# Karakax County

Karakax County (Chinese: 墨玉县), alternatively Moyu County, also transliterated from Uyghur as Qaraqash County (Uyghur: قاراقاش ناھىيىسى; Chinese: 喀拉喀什县), alternately Qaraqash, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is located in the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, it is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. It contains an area of 25,667 km$^2$ (9,910 sq mi). According to the 2011 census it has a population of 577,000 and 98,1% are Uyghurs. The county is bordered to the north by Awat County in Aksu Prefecture, to the northeast by Lop County, to the southeast by Hotan County, to the northwest by Maralbexi County in Kashgar Prefecture, and to the southwest by Pishan County and Kunyu. Exclaves of Kunyu are located within the county.

## History

In the Late Qing dynasty, the area that would become Karakax County was divided into four ming (明) (Mandarin Chinese Hanyu Pinyin-derived names): Hayashi (哈雅什明), Buhua (布華明), Makuiya (馬奎牙明), and Kuiya (奎牙明). On the eve of the creation of the county, the area was divided into six ming (明): Zhawa (扎瓦明), Ying'ai (英愛明) (also known as Tahe (塔合明)), Balamusu (巴拉木蘇明), Kuiya (奎牙明), Makuiya (馬奎牙明), and Ka'ersai (喀爾賽明).
In 1919, the county was split off from Hotan County.
In October 1984, the people's communes in the county were replaced with towns and townships.
In 2012, Zawa (Zhawa) was changed from a township into a town.
In 2013, Kuya (Kuiya) was changed from a township into a town.
On February 13, 2014, Qarasaz (Ka'ersai) was changed from a township into a town.
On the morning of June 20, 2014, five police officers at a security checkpoint in Kayash village in Manglay township were found dead killed by unknown assailants. The security checkpoint, known as a place where women wearing headscarves and men wearing beards would be interrogated, was razed to the ground.
At 3 AM on July 19, 2014, the day after a raid at a local mosque, Zeynep Memtimin, wife of party secretary Rejep Islam, was killed by unknown assailants in an attack at their home. Islam was severely injured and left for dead, but survived.
In December 2016, the Communist Party office in Karakax County was reportedly attacked by assailants using knives and improvised explosive devices, leading to the deaths of two government employees and three assailants.
In 2017, the county was divided between four and later five main district area committees (大片区管委会).
In May 2017, Abduheber Ahmet, the imam of the Dongbagh Mosque in Urchi township, was arrested for bringing his son to an underground religious school on one occasion several years before the arrest. Because Ahmet admitted that the events took place, Ahmet was sentenced to five and a half years in prison instead of seven years.
In February 2020 dissidents leaked the hacked records of 311 detained Uyghurs from a single neighborhood in Karakax County.

## Geography

The populated part of Karakax county is located at the northern edge of the Karakoram mountains and southern part of Tarim Basin (Taklamakan Desert). The Karakax river separates the county from Hotan County and the Hotan River separates the county from Lop County. The length from south to north is 320 km (200 mi) and width from east to width is 51 km (32 mi). Mazartag is a prominent arc-shaped mountain range in the northern desert area of the county.
* Map including Karakax (labeled as MO-YÜ (KARAKASH)) and surrounding region (USATC, 1971)
* Map including part of northern Karakax (Moyu) County (ATC, 1971)
* Map including Kárakásh (1865)

## Climate

Climate data for Karakax, elevation 1,349 m (4,426 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) | 21. (70) | 22.1 (71.8) | 31.0 (87.8) | 35.5 (95.9) | 37.5 (99.5) | 39.9 (103.8) | 40.7 (105.3) | 39.2 (102.6) | 35.3 (95.5) | 29.9 (85.8) | 26.0 (78.8) | 18.8 (65.8) | 40.7 (105.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 1.4 (34.5) | 7.5 (45.5) | 17.0 (62.6) | 24.4 (75.9) | 28.2 (82.8) | 31.3 (88.3) | 32.6 (90.7) | 31.4 (88.5) | 27.6 (81.7) | 21.4 (70.5) | 12.3 (54.1) | 3.4 (38.1) | 19.9 (67.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −5.2 (22.6) | 0.6 (33.1) | 9.3 (48.7) | 16.2 (61.2) | 20.1 (68.2) | 23.3 (73.9) | 24.6 (76.3) | 23.4 (74.1) | 18.7 (65.7) | 11.1 (52.0) | 3.4 (38.1) | −3.2 (26.2) | 11.9 (53.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −11.0 (12.2) | −5.7 (21.7) | 1.9 (35.4) | 8.5 (47.3) | 12.7 (54.9) | 16.3 (61.3) | 18.1 (64.6) | 17.0 (62.6) | 11.5 (52.7) | 2.9 (37.2) | −3.6 (25.5) | −8.6 (16.5) | 5.0 (41.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −22.5 (−8.5) | −22.3 (−8.1) | −8.8 (16.2) | −0.5 (31.1) | 2.9 (37.2) | 8.3 (46.9) | 10.5 (50.9) | 7.9 (46.2) | 2.4 (36.3) | −5.9 (21.4) | −13.5 (7.7) | −21.7 (−7.1) | −22.5 (−8.5) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 1.7 (0.07) | 2.3 (0.09) | 2.8 (0.11) | 3.4 (0.13) | 8.7 (0.34) | 10.8 (0.43) | 8.7 (0.34) | 6.4 (0.25) | 5.3 (0.21) | 1.3 (0.05) | 1.4 (0.06) | 1.1 (0.04) | 53.9 (2.12) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 21.5 |
| Average snowy days | 4.7 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 3.4 | 11.4 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 60 | 50 | 38 | 38 | 47 | 51 | 57 | 61 | 63 | 60 | 55 | 62 | 54 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 166.8 | 170.9 | 201.9 | 220.6 | 254.9 | 263.4 | 250.2 | 229.3 | 231.9 | 243.3 | 208.5 | 174.7 | 2,616.4 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 54 | 55 | 54 | 55 | 58 | 60 | 57 | 56 | 64 | 71 | 69 | 59 | 59 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration ||||||||||||||

