Huocheng County


Huocheng County as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Uyghur as Korgas County, is situated within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and under the administration of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. It is located between Yining and the border city Khorgas, occupying an area of and has a population of 360,000. Including the Han and Uyghur nationalities, there are twenty nine ethnic groups living in the county.
North of Huocheng County is Wenquan County; to the south lies the Ili River. Its Western side is Khorgas City; Yining lies about to the east.

History

Within Huocheng County lies the important ruined site of ancient Almaliq. The mausoleum of the first khan of Moghulistan Tughlugh Timur is within the county as well.
In the 1760s nine fortresses were built in the Ili River Basin, and four of them were located within the modern Huocheng County. Huiyuan was the headquarter of the General of Ili and as such it was the military and administrative center of Xinjiang until the 1860s.
Suiding County was established in 1888 with Suiding as county seat. In 1914 the western area of Shuiding County was organized into Khorgas County, later abbreviated to Huocheng County, with Gongchen as county seat. In 1965 Suiding was renamed Shuiding. In 1966 Shuiding County merged into Huocheng County with Shuiding as the county seat of the new Huocheng County. In 2014 Khorgas became a county-level city separate from Huocheng County.

Administrative divisions

The county includes five towns and four townships.
The towns:
Townships:
There are 5 Town in Huocheng County, which are as follows:
NUyghur NameUyghur latin alphabet NameEnglish nameChinese nameNumber of communitiesPopulation Land area
1سۈيدۈڭ بازىرىSüydüng BaziriSuydung Town水定镇13314.9
2چىڭسىخوزا بازىرىChingsixoza BaziriQingshuihe Town清水河镇1546.7185.2
3لۇسىگۇڭ بازىرىLusigung BaziriLucaogou Town芦草沟镇1135.4346
4كۈرە بازىرىKüre BaziriKure Town惠远镇421.4138.6
5ساربۇلاق بازىرىSarbulaq BaziriSarbulaq Town萨尔布拉克镇1128.2431.7

There are 4 Township in Huocheng County, which are as follows:
NUyghur NameUyghur latin alphabet NameEnglish nameChinese nameNumber of communitiesPopulation Land area
1لەڭگەر يېزىسىLengger YézisiLengger Township兰干乡1031.1246
2سەندوخوزا يېزىسىSendoxoza YézisiSandaohe Township三道河乡39.378.7
3داشىگۇ يېزىسىDashigu YézisiDaxigou Township大西沟乡710.8252.7
4سەنگۇڭ خۇيزۇ يېزىسىSengung Xuyzu YézisiSangong Hui Township三宫回族乡515126.9

Economy

In agriculture, the local population cultivate wheat, corn and other crops including sugar beet, cotton, tobacco, apples, animal husbandry with cattle and sheep.
The main minerals extracted in the area include coal, phosphorus, iron, gold, silver, copper, limestone, Iceland spar and marble, etc.

Transport

Huocheng is served by China National Highway 312 and the Jinghe-Yining-Khorgas Railway.
There is a border crossing into Kazakhstan at Khorgas, where the road continues to Zharkent in Panfilov District.
The Jinghe–Yining–Khorgas Railway through Huocheng county was completed in 2010, reaching practically to the Kazakhstan border. There are plans to construct a connecting railway line on the Kazakh side, creating China's second railway link to Central Asia besides Alashankou.