# Yengisar County

Yengisar County (formerly transliterated as Yangi Hissar, from Uyghur: يېڭىسار ناھىيىسى), also known as Yingjisha County (Chinese: 英吉沙县), is a county of Kashgar Prefecture in southwest Xinjiang, China. It covers an area of 3,373 km$^2$ (1,302 sq mi). As of the 2002 census, it had a population of 230,000.
The county seat is the city of Yengisar, a town well known among the local Uyghurs for its handmade knives. The finely-tuned skill of knife-making used to be passed down among generations in Yengisar, but it is slowly dying due to China's strict response to deadly clashes in Xinjiang.

## History

In 1499, Ahmad Alaq seized Kashgar and Yengisar from Mirza Abu Bakr Dughlat.
In 1847 and again in 1857, Kashgar and Yengisar were captured.
In 1882, Yengisar Independent Subprefecture (英吉沙直隸廳) was created.
In 1913, Yengisar Independent Subprefecture became Yengisar County.
The Battle of Yangi Hissar took place here in April 1934, when Ma Zhancang led the Chinese Muslim 36th division to attack the Turkic Muslim Uighur forces at Yangi Hissar, wiping out the entire Uighur force of 500 and killing the Emir Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra.
In 1955, Barin, Jamaterek and Ujme were transferred from Yengisar County to Akto County.
In September 2017, Horigul Nasir, then 21, was jailed for ten years for allegedly promoting the wearing of head scarves. Her brother Yusupjan Nasir was subsequently demoted from his position as an assistant officer of the Saghan township police office to a security guard at the township's Family Planning Department.

## Administrative Divisions

Yengisar County included 4 towns, 10 townships, and two other areas:
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Administrative division code | Notes |
| Towns |||||||
| Yengisar Town | 英吉沙镇 | Yīngjíshā Zhèn | يېڭىسار بازىرى | yëngisar baziri | 653123100 | |
| Ulugqat Town | 乌恰镇 | Wūqià Zhèn | ئۇلۇغچات بازىرى | Ulughchat baziri | 653123101 | Formerly Ulugqat Township (乌恰乡) |
| Mangshin Town (Mangxin Town) | 芒辛镇 | Mángxīn Zhèn | ماڭشىن بازىرى | mangshin baziri | 653123102 | Formerly Mangshin Township (ماڭشىن يېزىسى / 芒辛乡) |
| Saghan Town | 萨罕镇 | Sàhǎn Zhèn | ساغان بازىرى | saghan baziri | 653123102 | Formerly Mangshin Township (ساغان يېزىسى / 萨罕乡) |
| Townships |||||||
| Sheher Township (Chengguan Township) | 城关乡 | Chéngguǎn Xiāng | شەھەر يېزىسى | sheher yëzisi | 653123200 | |
| Qolpan Township | 乔勒潘乡 | Qiáolèpān Xiāng | چولپان يېزىسى | cholpan yëzisi | 653123201 | |
| Lompa Township | 龙甫乡 | Lóngfǔ Xiāng | لومپا يېزىسى | lompa yëzisi | 653123202 | |
| Siyitle Township | 色提力乡 | Sètílì Xiāng | سىيىتلە يېزىسى | siyitle yëzisi | 653123204 | |
| Yengiyer Township | 英也尔乡 | Yīngyě'ěr Xiāng | يېڭىيەر يېزىسى | yëngiyer yëzisi | 653123206 | |
| Qizil Township | 克孜勒乡 | Kèzīlè Xiāng | قىزىل يېزىسى | qizil yëzisi | 653123207 | |
| Topluq Township | 托普鲁克乡 | Tuōpǔlǔkè Xiāng | توپلۇق يېزىسى | topluq yëzisi | 653123208 | |
| Soget Township | 苏盖提乡 | Sūgàití Xiāng | سۆگەت يېزىسى | söget yëzisi | 653123209 | |
| Egus Township | 艾古斯乡 | Àigǔsī Xiāng | ئەگۈس يېزىسى | Egüs yëzisi | 653123211 | |
| Egizyer Township | 依格孜也尔乡 (依格孜牙乡) | Yīgézīyě'ěr Xiāng | ئېگىزيەر يېزىسى | Ëgizyer yëzisi | 653123212 | |

