# Niya County

Niya County (transliterated from the Uyghur نىيە ناھىيىسى Niyă Nahiyisi ; Chinese: 尼雅县), also from Mandarin Chinese as Minfeng County (Chinese: 民丰县), is a county within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. It contains an area of 56,726 km$^2$ (21,902 sq mi). According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 30,000. The county is bordered to the north by Xayar County, to the east by Qiemo/Qarqan County, to the west by Yutian / Keriya County and to the south by Ngari Prefecture in Tibet.
The county seat is in the town of Niya, which is often referred to by the county name (Minfeng) as well. The Niya ruins are located 115 km north of Niya.

## History

In the early 20th century, Aurel Stein carried out several expeditions in the area including exploration of the ancient Niya ruins.
In 1945, Minfeng Shezhiju (民豐設治局) was established. In 1947, the area became Minfeng County.
In 2012, the township of Yawatongguz (Yawatongguzi) was established.
In early 2015, a joint report issued by the Water Conservancy Office of Hotan prefecture and the regional Water Conservancy Department reported that up to 80 percent of the population of the county did not have access to clean drinking water.
In June 2015 in the lead-up to Ramadan, a beer festival was held in the county leading to condemnation from Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the World Uyghur Congress.
In September 2015, residents of the county were reported to be subject to new rules concerning unacceptable given names for Uyghur children.
On December 8, 2019, County Communist Party Committee Vice Secretary (县委副书记) and County Magistrate (县长) Ëziz Eli (艾则孜·艾力) penned a criticism of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act.

## Geography

The northern part of the county is located in the Taklamakan Desert and consists of large areas of sand dunes. The population centers on oases around rivers flowing down from the mountains in the southern part of the county.

### Climate

As of 1997, on average, Minfeng experienced blowing dust or sand on 189 days in a year and visibility below 4,800 meters for more than half of winter and summer as well as for thirty to forty percent of spring. The lowest spring time temperature recorded in Minfeng was -22°C.
Climate data for Niya, elevation 1,410 m (4,630 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) | 19.2 (66.6) | 22.3 (72.1) | 33.2 (91.8) | 36.1 (97.0) | 37.7 (99.9) | 40.8 (105.4) | 41.8 (107.2) | 41.7 (107.1) | 37.8 (100.0) | 32.3 (90.1) | 25.7 (78.3) | 21.5 (70.7) | 41.8 (107.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 1.7 (35.1) | 7.8 (46.0) | 17.2 (63.0) | 24.6 (76.3) | 28.7 (83.7) | 31.8 (89.2) | 33.5 (92.3) | 32.6 (90.7) | 28.4 (83.1) | 21.6 (70.9) | 12.5 (54.5) | 3.8 (38.8) | 20.4 (68.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −5.2 (22.6) | 0.6 (33.1) | 9.3 (48.7) | 16.5 (61.7) | 20.9 (69.6) | 24.4 (75.9) | 25.9 (78.6) | 24.8 (76.6) | 19.8 (67.6) | 11.7 (53.1) | 3.8 (38.8) | −3.3 (26.1) | 12.4 (54.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −11.1 (12.0) | −6.0 (21.2) | 1.6 (34.9) | 8.5 (47.3) | 13.3 (55.9) | 17.4 (63.3) | 19.1 (66.4) | 17.7 (63.9) | 12.0 (53.6) | 3.2 (37.8) | −3.2 (26.2) | −8.9 (16.0) | 5.3 (41.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −25.8 (−14.4) | −23.7 (−10.7) | −11.4 (11.5) | −2.7 (27.1) | 0.7 (33.3) | 6.9 (44.4) | 11.1 (52.0) | 6.2 (43.2) | 1.4 (34.5) | −6.6 (20.1) | −12.8 (9.0) | −19.8 (−3.6) | −25.8 (−14.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 1.8 (0.07) | 1.1 (0.04) | 1.1 (0.04) | 2.9 (0.11) | 5.3 (0.21) | 14.6 (0.57) | 9.6 (0.38) | 6.0 (0.24) | 4.8 (0.19) | 0.4 (0.02) | 0.2 (0.01) | 1.0 (0.04) | 48.8 (1.92) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.3 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 2.0 | 4.4 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 20.4 |
| Average snowy days | 4.9 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 11.1 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 52 | 42 | 28 | 26 | 31 | 37 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 43 | 43 | 53 | 40 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 206.4 | 204.2 | 235.6 | 251.2 | 273.6 | 254.4 | 244.3 | 244.1 | 257.1 | 283.6 | 236.3 | 211.8 | 2,902.6 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 67 | 66 | 63 | 63 | 62 | 58 | 55 | 59 | 70 | 83 | 79 | 71 | 66 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration ||||||||||||||

## Administrative divisions

The county includes one town and six townships:
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Administrative division code |
| Town |||||||
| Niya Town | 尼雅镇 | Níyǎ Zhèn | نىيە بازىرى | niye baziri | 653227100 |
| Township |||||||
| Niya Township | 尼雅乡 | Níyǎ Xiāng | نىيە يېزىسى | niye yëzisi | 653227200 |
| Rokiya Township | 若克雅乡 | Ruòkèyǎ Xiāng | رۇكىيا يېزىسى | rukiya yëzisi | 653227201 |
| Salgozak Township | 萨勒吾则克乡 | Sàlèwúzékè Xiāng | سالغوزەك يېزىسى | salghozek yëzisi | 653227202 |
| Yeyik Township | 叶亦克乡 | Yèyìkè Xiāng | يېيىق يېزىسى | yëyiq yëzisi | 653227203 |
| Andir Township | 安迪尔乡 | Āndí'ěr Xiāng | ئەندىر يېزىسى | Endir yëzisi | 653227204 |
| Yawatongguz Township (area of Yawatongguzlangar) | 亚瓦通古孜乡 | Yàwǎtōnggǔzī Xiāng | ياۋا توڭگۇز يېزىسى | yawatongguz yëzisi | 653227205 |

## Economy

The economy is primarily based on agriculture and livestock farming. Products of the county include corn, wheat, cotton and sheep wool. Industries in the county include electronics, agriculture technology, food processing, carpets and construction.

## Demographics

As of 2015, Out of the 38,492 residents, 34,900 of the county were Uyghur, 3,509 were Han Chinese and 83 were from other ethnic groups.
As of 1999, 90.94% of the population of Niya (Minfeng) County was Uyghur and 8.91% of the population was Han Chinese.

## Transportation

* China National Highway 315
* Tarim Desert Highway
* Minfeng railway station serving Hotan–Ruoqiang railway

## Gallery

* New Mosque - Minfeng.
* Niya men (1912)
* Map including Minfeng (labeled as MIN-FENG (NIYA BAZAR)) and surrounding region in the International Map of the World (ATC, 1971)
* Map including Niya (labeled as MIN-FENG (NI-YA)) (ATC, 1971)
* Map including the southern part of Minfeng/Niya County and the county's border with Tibet (DMA, 1975)
* Map including part of Niya (Minfeng) County (DMA, 1979)
* Map including Minfeng (labeled as Minfeng (Min-feng)) and surrounding region (DMA, 1980)
* Map including Niya (labeled as Minfeng) (DMA, 1990)