# Onsu County

Onsu County (Uyghur: ئونسۇ ناھىيىسى, romanized: Onsu Nahiyisi) and from Mandarin Chinese Wensu County (Chinese: 温宿县), is a county in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Aksu Prefecture, bordering Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul Region to the northwest. It contains an area of 14,309 km$^2$ (5,525 sq mi).

## Etymology

The toponym Wensu (温宿) had appeared in historical records of the Western Han Dynasty as one of the 36 states in the Western Regions. The name 'Onsu' (Wensu) means "ten water" in Uyghur and other Turkic languages. The name is similar to that of the nearby Zhetysu region which means "seven rivers"- both names consist of a number followed by 'su' (river; water). The name Aksu is Turkic for 'white water'.
In Uyghur, the county is called Aksu Konaxahar (阿克苏阔纳协海尔) meaning 'the old city of Aksu'.

## History

Onsu County was established in 1902.
On May 29, 1958, Onsu County was eliminated and its territory made part of Aksu County. In 1962, Onsu County was restored.
In a Radio Free Asia interview, a Han Chinese staffer in the Onsu County local government said that in July 2017, a policy to affix QR codes to all knives belonging to Uyghurs was being carried out.
As of March 2018, every cadre in the county was required to spend eight days a month at the home of villagers.
In the late 2010s, Onsu County was the site of vocational education and training centers (also understood as re-education camps or concentration camps). According to a Radio Free Asia interview with an officer at the Onsu county police station, as of August 2018, 30,000 persons, or about one in six Uyghurs in the county (approximately 16% of the overall population of the county), were detained in re-education camps.

## Administrative divisions

Onsu County administered 8 towns, 4 townships, and 1 ethnic township.
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Administrative division code | Notes |
| Towns |||||||
| Onsu Town (Wensu Town) | 温宿镇 | Wēnsù Zhèn | ئونسۇ بازىرى | Onsu baziri | 652922100 | |
| Tumxuk Town | 吐木秀克镇 | Tǔmùxiùkè Zhèn | تۇمشۇق بازىرى | tumshuq baziri | 652922101 | formerly Tumxuk Township (吐木秀克乡) |
| Qizil Town | 克孜勒镇 | Tǔmùxiùkè Zhèn | قىزىل بازىرى | qizil baziri | 652922102 | formerly Qizil Township (克孜勒乡) |
| Aral Town | 阿热勒镇 | Ārèlè Zhèn | ئارال بازىرى | Aral baziri | 652922103 | formerly Aral Township (阿热勒乡) |
| Jam Town | 佳木镇 | Jiāmù Zhèn | جام بازىرى | jam baziri | 652922104 | formerly Jam Township (佳木乡) |
| Topkhan Town | 托甫汗镇 | Tuōfǔhàn Zhèn | توپقان بازىرى | topqan baziri | 652922105 | |
| Komsumul Town | 共青团镇 | Gòngqīngtuán Zhèn | كومسۇمۇل بازىرى | komsumul baziri | 652922106 | |
| Kökyar Town | 柯柯牙镇 | Kēkēyá Zhèn | كۆكيار بازىرى | kökyar baziri | 652922107 | |
| Townships |||||||
| Toxula Township | 托乎拉乡 | Tuōhūlā Xiāng | توخۇلا يېزىسى | toxula yëzisi | 652922200 | |
| Chaghraq Township | 恰格拉克乡 | Qiàgélākè Xiāng | چاغراق يېزىسى | chaghraq yëzisi | 652922202 | |
| Ishlemchi Township | 依希来木其乡 | Yīxīláimùqí Xiāng | ئىشلەمچى يېزىسى | Ishlemchi yëzisi | 652922204 | |
| Gulawat Township (Gule Awati) | 古勒阿瓦提乡 | Gǔlè'āwǎtí Xiāng | گۈلئاۋات يېزىسى | gül'awat yëzisi | 652922206 | |
| Ethnic township |||||||
| Bozdong Kyrgyz Ethnic Township | 博孜墩柯尔克孜族乡 | Bózīdūn Kē'ěrkèzīzú Xiāng | بوزدۆڭ قىرغىز يېزىسى | bozdöng qirghiz yëzisi | 652922207 | (Kyrgyz) بوزدۅڭ قىرعىز ايىلى Боздөң Кыргыз айылы |

## Climate

Climate data for Onsu, elevation 1,133 m (3,717 ft), (1991–2020 normals) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −1.0 (30.2) | 5.3 (41.5) | 14.2 (57.6) | 22.4 (72.3) | 26.8 (80.2) | 29.9 (85.8) | 31.3 (88.3) | 30.2 (86.4) | 26.2 (79.2) | 19.4 (66.9) | 9.8 (49.6) | 0.8 (33.4) | 17.9 (64.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −7.3 (18.9) | −1.1 (30.0) | 8.0 (46.4) | 15.8 (60.4) | 20.2 (68.4) | 23.1 (73.6) | 24.4 (75.9) | 23.2 (73.8) | 18.9 (66.0) | 11.7 (53.1) | 2.9 (37.2) | −4.9 (23.2) | 11.2 (52.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −12.5 (9.5) | −6.8 (19.8) | 1.7 (35.1) | 9.2 (48.6) | 13.9 (57.0) | 16.7 (62.1) | 18.0 (64.4) | 16.8 (62.2) | 12.3 (54.1) | 4.9 (40.8) | −2.3 (27.9) | −9.1 (15.6) | 5.2 (41.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 1.8 (0.07) | 3.2 (0.13) | 4.0 (0.16) | 5.4 (0.21) | 9.6 (0.38) | 19.6 (0.77) | 15.7 (0.62) | 15.9 (0.63) | 12.6 (0.50) | 4.4 (0.17) | 2.5 (0.10) | 3.4 (0.13) | 98.1 (3.87) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.8 | 6.6 | 6.3 | 7.0 | 4.2 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 42 |
| Average snowy days | 5.7 | 3.6 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.4 | 5.8 | 17.4 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 68 | 59 | 44 | 37 | 41 | 48 | 52 | 56 | 57 | 57 | 64 | 72 | 55 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 177.1 | 182.3 | 199.7 | 224.8 | 264.7 | 281.5 | 300.5 | 278.1 | 250.0 | 246.4 | 192.4 | 158.1 | 2,755.6 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 59 | 60 | 53 | 56 | 59 | 62 | 66 | 66 | 68 | 73 | 66 | 56 | 62 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration ||||||||||||||

## Economy

Agricultural products include rice, wheat, corn, cotton and fruit products. Sheep wool and sheepskins are produced in abundance. Industries produce food, spun cotton, building materials and coal.
As of 1885, there was about 139,200 acres (919,475 mu) of cultivated land in Onsu.

## Demographics

As of 2015, 197,360 of the 259,305 residents of the county were Uyghur, 55,335 were Han Chinese and 6,610 were from other ethnic groups.
According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 210,000.
As of 1999, 76.17% of the population of Onsu (Wensu) County was Uyghur and 21.43% of the population was Han Chinese.

## Transportation

* China National Highway 314

## Historical maps

Historical English-language maps including Onsu:
* Map including Uqturpan (labeled as WEN-SU (AKSU-KONE SHAHR)) and surrounding region from the International Map of the World (AMS, 1950)
* Map including Onsu (labeled as WENSU) (DMA, 1981)
* From the Operational Navigation Chart; map including Onsu (labeled as WEN-SU (WENSU)) (DMA, 1985)