Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture

Etymology

The name Kizilsu (also spelled Kezilesu, derived from Chinese pinyin) refers to the Kezi River and means "red water" in the Turkic languages, which include Kyrgyz and Uyghur. Kiziloy, Kizilto, and the Kizil Caves are nearby places that also use the prefix kizil (red).

History

Kizilsu was within the territory of the First East Turkestan Republic, which lasted from November 1933 to April 1934. The establishment of the short-lived breakaway state was thanks in part to a political and military alliance between Uyghurs and Kyrgyz in western Xinjiang.

Following the incorporation of Xinjiang into the People's Republic of China, the Southern Xinjiang Administrative Office of the People's Republic of China (PRC) established the Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Region on 14 July 1954. The autonomous region was reorganised as an autonomous prefecture in February 1955.

In 1955, the townships of Barin, Jamaterek, and Ujme were transferred from Yengisar County to Akto County, as was Bulungkol from Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Kashgar Prefecture.

In April 1990, a protest in Barin against forced abortions and mass sterilizations of Uyghur women escalated into an armed insurrection, in what came to be known as the Barin uprising.

Subdivisions

Kizilsu directly administers one county-level city and three counties.

Demographics

According to the 2020 census, Kizilsu has 622,222 inhabitants with a population density of 6.36 inhabitants per km2. Most Kyrgyz in China (80 per cent) reside in Kizilsu. , 27 per cent of the inhabitants of the prefecture were Kyrgyz.

;Population by ethnicity

Government

Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary

• Zhang Jinbiao
• An Zhengyu

Governor

• Horigul Jappar (1998–2006)
• Perhat Turdi (2007–2016)
• Dilshat Kidirhan (2017–present)

Notes

References

References

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2. "The Kirgiz ethnic minority".
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10. The official spelling according to. [[SinoMaps Press]] ({{lang. zh-Hans. 中国地图出版社). (1997)
11. (7 June 2017). "Kirgiz ethnic group".
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15. (10 June 2020). "". link. Statistical Bureau of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
16. Sulaiman. (12 April 2017). "Authorities Urge Kyrgyz Herdsmen to Spy on Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang".
17. "Yueerguli Jiapaer 约尔古丽·加帕尔".