Yining
County-level city in Xinjiang, China
title: "Yining" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["populated-places-in-xinjiang", "populated-places-along-the-silk-road", "ili-kazakh-autonomous-prefecture", "county-level-divisions-of-xinjiang", "national-famous-historical-and-cultural-city", "national-sanitary-city"] description: "County-level city in Xinjiang, China" topic_path: "general/populated-places-in-xinjiang" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yining" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary County-level city in Xinjiang, China ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Yining |
| native_name | |
| other_name | Ghulja, Kulja, Ningyuan |
| settlement_type | County-level city |
| pushpin_map | China Xinjiang Northern#Xinjiang#China |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location in Xinjiang |
| pushpin_relief | yes |
| coordinates | |
| coor_pinpoint | Yining municipal government |
| image_skyline | {{multiple image |
| total_width | 300 |
| border | infobox |
| perrow | 1/2/1 |
| caption_align | center |
| image1 | Batul Mosque of Yining.jpg |
| caption1 | Beytulla Mosque |
| image2 | A house in the Liuxingjie Neighborhood.jpg |
| caption2 | Liuxingjie Neighborhood |
| image3 | 苏碧怡商厦 - panoramio.jpg |
| caption3 | Downtown Yining |
| image4 | Along the Ili River, Yining, Xinjiang 2020-10-03.jpg |
| caption4 | Ili River |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | China |
| subdivision_type1 | Autonomous region |
| subdivision_name1 | Xinjiang |
| subdivision_type2 | Autonomous prefecture |
| subdivision_name2 | Ili |
| seat_type | Municipal seat |
| seat | Döngmehelle Subdistrict |
| area_urban_footnotes | |
| area_total_km2 | 616.7 |
| area_urban_km2 | 49 |
| population_footnotes | |
| population_total | 778,047 |
| population_as_of | 2020 |
| population_density_km2 | auto |
| population_urban | 345,000 |
| population_urban_footnotes | (2018) |
| population_density_urban_km2 | auto |
| timezone1 | China Standard |
| utc_offset1 | +8 |
| postal_code_type | Postal code |
| postal_code | 835000 |
| area_code | 0999 |
| website | |
| :: |
| name = Yining | native_name = | other_name = Ghulja, Kulja, Ningyuan | settlement_type = County-level city | pushpin_map = China Xinjiang Northern#Xinjiang#China | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Xinjiang | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_relief = yes | coordinates = | coor_pinpoint = Yining municipal government | image_skyline = {{multiple image | total_width = 300 | border = infobox | perrow = 1/2/1 | caption_align = center | image1 = Batul Mosque of Yining.jpg | alt1 = | caption1 = Beytulla Mosque | image2 = A house in the Liuxingjie Neighborhood.jpg | alt2 = | caption2 = Liuxingjie Neighborhood | image3 = 苏碧怡商厦 - panoramio.jpg | alt3 = | caption3 = Downtown Yining | image4 = Along the Ili River, Yining, Xinjiang 2020-10-03.jpg | alt4 = | caption4 = Ili River | imagesize = | image_alt = | image_caption = | image_map = | mapsize = | map_alt = | map_caption = | image_map1 = | mapsize1 = | map_alt1 = | map_caption1 = | image_dot_map = | dot_mapsize = | dot_map_base_alt = | dot_map_alt = | dot_map_caption = | dot_x = | dot_y = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = China | subdivision_type1 = Autonomous region | subdivision_name1 = Xinjiang | subdivision_type2 = Autonomous prefecture | subdivision_name2 = Ili | established_title = | established_date = | founder = | named_for = | seat_type = Municipal seat | seat = Döngmehelle Subdistrict | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_party = | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | total_type = | unit_pref = | area_magnitude = |area_urban_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 616.7 | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_percent = | area_urban_km2 = 49 | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_ft = | population_footnotes = | population_total = 778,047 | population_as_of = 2020 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_urban = 345,000 | population_urban_footnotes = (2018) | population_density_urban_km2 = auto | population_est = | pop_est_as_of = | population_note = | timezone1 = China Standard | utc_offset1 = +8 | postal_code_type = Postal code | postal_code = 835000 | area_code_type = | area_code = 0999 | website = | footnotes = |s = 伊宁 |t = 伊寧 |p = Yīníng |w = |c2 = 固勒扎 |p2 = Gùlèzhā |w2 = |altname3=Ningyuan |s3=宁远 |t3=寧遠 |p3=Níngyuǎn |mnc = ᡤᡡᠯᠵᠠ |mnc_a = Gvlja |mnc_v = Gūlja |mon = Хулж |mong = ᠬᠤᠯᠵᠠ |rus = Кульджа |rusr = Kuldzha |tib = གུལ་ཅ |wylie = gul ca |thdl = |zwpy = |lhasa = |uig = غۇلجا |uly = Ghulja |uyy = Ƣulja |sgs = Ĝulja |usy = Ғулҗа |lang1 = kk |lang1_content = قۇلجا Құлжа kk |lang2 = xal |lang2_content = |lang3 = chg |lang3_content = غولجا |order = st Yining (), also known as Ghulja () or Kulja (Kazakh: قۇلجا), is a county-level city in northwestern Xinjiang, China. It is the administrative seat and largest city of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. Yining is the modern successor to the nearby ruined city of Almaliq, Huocheng County, and is the third largest city in Xinjiang after Ürümqi and Korla.