## Climate

Climate data for Yengisar, elevation 1,298 m (4,259 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) | 20.4 (68.7) | 21.5 (70.7) | 29.4 (84.9) | 34.8 (94.6) | 35.8 (96.4) | 39.5 (103.1) | 40.7 (105.3) | 42.1 (107.8) | 35.7 (96.3) | 30.5 (86.9) | 26.1 (79.0) | 19.4 (66.9) | 42.1 (107.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.1 (32.2) | 6.2 (43.2) | 15.6 (60.1) | 23.6 (74.5) | 28.0 (82.4) | 32.0 (89.6) | 33.6 (92.5) | 32.1 (89.8) | 27.5 (81.5) | 20.6 (69.1) | 11.4 (52.5) | 2.1 (35.8) | 19.4 (66.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −5.4 (22.3) | 0.3 (32.5) | 9.2 (48.6) | 16.6 (61.9) | 20.8 (69.4) | 24.6 (76.3) | 26.4 (79.5) | 24.9 (76.8) | 20.4 (68.7) | 13.0 (55.4) | 4.5 (40.1) | −3.1 (26.4) | 12.7 (54.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −9.8 (14.4) | −4.7 (23.5) | 3.5 (38.3) | 10.2 (50.4) | 14.3 (57.7) | 18.0 (64.4) | 20.0 (68.0) | 18.8 (65.8) | 14.2 (57.6) | 6.7 (44.1) | −0.8 (30.6) | −7.0 (19.4) | 7.0 (44.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −22.2 (−8.0) | −22.6 (−8.7) | −10.1 (13.8) | −1.4 (29.5) | 4.4 (39.9) | 8.8 (47.8) | 10.9 (51.6) | 9.5 (49.1) | 3.4 (38.1) | −4.4 (24.1) | −12.0 (10.4) | −20.1 (−4.2) | −22.6 (−8.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 3.2 (0.13) | 6.1 (0.24) | 7.1 (0.28) | 4.9 (0.19) | 12.1 (0.48) | 10.4 (0.41) | 10.1 (0.40) | 11.9 (0.47) | 12.1 (0.48) | 4.7 (0.19) | 2.7 (0.11) | 2.2 (0.09) | 87.5 (3.47) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 1.8 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 34.9 |
| Average snowy days | 6.6 | 3.9 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.8 | 5.6 | 18 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 66 | 57 | 44 | 36 | 38 | 38 | 41 | 46 | 50 | 53 | 58 | 68 | 50 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 137.6 | 147.6 | 179.5 | 211.2 | 257.6 | 293.6 | 295.9 | 270.5 | 248.5 | 236.7 | 184.7 | 131.9 | 2,595.3 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 45 | 48 | 48 | 53 | 58 | 66 | 66 | 65 | 68 | 70 | 62 | 45 | 58 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration ||||||||||||||

## Economy

As of 1885, there was about 72,700 acres (480,014 mu) of cultivated land in Yengisar.

## Demographics

As of 2015, 297,290 of the 302,542 residents of the county were Uyghur, 25,404 were Han Chinese and 851 were from other ethnic groups.
As of 1999, 97.82% of the population of Yengisar (Yingjisha) County was Uyghur and 1.79% of the population was Han Chinese.

## Transportation

Yengisar is served by China National Highway 315 and the Southern Xinjiang railway.

## Wildlife

The city of Yengisar gave its name to Yangihissar gecko (Cyrtopodion elongatum) lizard species, which occurs throughout eastern Central Asia, including Xinjiang and Gansu Province.

## Notable persons

* Isa Alptekin, Uyghur nationalist
* Erkin Alptekin, 1st President of the World Uyghur Congress
* Arken Imirbaki
* Yulbars Khan

## Gallery

* Map of the Karakoram Highway including Yengisar
* Map including Yengisar (labeled as YING-CHI-SHA) (ACIC, 1969)
* Map including Yengisar (labeled as Yangihissar) (1917)
* Map including Yengisar (labeled as YING-CHI-SHA (YANGI HISSAR)) and surrounding region from the International Map of the World (AMS, 1966)
* From the Operational Navigation Chart; map including Yengisar (Ying-chi-sha) (DMA, 1980)
* Map including Yengisar (Ying-chi-sha) (DMA, 1984)
* Yengisar Knife Factory
* Yengisar يېڭىسار 英吉沙