## Administrative divisions

Karakax county is subdivided into the following 5 towns and 11 townships:
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Administrative division code | Notes |
| Towns |||||||
| Karakax Town | 喀拉喀什镇 | Kālākāshí Zhèn | قاراقاش بازىرى | qaraqash baziri | 653222100 | |
| Zawa Town (Cha-wa) | 扎瓦镇 | Zhāwǎ Zhèn | زاۋا بازىرى | zawa baziri | 653222101 | |
| Kuya Town | 奎牙镇 | Kuíyá Zhèn | كۇيا بازىرى | kuya baziri | 653222102 | |
| Qarasay Town | 喀尔赛镇 | Kā'ěrsài Zhèn | قاراساي بازىرى | qarasay baziri | 653222103 | |
| Purchaqchi Town | 普恰克其镇 | Pǔqiàkèqí Zhèn | پۇرچاقچى بازىرى | purchaqchi baziri | 653222104 | formerly Purchaqchi Township (پۇرچاقچى يېزىسى / 普恰克其乡) |
| Townships |||||||
| Aqsaray Township | 阿克萨拉依乡 | Ākèsàlāyī Xiāng | ئاقساراي يېزىسى | Aqsaray yëzisi | 653222203 | |
| Urchi Township | 乌尔其乡 | Wū'ěrqí Xiāng | ئۇرچى يېزىسى | Urchi yëzisi | 653222204 | |
| Tokhula Township | 托胡拉乡 | Tuōhúlā Xiāng | توخۇلا يېزىسى | toxula yëzisi | 653222205 | |
| Saybagh Township | 萨依巴格乡 | Sàyībāgé Xiāng | سايباغ يېزىسى | saybagh yëzisi | 653222206 | |
| Jahanbagh Township | 加汗巴格乡 | Jiāhànbāgé Xiāng | جاھانباغ يېزىسى | jahanbagh yëzisi | 653222207 | |
| Manglay Township | 芒来乡 | Mánglái Xiāng | ماڭلاي يېزىسى | manglay yëzisi | 653222209 | |
| Qochi Township | 阔依其乡 | Kuòyīqí Xiāng | قوچى يېزىسى | qochi yëzisi | 653222210 | |
| Yawa Township (Ya-wa) | 雅瓦乡 | Yǎwǎ Xiāng | ياۋا يېزىسى | yawa yëzisi | 653222211 | |
| Tüwat Township | 吐外特乡 | Tǔwàitè Xiāng | تۈۋەت يېزىسى | tüwet yëzisi | 653222212 | |
| Yéngiyer Township | 英也尔乡 | Yīngyě'ěr Xiāng | يېڭىيەر يېزىسى | yëngiyer yëzisi | 653222213 | |
| Kawak Township | 喀瓦克乡 | Kāwǎkè Xiāng | كاۋاك يېزىسى | kawak yëzisi | 653222214 | |

## Economy

The county produces cotton, corn, wheat, melons, silkworm cocoons, black jade and walnuts. Industries include cotton ginning, food processing, tractors and carpet making.

## Demographics

As of 2015, Uyghurs made up 97.61% of the population of the county. Han Chinese made up 2.34% of the population.
As of 1999, 98.53% of the population of Karakax (Moyu) County was Uyghur and 1.44% of the population was Han Chinese.

## Transportation

Karakax county has daily bus and taxi to Hotan and other counties like Guma, and also has direct luxury buses to Ürümchi, which is the capital city of Xinjiang, Karakax is also served by China National Highway 315 and the Kashgar-Hotan Railway.
A long, straight special-use road (专用道) enters the Taklamakan Desert northwest of Dunkule village (墩库勒村) in Kawak (Kawake) township. The road turns near a ridge and terminates near buildings. The area is near Mazar Tagh (Ma-cha-t'a-ko, Mazartag; مازار تاغ / 麻扎塔格戌堡遗址).