Area and population
The city of Yining is a county-level administrative unit located along Ili River. As of 2015, it has an estimated population of 542,507, with a total land area of 629 km2. It is the most populous city in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture.
The land area and population of the City of Yining saw an increase in 2003; the increase resulted from the transfer of two villages with some 100 km2 of land from the adjacent Yining County, which is a separate administrative unit from the city.
Yining's population is primarily Uyghur, Han, Hui, and Kazakh, along with smaller numbers of people of Mongolian, Xibe, Uzbek, Russian, or other ethnicity.
History
Note on historical place names
From the 13 to 15th century it was under the control of Chagatai Khanate. Another Mongol empire—the Zunghar Khanate—established around Ili area. In the 19th and early 20th century, the word Kulja (from ) or Ghulja was often used in Russia and in the West as the name for the entire Chinese part of the Ili River basin as well as for its two main cities. In fact, the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica clarifies the distinction between two similarly named cities of its time:
- Kulja (i.e. today's Yining) or more specifically Old Kulja (elsewhere, also called Taranchi Kulja), which was the commercial center of the region.
- Suidun (i.e. Suiding, now called Shuiding) or more specifically New Kulja, Manchu Kulja or Ili (elsewhere, also Chinese Kulja), the Chinese fortress and the regional capital. Until the 1860s, Huiyuan to the south of Suiding was the regional capital.
Qing dynasty
The fort of Ningyuan (寧遠城) was built in 1762 to accommodate new settlers from southern Xinjiang. The forts of Huining (惠寧城) and Xichun (熙春城) built later in 1765 and 1780 were also located within the modern Yining City.
The Sino-Russian Treaty of Kulja 1851 opened the area for trade.
In 1864–66, the city suffered severely from fighting during the Dungan Revolt. The city and the rest of the Ili River basin were seized by the Russians in 1871 during Yakub Beg's independent rule of Kashgaria. It was restored to the Chinese under the terms of the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881). In 1888, the Ningyuan County was established.
The Geographical Magazine in 1875 by Sir Clements Robert Markham stated:
::quote
What little industry Kulja possesses is all due to the Chinese, who transplanted the taste for art, assiduity and skilfulness of their pigtailed race, even to these western outskirts of "the celestial flowery dominion of the Middle." Had the Taranjis and Kalmuks been left to themselves, or had they remained in a preponderating majority, Kulja would not be a bit farther advanced than either Yarkand or Aksu. The principal trades are the following:— founders, manufacturing kettles, plates, and other implements of a very primitive form; paper-makers, whose productions do not seem to be superior to the paper manufactured at the present time after Chinese patterns at Khokand and Samarkand. There are, moreover, some confectionaries in which cakes of all shapes are baked of rice and millet, overlaid with sugar; also maccaroni-makers, the Taranjis being notoriously very fond of dried farinaceous food. In Eastern Turkestan there still exist many similar trades, and although their products are not equal to European articles of the same kind—I mean here the fabrics of the formerly western Chinese provinces— they are still said to be profitable. Finally among the tradesmen we may mention millers, vinegar manufacturers and potters. The number of factories amount to-day at Kulja to 38, wherein over 131 hands are occupied. To this of course other tradespeople have to be added, such as 169 boot-makers, 50 blacksmiths, 48 carpenters, 11 brass-founders, 3 silversmiths, 26 stone-cutters, and 2 tailors. ::
Republic of China
In 1914, the Ningyuan County was renamed Yining County to avoid confusion with other places in China named Ningyuan.
East Turkestan Republic
Ghulja was the site of the 7 November 1944 East Turkestan Revolution and served as capital city of the Second East Turkestan Republic from 12 November 1944 until 22 December 1949.
