Akto County

Akto County (also known as Aqtu, Aktu, or Aketao; Chinese: 阿克陶县; pinyin: Ākètáo Xiàn) is a county in Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. The county borders Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and has two towns, 11 townships, four state-owned farms and a plant nursery under its jurisdiction. The county seat is Akto Town. The county has an area of 24,555 km (9,481 sq mi). In 2015 its population was 221,526; in 2017 it was 231,756.
Akto is the westernmost county of China; its westernmost point is north of the Markansu River (玛尔坎苏河), on the border with Tajikistan. The county is located in the southwest of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, east of the Pamir Plateau, and is near the western edge of the Tarim Basin. It is between 73°26'5" and 76°43'31" east longitude, and between 37°41'28" and 39°29'55" north latitude. It is bordered by Wuqia County and Shufu County to the north, by Shule County and 41st Regiment of the XPCC across Yopurga River (岳普湖河) to the northeast, by Yengisar County (Yingjisha), Yarkant County (Shache) to the east, and by Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County (Tashkurgan) to the south. The west and south-west share a border with Kyrgyzstan and a border with Tajikistan; the total border line is more than 380 kilometers long.
Akto means 'white mountain' in the Kyrgyz language, referring to snowy mountains.
In the early years of the Western Han dynasty, the land of the present Akto County was under the jurisdiction of three Kingdoms of Shule, Puli (蒲犁国) and Yilai (依耐国). In 60 BC, the Han dynasty set up the Protectorate of the Western Regions in Wulei Fortress (乌垒城; near the present Yungou 云沟, Dongye Town 东野镇 in Luntai County), and Akto was under its jurisdiction. During the Three Kingdoms period, Akto was still under the jurisdiction of the Wei State. During the Jin dynasty, Akto County was part of Shule Kingdom of Jin. In 658, with the establishment of Kara-Khanid Khanate, most of Akto was under its jurisdiction. In 1134, Akto was part of West Liao with the East Kara-Khanid Khanate reconciled to West Liao. In 1226, the Southern Tianshan was in the territory of Chagatai Khanate, with Akto under its control. With the establishment of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate in 1347, Akto was one of the dominions of the khanate supervisor Hudaida (忽歹达). Akto was part of Yarkent Khanate in 1514. In 1678, the Dzungar began to rule. After the Qing dynasty calmed the Revolt of the Altishahr Khojas in 1759, the land was ruled by Kashgar and Yarkand officials (喀什噶尔和叶尔羌参赞大臣). Appointed the seat of officials of circuits, prefectures and counties in southern Xinjiang in 1883, Akto was under the jurisdiction of Yengisar Independent Subprefecture (英吉沙尔直隶厅), Shule Independent Department (疏勒直隶州) and Puli Subprefecture of Shache Prefecture (莎车府蒲犁分防厅).
Akto County was established in August 1954 from parts of Yengisar, Shufu, Taxkorgan (present Tashkurgan, Puli) and Wuqia counties. The present Yumai Township (玉麦乡) was from the 6th district in Yengisar, Piral Township (皮拉勒乡) and Barin Township from the 7th district in Yengisar (Yingjisha), Kizilto Township (克孜勒陶乡) from the 8th district in Yengisar, Qiarlon Township (恰尔隆乡) from 4th district of Qiarlon (恰尔隆第四区) in Puli County, Blunko Township (布伦口乡) from 5th district of Blunko (布伦口五区) in Puli and two townships of Bostanterak District (波斯坦铁热克区) in Wuqia County, Auytak Town (奥依塔克镇) from Auytak Township (奥依塔克乡) in Shufu County, Karekayqik Township (喀热开其克乡) from Qlukbash Township in Shufu.
In April 1990, the Baren Township riot occurred in Barin Township.
In June 1996, Aisha Awazi, Uyghur imam of a mosque in the county, was arrested in connection with reportedly appointing himself imam in 1992, being strongly critical of communists as pagans and organizing 120 like-minded persons; he is listed as a political prisoner.
The 2007 Xinjiang raid occurred in the county.
In 2015, Chinese state media reported about a huge body of the Kongur Tiube glacier (7,530 metres) collapsing causing a 20 km long and one kilometre wide ice rock avalanche.
