The ancient settlement of Charklik was located in what is today Ruoqiang County. The Charkhlik Revolt took place here in 1935 when Uyghurs revolted against the Hui-dominated Tunganistan, which was controlled by the 36th Division. The Uyghurs were defeated. The county was established in 1902 as 婼羌. In 1959, the less-offensive written form of "若羌" was adopted. The Uyghur name of the county, "Çakilik", is transliterated in Chinese as "卡克里克". On July 24, 2015, Tieganlike was changed from a township to a town.
Geography
Ruoqiang County ranges in latitude from 36° 00' to 41° 23' N and in longitude from 86° 45 to 93° 45' E. It borders Qiemo County to the west, Yuli County, Piqan County, and Kumul to the north, the provinces of Gansu and Qinghai to the east, and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the south. The populated areas are located mostly along the northern foothills of the Altyn-Taghmountain range. North of this strip of irrigated agricultural settlement is the Taklamakan Desert, south, the Altyn-Tagh and Kunlun Mountains. The well known Lop Lake, these days usually dry, is located in the northeastern part of the county - the section officially known as Luobu Po Town, i.e., Lop Lake Town. The southern part of the county, is mountainous. The highest point in Qinghai, Bukadaban Feng, is located on the border of Qinghai and Ruoqiang County. The high plateau between the Altyn-Tagh and the main Kunlun range is known as the Kumkol Basin: an endorheic basin, where several saline lakes are found. Part of Altun Shan National Nature Reserve is located in Qimantag Township, in southern Ruoqiang County. The three main lakes in the Kumkol Basin are Lake Aqqikkol, Lake Ayakum, and Lake Jingyu. These lakes are among the few noticeable bodies of water in this extremely arid area; the area around them is officially protected as the Altun Shan Nature Reserve.
Climate
Ruoqiang has a cold desert climate with extreme seasonal variation in temperature. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to, and the annual mean is. Precipitation totals only annually, and mostly falls in summer. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 63% in March to 82% in October, the area receives close to 3,100 hours of bright sunshine annually.
Administrative divisions
The county is made up of five towns, three townships and other areas: Towns
, the county had a population of 31,877, of which 18,957 were of Han ethnicity, while Uyghurs numbered 11,761. As of 2015, 18,983 of the 34,020 residents of the county were Han Chinese, 13,328 were Uyghur and 1,709 were from other ethnic groups. As of 1999, 58.72% of the population of Ruoqiang County was Han Chinese and 38.2% of the population was Uyghur. As of 1997, several township-level divisions had a majority or plurality of Uyghur residents including Ruoqiang Town, Wutamu Township, Tieganlike Township, and Waxxari Township.