People's Republic
Yining became a separate city from Yining County in 1952. In 1962, major Sino-Soviet clashes took place along the Ili River.
In 1997, in what came to be known as the Ghulja incident, the city was rocked by two days of demonstrations or riots.
Geography
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/USSR_map_NK_44-2_I-Ning.jpg" caption="伊寧}}) (1952)"] ::
| Yining (Gulja) | -13 | -1 | 21 | -9| 2 | 21 | 0 | 12 | 21 | 7 | 21 | 33 | 11 | 26 | 30 | 15 | 29 | 28 | 17 | 32 | 28 | 15 | 31 | 19 | 10 | 26 | 15 | 4 | 19 | 25 | -2 | 9 | 37 | -9 | 1 | 28 |float = right |clear = none |source = CMA
Yining is located on the northern side of the Ili River in the Dzungarian basin, about 70 km east of the border with Kazakhstan and about 710 km west of Ürümqi. The Ili River valley is far wetter than most of Xinjiang and has rich grazing land.
The City of Yining borders on Huocheng County in the west and the Yining County in the east; across the river in the south is Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County.
Climate
Yining has a semiarid climate (Köppen BSk), without the strong variation in seasonal precipitation seen across most of China. Dry and sunny weather dominates year-round. Winters are cold, with a January average of -7.6 °C. Yet the influence of the Dzungarian Alatau to the northwest and Borohoro Mountains to the northeast helps keep the city warmer than more easterly locales on a similar latitude. Summers are hot, with a July average of 23.9 °C. Diurnal temperature ranges tend to be large from April to October. The annual mean temperature is 10.0 °C. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 51% in December to 77% in September, sunshine is abundant and the city receives 2,914.7 hours of bright sunshine annually. Extremes since 1951 have ranged from -40.4 °C on 29 January 1969 to 40.6 °C on 26 July 2025.
| width = auto | metric first = y | single line = y | collapsed = | location = Yining, elevation 663 m, (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present) | Jan record high C = 12.5 | Feb record high C = 19.6 | Mar record high C = 28.3 | Apr record high C = 34.4 | May record high C = 36.6 | Jun record high C = 37.2 | Jul record high C = 40.6 | Aug record high C = 38.4 | Sep record high C = 37.3 | Oct record high C = 31.1 | Nov record high C = 25.0 | Dec record high C = 15.1 | year record high C = | Jan record low C = -40.4 | Feb record low C = -34.7 | Mar record low C = -26.1 | Apr record low C = -8.6 | May record low C = -2.3 | Jun record low C = 3.4 | Jul record low C = 6.9 | Aug record low C = 2.8 | Sep record low C = -2.8 | Oct record low C = -11.7 | Nov record low C = -37.2 | Dec record low C = -37.2 | year record low C = | Jan high C = -1.1 | Feb high C = 2.2 | Mar high C = 12.0 | Apr high C = 21.1 | May high C = 25.7 | Jun high C = 29.6 | Jul high C = 31.6 | Aug high C = 30.8 | Sep high C = 26.2 | Oct high C = 18.6 | Nov high C = 9.0 | Dec high C = 1.0 | Jan mean C = -7.6 | Feb mean C = -3.8 | Mar mean C = 5.4 | Apr mean C = 13.5 | May mean C = 18.2 | Jun mean C = 22.2 | Jul mean C = 23.9 | Aug mean C = 22.6 | Sep mean C = 17.6 | Oct mean C = 10.0 | Nov mean C = 2.4 | Dec mean C = -4.8 | Jan low C = -13.1 | Feb low C = -8.9 | Mar low C = -0.3 | Apr low C = 6.8 | May low C = 11.2 | Jun low C = 15.4 | Jul low C = 17.0 | Aug low C = 15.4 | Sep low C = 10.1 | Oct low C = 3.5 | Nov low C = -2.2 | Dec low C = -9.4 | precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 21.4 | Feb precipitation mm = 21.4 | Mar precipitation mm = 21.1 | Apr precipitation mm = 32.6 | May precipitation mm = 29.8 | Jun precipitation mm = 28.1 | Jul precipitation mm = 28.4 | Aug precipitation mm = 19.2 | Sep precipitation mm = 15.1 | Oct precipitation mm = 24.7 | Nov precipitation mm = 37.1 | Dec precipitation mm = 27.7 | Jan humidity = 77 | Feb humidity = 75 | Mar humidity = 64 | Apr humidity = 53 | May humidity = 52 | Jun humidity = 54 | Jul humidity = 53 | Aug humidity = 54 | Sep humidity = 56 | Oct humidity = 66 | Nov humidity = 74 | Dec humidity = 78 | unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm | Jan precipitation days = 8.5 | Feb precipitation days = 7.6 | Mar precipitation days = 6.9 | Apr precipitation days = 7.9 | May precipitation days = 8.0 | Jun precipitation days = 8.5 | Jul precipitation days = 7.9 | Aug precipitation days = 6.1 | Sep precipitation days = 4.8 | Oct precipitation days = 5.6 | Nov precipitation days = 8.0 | Dec precipitation days = 8.9 | year precipitation days = | Jan sun = 156.1 | Feb sun = 165.3 | Mar sun = 227.9 | Apr sun = 261.2 | May sun = 313.2 | Jun sun = 317.6 | Jul sun = 338.5 | Aug sun = 324.0 | Sep sun = 282.8 | Oct sun = 235.5 | Nov sun = 153.6 | Dec sun = 139.0 | year sun = | Jan percentsun = 53 | Feb percentsun = 55 | Mar percentsun = 61 | Apr percentsun = 64 | May percentsun = 68 | Jun percentsun = 69 | Jul percentsun = 73 | Aug percentsun = 76 | Sep percentsun = 77 | Oct percentsun = 71 | Nov percentsun = 54 | Dec percentsun = 51 | year percentsun = | Jan snow days = 10.7 | Feb snow days = 9.4 | Mar snow days = 4.1 | Apr snow days = 1.0 | May snow days = 0.1 | Jun snow days = 0 | Jul snow days = 0 | Aug snow days = 0 | Sep snow days = 0 | Oct snow days = 0.8 | Nov snow days = 4.9 | Dec snow days = 10.7 | year snow days = | source 1 = China Meteorological Administration |url= http://www.mherrera.org/temp.htm |title= Extreme Temperatures Around the World |access-date= 22 September 2024 |url= https://weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404203050792315805 |title= 中国各地城市的历史最低气温 |access-date= 22 September 2024 |title= Yining Climate: 1991–2020 |publisher=Starlings Roost Weather |access-date= 19 July 2025 | source =
Grassland Carbon Sink Monitoring Network
The Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture has deployed a grassland carbon sink monitoring network across its vast pastures. This system uses remote sensing and ground-based sensors to track vegetation biomass and soil organic carbon, providing critical data for assessing the region's contribution to carbon neutrality and guiding sustainable grazing practices.
Administrative divisions
The administrative divisions of Yining include eight subdistricts, 4 towns, and 5 townships:
::data[format=table]
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Population | Area | Number of communities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subdistricts | |||||||
| Saybuyi Subdistrict | |||||||
| (Sayibuyi Subdistrict) | 萨依布依街道 | zh | ug | 57.7 | 13 | ||
| Döngmehelle Subdistrict | |||||||
| (Dunmaili Subdistrict) | 墩买里街道 | zh | ug | 30 | 7 | ||
| Ili Deryasi Road Subdistrict | |||||||
| (Yilihe Road Subdistrict) | 伊犁河路街道 | zh | ug | 21.7 | 6 | ||
| Qazanchi Subdistrict | |||||||
| (Kazanqi Subdistrict) | 喀赞其街道 | zh | ug | 28 | 8 | ||
| Döletbagh Subdistrict | |||||||
| (Doulaitibage Subdistrict) | 都来提巴格街道 | zh | ug | 21.3 | 9 | ||
| Chongköwrük Subdistrict | |||||||
| (Qiongkeruike Subdistrict) | 琼科瑞克街道 | zh | ug | 43.6 | 14 | ||
| Herembagh Subdistrict | |||||||
| (Ailanmubage Subdistrict) | 艾兰木巴格街道 | zh | ug | 66.1 | 15 | ||
| Azatliq Road Subdistrict | |||||||
| (Jiefang Road Subdistrict) | 解放路街道 | zh | ug | 42 | 10 | ||
| Towns | |||||||
| Bayanday Town | |||||||
| (Bayandai Town) | 巴彦岱镇 | zh | ug | 31 | 262.36 | 8 | |
| Penjim Town | |||||||
| (Panjim Town) | 潘津镇 | zh | ug | 25.3 | 105.5 | 7 | |
| Yëngiyer Town | |||||||
| (Yingye'er Town) | 英也尔镇 | zh | ug | 16.5 | 100 | 5 | |
| Dadamtu Town | |||||||
| (Dadamutu Town) | 达达木图镇 | zh | ug | 25.2 | 57.5 | 6 | |
| Townships | |||||||
| Xenbing Township | |||||||
| (Hanbin Township) | 汉宾乡 | zh | ug | 14 | 18.7 | 4 | |
| Tashköwrük Township | |||||||
| (Tashekeruike Township) | 塔什科瑞克乡 | zh | ug | 12.9 | 10.9 | 6 | |
| Qaradöng Township | |||||||
| (Ka'erdun Township) | 喀尔墩乡 | zh | ug | 10.2 | 26.7 | 5 | |
| Toghraq Township | |||||||
| (Tuogelake Township) | 托格拉克乡 | zh | ug | 9.1 | 26 | 4 | |
| Këpekyüzi Township | |||||||
| (Kebokexuzi Township) | 克伯克圩孜乡 | zh | ug | 7 | 16 | 3 | |
| Other | |||||||
| Yining Border Economic Cooperation Zone | 伊宁边境经济合作区 | zh | ug | ||||
| Ili River South Bank New Area | 伊犁河南岸新区 | zh | ug | ||||
| :: |
Economy
The city's nominal GDP was approximately 20.9 billion RMB (US$3.1 billion) as of 2015 with an annual increase of 7.6%. The nominal GDP per capita was approximately 38,805 RMB (US$5976). Yining is the chief city and the agricultural and commercial center of the Ili valley. It is an old commercial center trading in tea and cattle and it is still an agricultural area with extensive livestock raising. It has fruit orchards. Iron, coal and uranium are mined nearby.