Akto County is located in the central hinterland of Asia, the westernmost part of China, the southwest of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the eastern Pamir Plateau, and the western edge of the Tarim Basin. It is located between east longitudes 73°26'5" and 76°43'31", and between north latitude 37°41'28" and 39°29'55". Its maximum length from north to south is 283.2 kilometers long from the middle section of Maltabar Mountain (玛里他巴尔山) in the northwest to The Kokluk Farm (科克鲁克农场) in Kuslap Township (库斯拉甫乡) in the southeast; its maximum length from west to east is 216 kilometers long from Subash Village (苏巴什村) in Bulungkol Township (布伦口乡) in the southwest to the Jamaterak Township (加马铁热克乡) in the northeast. The terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast, with a total area of 24,555 square kilometers.
Akto County includes parts of three major geographic regions: the Pamirs, the northern slopes of the Kunlun Mountains, and the oasis on the western edge of the Tarim Basin. Mountainous areas (generally at an altitude of 4,000 to 5,000 meters) make up 96.39% of the county's total area. The Kungay Mountain (昆盖山) in the northwest is at the boundary with Wuqia County, at an elevation of 5,753.7 meters. The Sarikol Range (萨雷阔勒岭) in the southwest is more than 4,500 meters above sea level; the highest peak of Kongur Tagh (公格尔山) in the central part is 7,719 meters above sea level, Kongur Tiube (公格尔九别峰) is 7,530 meters, and Muztagh Ata (慕士塔格峰) is 7,541 meters. There are 66 snow-capped peaks in the territory, including 36 large ice peaks. The mountaintops have snow year round, and there are glaciers of different sizes around the peaks. Large parts of the county are subject to severe drought and erosion due to the bare mountains and sparse vegetation. Bare mountains in the area are formed from different types of rock, and may therefore be gray, black, yellow, red or white. The midwestern part of the county is on the Pamir Plateau. Several giant mountains on the Asian continent - the Himalayas, the Karakoram Range, the Kunlun Mountains, the Tian Shan Mountains and the Hindu Kush Mountains are all gathered here. The Kongur–Muztagh Mountains (公格尔-慕士塔格山), the main range of the Pamirs, are mainly in Akto County. The range extends southward to Tashkurgan County, and to the northeast into Yengisar and Kargilik counties. Muztagh is the boundary mountain between Akto County and Tashkurgan County; the top of the mountain is accumulating ice and snow, and the thickness of snow is more than 100 meters. There are more than 40 modern glaciers distributed below the snow line, with ice sheets about 100 meters deep. Glacial meltwater is the main source of agricultural irrigation in the county, and it is also the main source of supply for the Gez River (盖孜河) and the Kushan River (库山河).
The southern part of Akto County is the northern slope of Kunlun Mountains, which is the main mountain of the Kunlun. In addition to the Jogori Peak, the other three famous peaks of Muztagh Ata, Kongur Tagh and Kongur Tiube are almost all in Akto. Kunlun is famous for its jade production. It is located in the mountains of Akto in the upper reaches of the Yarkand River. There are many jade mines. These jade stones, exposed in the rock formations by the river, are washed into the riverbed in the lower reaches, and stepping on jade in the Yarkand River has become a production activity and industry that the local people have been engaged in for thousands of years.
The northeastern part of the county is an oasis, located on the southwestern edge of the Tarim Basin and part of the Tarim Oasis. The plain agricultural areas in the county are mainly divided into two parts: one is the front flood fan of the Pamir Mountains, and the other is the Gez-Kushan River Delta (盖孜-库山河三角洲). These two plains, in terms of large landform types, belong to the Kashgar Delta (喀什噶尔三角洲) and form an oasis on the southwest edge of the Tarim Basin. The Gez-Kushan River Delta, located in the southern part of the Kashgar Plain (喀什噶尔平原), the northern part of the northern slope of the Pamir-West Kunlun Mountain Range, the triangle between the Gez and the Kushan rivers, covers an area of about 800 square kilometers, and has a distribution population of more than 100,000, accounting for about 68% of the total population of the county. It is composed of the flood of the Gez river and the Kushan River - alluvial fan and Gez River - the dympastain plain saticity of the Yuepuhu River, mainly including Akto Town, Yumai, Barin, Pilal, Jamaterak and other agricultural areas. The area is flat, at an altitude of about 1,200 to 1,500 meters, with abundant water and fertile land.
The county has 12 township-level administrative divisions under its jurisdiction, with five state-owned farms.
Akto County has a large Uyghur majority, numbering 172,408 in 2018, or 73.64% of the county's population. The largest minority in Akto County are the Kyrgyz (including the Akto Turkmens), who number 47,394 in 2018, comprising 20.24% of the county's population. Other sizable minorities in the county include the Han Chinese and Mountain Tajiks, with populations of 7,864 and 6,018, respectively, comprising 3.36% and 2.57% of the county's population in 2018.
Akto is served by the Kashgar-Hotan Railway.