202
Arix Township 阿日希乡 Ārìxī Xiāng ئارىش يېزىسى Arish yëzisi 653226203
Lengger Township
(Bogazlanggar) 		兰干乡 Lángàn Xiāng لەڭگەر يېزىسى lengger yëzisi 653226204
Siyak Township 斯也克乡 Sīyěkè Xiāng سىيەك يېزىسى siyek yëzisi 653226205
Togragaz Township
(Tagdaxman) 		托格日尕孜乡 Tuōgérìgǎzī Xiāng توغراغاز يېزىسى toghraghaz yëzisi 653226206
Karaki Township 喀拉克尔乡 Kālākè'ěr Xiāng قارقى يېزىسى qarqi yëzisi 653226207
Oytograk Township 奥依托格拉克乡 Àoyītuōgélākè Xiāng ئويتوغراق يېزىسى Oytoghraq yëzisi 653226208
Aqqan Township 阿羌乡 Āqiāng Xiāng ئاچچان يېزىسى Achchan yëzisi 653226209
Yengibag Township 英巴格乡 Yīngbāgé Xiāng يېڭىباغ يېزىسى yëngibagh yëzisi 653226210
Shiwol Township 希吾勒乡 Xīwúlè Xiāng شىۋول يېزىسى shiwol yëzisi 653226211
Darya Boyi Township 达里雅布依乡 Dálǐyǎbùyī Xiāng دەريا بۇيى يېزىسى deryabuyi yëzisi 653226212

Climate

Climate data for Yutian, elevation 1,422 m (4,665 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 18.9
(66.0) 		23.8
(74.8) 		32.3
(90.1) 		36.0
(96.8) 		37.8
(100.0) 		39.2
(102.6) 		40.0
(104.0) 		40.5
(104.9) 		37.3
(99.1) 		31.5
(88.7) 		24.4
(75.9) 		18.7
(65.7) 		40.5
(104.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 1.7
(35.1) 		7.7
(45.9) 		17.2
(63.0) 		24.5
(76.1) 		28.3
(82.9) 		31.2
(88.2) 		32.7
(90.9) 		31.5
(88.7) 		28.0
(82.4) 		21.6
(70.9) 		12.5
(54.5) 		3.9
(39.0) 		20.1
(68.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −4.8
(23.4) 		0.9
(33.6) 		9.6
(49.3) 		16.4
(61.5) 		20.2
(68.4) 		23.5
(74.3) 		24.9
(76.8) 		23.7
(74.7) 		19.1
(66.4) 		11.5
(52.7) 		4.0
(39.2) 		−2.8
(27.0) 		12.2
(53.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −10.2
(13.6) 		−5.1
(22.8) 		2.4
(36.3) 		8.7
(47.7) 		12.8
(55.0) 		16.7
(62.1) 		18.4
(65.1) 		17.1
(62.8) 		11.8
(53.2) 		3.5
(38.3) 		−2.6
(27.3) 		−7.8
(18.0) 		5.5
(41.9)
Record low °C (°F) −21.7
(−7.1) 		−22.8
(−9.0) 		−9.3
(15.3) 		−1.4
(29.5) 		0.7
(33.3) 		6.5
(43.7) 		10.0
(50.0) 		6.9
(44.4) 		1.0
(33.8) 		−4.2
(24.4) 		−11.6
(11.1) 		−22.6
(−8.7) 		−22.8
(−9.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 1.8
(0.07) 		1.7
(0.07) 		1.9
(0.07) 		4.2
(0.17) 		5.9
(0.23) 		14.5
(0.57) 		11.8
(0.46) 		7.0
(0.28) 		8.3
(0.33) 		0.8
(0.03) 		0.4
(0.02) 		0.7
(0.03) 		59
(2.33)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 2.3 1.4 0.7 1.0 2.3 4.3 3.5 2.4 1.7 0.4 0.3 1.1 21.4
Average snowy days 4.7 2.2 0.7 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.7 3.2 11.6
Average relative humidity (%) 55 46 32 31 39 44 50 53 53 49 46 55 46
Mean monthly sunshine hours 206.0 203.8 234.8 240.9 264.7 260.0 254.8 240.6 256.0 279.9 239.2 212.8 2,893.5
Percent possible sunshine 66 66 63 60 60 59 58 58 70 82 79 71 66
Source: China Meteorological Administration

Economy

The county is known for its production of jade. Agriculture and livestock farming in the county produces corn, wheat, rice, cotton, grapes and melons. Industries in the county include jade mining, cotton ginning, tractor repair and preserved fruit processing.

Demographics

As of 2015, 277,206 of the 282,182 residents of the county were Uyghur, 4,678 were Han Chinese and 298 were from other ethnic groups.

In the late 2010s, Uyghurs made up 98.3% of the population of the county.

As of 1999, 98.56% of the population of Keriya (Yutian) County was Uyghur and 1.37% of the population was Han Chinese.

Transportation

Notable persons

Gallery

  • Map including Kiriá (1865)
    Map including Kiriá (1865)
  • Map including Yutian (labeled as YÜ-TIEN (KERIYA) (YÜ-T'IEN)) and surrounding region in the International Map of the World (USATC, 1971)[b]
    Map including Yutian (labeled as YÜ-TIEN (KERIYA) (YÜ-T'IEN)) and surrounding region in the International Map of the World (USATC, 1971)
  • Map including Keriya (labeled as YÜ-TIEN (YUT'IEN) (ATC, 1971)
    Map including Keriya (labeled as YÜ-TIEN (YUT'IEN) (ATC, 1971)
  • Map including the southern part of Yutian/Keriya County and the county's border with Tibet (AMS, 1950)
    Map including the southern part of Yutian/Keriya County and the county's border with Tibet (AMS, 1950)
  • Map including Yutian (labeled as YUTIAN (YÜ-T'IEN)) and surrounding region (DMA, 1980)[c]
    Map including Yutian (labeled as YUTIAN (YÜ-T'IEN)) and surrounding region (DMA, 1980)