# Pishan County

Pishan County (Chinese: 皮山县) as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Uyghur as Guma County (Uyghur: گۇما ناھىيىسى; Chinese: 固玛县), is a county within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. It contains an area of 39,412 km$^2$ (15,217 sq mi). According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 220,000. The county borders Maralbexi County and Makit County to the north, Karakax County, Hotan County and Kunyu to the east and Kargilik County to the west. The county includes lands near the Karakoram Pass which are part of the Aksai Chin area that is disputed between China and India.

## History

In 1902, Pishan County was created from Guma, Sanju and other areas originally part of Kargilik.
In March 1950, the Pishan County People's Government was established.
In May 2010, Shahidulla (Xaidula/Saitula) was made a town.
On the night of December 28, 2011, Koxtag (Kuoshi Tage) in Pishan was the site of the 2011 Pishan hostage crisis.
In 2012/3, Muji was changed from a township into a town.
On July 3, 2015, the 2015 Pishan earthquake occurred, killing three and wounding 71.
On July 24, 2015, Koxtag was changed from a township to a town.
On January 9, 2016, Sanju was changed from a township to a town.

## Geography

The northern part of Pishan/Guma County is made up of sand dunes in the Taklamakan Desert. The main part of the population of the county is grouped around oasis areas at the base of the Kunlun Mountains. The southern part of the county is mountainous including the Qizil Koran Range. A prominent mountain pass in the area is Sanju Pass. A prominent lake in the area is Cuolule Co (Cuolule Cuo, Tsorūl Tso; 错鲁勒错).

## Climate

Climate data for Pishan, elevation 1,375 m (4,511 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) | 19.1 (66.4) | 21.2 (70.2) | 31.1 (88.0) | 35.0 (95.0) | 37.1 (98.8) | 40.3 (104.5) | 41.6 (106.9) | 40.6 (105.1) | 36.0 (96.8) | 29.7 (85.5) | 25.1 (77.2) | 18.7 (65.7) | 41.6 (106.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 1.0 (33.8) | 7.0 (44.6) | 16.4 (61.5) | 24.1 (75.4) | 28.3 (82.9) | 31.8 (89.2) | 33.5 (92.3) | 32.1 (89.8) | 27.7 (81.9) | 21.0 (69.8) | 12.2 (54.0) | 3.4 (38.1) | 19.9 (67.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −5.2 (22.6) | 0.8 (33.4) | 9.6 (49.3) | 16.9 (62.4) | 21.0 (69.8) | 24.5 (76.1) | 26.0 (78.8) | 24.8 (76.6) | 20.3 (68.5) | 12.9 (55.2) | 4.6 (40.3) | −2.9 (26.8) | 12.8 (55.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −10.6 (12.9) | −4.9 (23.2) | 3.3 (37.9) | 10.1 (50.2) | 14.4 (57.9) | 18.0 (64.4) | 19.6 (67.3) | 18.6 (65.5) | 13.6 (56.5) | 5.6 (42.1) | −1.8 (28.8) | −8.2 (17.2) | 6.5 (43.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −22.8 (−9.0) | −22.0 (−7.6) | −8.4 (16.9) | −0.1 (31.8) | 4.1 (39.4) | 9.1 (48.4) | 11.6 (52.9) | 9.4 (48.9) | 1.7 (35.1) | −4.7 (23.5) | −13.3 (8.1) | −22.1 (−7.8) | −22.8 (−9.0) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 2.7 (0.11) | 2.4 (0.09) | 2.7 (0.11) | 4.0 (0.16) | 16.6 (0.65) | 10.3 (0.41) | 11.4 (0.45) | 8.7 (0.34) | 5.4 (0.21) | 0.6 (0.02) | 1.6 (0.06) | 1.2 (0.05) | 67.6 (2.66) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.3 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 3.6 | 3.9 | 3.0 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 24.7 |
| Average snowy days | 5.1 | 2.8 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 12.9 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 57 | 47 | 33 | 30 | 34 | 37 | 41 | 43 | 45 | 43 | 45 | 56 | 43 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 178.8 | 173.3 | 210.1 | 229.7 | 269.0 | 280.2 | 274.4 | 243.3 | 244.0 | 263.0 | 220.2 | 180.6 | 2,766.6 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 58 | 56 | 56 | 57 | 61 | 64 | 62 | 59 | 67 | 77 | 74 | 61 | 63 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration ||||||||||||||