Transportation
- Regular bus service is available to other cities in the region and taxis are available locally.
- Ili Yining International Airport is located several kilometers north of the city.
- The Jinghe-Yining-Horgos Railway, an electrified railway from Ürümqi to Yining to Khorgos on the China-Kazakhstan border was finished in the late 2009. Daily passenger service – an overnight Ürümqi-Yining train service began on 1 July 2010.
- China National Highway 218
- China National Highway 312
Demographics
As of 2014, Yining had a population of 559,700. The city is inhabited by 38 ethnic groups, including 269,700 Uyghur people, 204,000 Han people, 26,200 Kazakhs and 39,600 Hui people, accounting for 48.19%, 36.45%, 4.68% and 7.08% of gross population respectively.
Culture
Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture Museum, opened in Yining in 2004, is one of Xinjiang's most important museums, housing artifacts from throughout the prefecture. In fact, at the time it opened it became, in the words of a Western scholar, the "only modern museum" in Xinjiang. (At the time, the provincial-level museum in Ürümqi was being renovated; its old building had been demolished while its replacement was still under construction.)
Beytulla Mosque (for the Uyghurs), Tatar Mosque (for the Tatars), and Shaanxi Grand Mosque (for the Hui) are considered the three main mosques in Ili.
Notable persons
- Muyesser Abdul'ehed
- Dawut Abdurehim
- Edham Mamet
- Masud Sabri
- Sanubar Tursun
- Shohrat Zakir
- Behram Abduweli
Notes
References
References
- Cox, W. (2018). "Demographia World Urban Areas. 14th Annual Edition". Demographia.
- "Xinjiang: Prefectures, Cities, Districts and Counties".
- The official spelling according to. [[SinoMaps Press]] ({{lang. zh-hans. 中国地图出版社). (1997)
- "Yining: Bulletin for economical and social development in 2015".
- {{cite EB1911
- Sir Clements Robert Markham. (1875). "The Geographical Magazine". Trübner & Company.
- "Xinjiang to intensify crackdown on separatists", [[China Daily]], 25 October 2001 [http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/en/doc/2001-10/25/content_90592.htm]
- link. [[China Meteorological Administration]]
- "伊犁州林草局草原碳汇监测网络建设规划".
- "2022年统计用区划代码".
- (February 2022). "Bulletin for the economy and society development in 2015".
- [http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6760790.html Xingjiang's first electrified railway rails laid] 17 September 2009
- {{usurped
- [http://en.chinaxinjiang.cn/01/01/201007/t20100707_36384.htm Xinjiang's first electrified railway passenger train] (7 July 2010)
- (May 2017). "World Bank-financed Xinjiang Yining Urban Transport and Environment Project: Ethnic Minority Development Plan". Yining Municipal Government (YMG).
- [http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/features.php?searchterm=003_twomuseums.inc&issue=003 A TALE OF TWO CITIES: NEW MUSEUMS FOR YINING AND URUMQI]. ''CHINA HERITAGE NEWSLETTER'', No. 3, September 2005
- [http://www.mzb.com.cn/html/Home/report/14018161-1.htm 艾尼瓦·海浪巴依，伊宁市拜图拉清真寺，中国民族宗教网，2014-02-03] {{webarchive. link. (2 April 2015)
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