## Administrative divisions

The county is made up of 1 subdistrict, 6 towns, 8 townships, 2 ethnic townships, and two other areas:
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Administrative division code | Notes |
| Subdistrict |||||||
| Pishan County Subdistrict | 皮山县街道 | Píshān Xiàn Jiēdào | گۇما كوچا باشقارمىسى | guma kocha bashqarmisi | 653223001 | |
| Towns |||||||
| Guma Town | 固玛镇 | Gùmǎ Zhèn | گۇما بازىرى | guma baziri | 653223100 | |
| Duwa Town | 杜瓦镇 | Dùwǎ Zhèn | دۇۋا بازىرى | duwa baziri | 653223101 | |
| Shahidulla Town | 赛图拉镇 | Sàitúlā Zhèn | شەيدۇللا بازىرى | sheydulla baziri | 653223102 | |
| Muji Town | 木吉镇 | Mùjí Zhèn | مۇجى بازىرى | muji baziri | 653223103 | formerly Muji Township (مۇجى يېزىسى / 木吉乡) |
| Koxtag Town | 阔什塔格镇 | Kuòshítǎgé Zhèn | قوشتاغ بازىرى | qoshtagh baziri | 653223104 | formerly Koxtag Township (قوشتاغ يېزىسى / 阔什塔格乡) |
| Sanju Town | 桑株镇 | Sāngzhū Zhèn | سانجۇ بازىرى | sanju baziri | 653223105 | formerly Sanju Township (سانجۇ يېزىسى / 桑株乡) |
| Towns |||||||
| Kilian Township | 克里阳乡 | Kèlǐyáng Xiāng | كىلىياڭ يېزىسى | kiliyang yëzisi | 653223201 | |
| Kokterak Township | 科克铁热克乡 | Kēkètiěrèkè Xiāng | كۆكتېرەك يېزىسى | köktërek yëzisi | 653223202 | |
| Choda Township | 乔达乡 | Qiáodá Xiāng | چودا يېزىسى | choda yëzisi | 653223205 | |
| Mokoyla Township (Mo-kuei-la) | 木奎拉乡 | Mùkuílā Xiāng | موكويلا يېزىسى | mokoyla yëzisi | 653223206 | |
| Zangguy Township | 藏桂乡 | Zàngguì Xiāng | زاڭگۇي يېزىسى | zangguy yëzisi | 653223207 | |
| Piyalma Township | 皮亚勒玛乡 | Píyàlèmǎ Xiāng | پىيالما يېزىسى | piyalma yëzisi | 653223208 | |
| Pixna Township | 皮西那乡 | Píxīnà Xiāng | پىشنا يېزىسى | pishna yëzisi | 653223209 | |
| Bashlengger Township | 巴什兰干乡 | Bāshénlángàn Xiāng | باشلەڭگەر يېزىسى | bashlengger yëzisi | 653223210 | |
| Ethnic townships |||||||
| Nawabat Tajik Ethnic Township | 垴阿巴提塔吉克民族乡 | Nǎo'ābātí Tǎjíkè Mínzúxiāng | ناۋئابات تاجىك يېزىسى | naw'abat tajik yëzisi | 653223211 | (Sarikoli) ناۇئاباد تۇجىك دىيۇر Nouobod Tujik diyur |
| Kangkir Kyrgyz Ethnic Township | 康克尔柯尔克孜民族乡 | Kāngkè'ěr Kē'ěrkèzī Mínzúxiāng | كەڭقىر قىرغىز يېزىسى | kengqir qirghiz yëzisi | 653223212 | (Kyrgyz) كەڭقىر قىرعىز ايىلى Кеңқыр Кыргыз айылы |
Other:
* Pishan Sanxia Industrial Park (سەنشىيا گۇما ناھىيىلىك باغچىلاشقان سانائەت رايونى, 皮山三峡工业园区)

## Economy

The county produces rice, wheat, cotton, apricots, peaches, grapes, silkworms and furs. Coal, gypsum and mica are mined in the county. Industries include tractor repair, carpet making and food processing. Local specialities include sangpi paper and walnuts.
As of 1885, there was about 54,600 acres (360,891 mu) of cultivated land in Guma.

## Demographics

In the late 2010s, ethnic minorities made up 98.4% of the population of the county, mainly Uyghurs. In 2011, Han Chinese accounted for less than 2% of the population of Pishan.
As of 2015, 290,016 of the 296,075 residents of the county were Uyghur, 3,788 were Han Chinese and 2,271 were from other ethnic groups.
As of 1999, 97.85% of the population of Guma (Pishan) County was Uyghur and 1.32% of the population was Han Chinese.

## Transportation

* China National Highway 219
* China National Highway 315

## Notable persons

* Ablajan Awut Ayup, pop singer
* Ghojimuhemmed Muhemmed, modern poet
* Osmanjan Muhemmed Pas'an, modern poet

## Historical maps

* Map including Cuolule Co (labeled as Tsorūl Tso) in southern Pishan County (AMS, 1955)
* Map including Pishan (labeled as P'I-SHAN (GUMA BAZAR)) and the northern part of the county (USATC, 1971)
* Map including part of southern Guma (Pishan) County (DMA, 1973)
* Map including the southern part of the county and areas disputed between China and India (AMS, 1950)
* Map including Pishan (labeled as PISHAN (P'I-SHAN)) and surrounding region (DMA, 1980)