Qitai County (Chinese: 奇台县) as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Uyghur as Guqung County or Gucheng County (Uyghur: گۇچۇڭ ناھىيىسى; Chinese: 古城县), is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China under the administration of the Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture. It covers an area of 16,641 square kilometres (6,425 sq mi) and as of the 2002 census[update] had a population of 230,000.
Qitai County Kitai | |
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.png) Location of Qitai (pink) in Changji Prefecture (yellow) and Xinjiang | |
  Qitai Location in Xinjiang  Qitai Qitai (China) | |
| Coordinates: 44°01′N 89°35′E / 44.017°N 89.583°E | |
| Country | China |
| Region | Xinjiang |
| Autonomous prefecture | Changji |
| County seat | Qitai Town |
| Area | |
| • Total | 16,645 km2 (6,427 sq mi) |
| Population (2020)[1] | |
| • Total | 219,811 |
| • Density | 13/km2 (34/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard[a]) |
| Area code | 0994 |
| Website | www |
| Qitai County | |||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 奇台县 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 奇台縣 | ||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 古城县 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 古城縣 | ||||||||||
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| Uyghur name | |||||||||||
| Uyghur | گۇچۇڭ ناھىيىسى | ||||||||||
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Qitai County's county seat is in Qitai Town. Gucheng Township is nearby.
History
Located on one of the main routes of the Silk Road, the old Gucheng (often referred in the European writing of the past as "Ku Ch'eng-tze", Kucheng, Kuchengtze, etc., using Wade-Giles or Postal Romanization systems), was the western terminal for one of the caravan routes across the Gobi Desert. Owen Lattimore in The Desert Road to Turkestan leaves an account of his travel along this route in 1926-27.[2]
"Under the special circumstances of the caravan trade, camel traffic usually overshoots Hami ["the most easterly point on the arterial cart roads of Chinese Turkestan"], going on all the way to Ku Ch’eng-tze. This is partly because the pastures near Ku Ch’eng-tze are more adequate to caravan needs, but still more because, transport being cheaper by camel than by cart, it is to the advantage of merchants to have their goods carried as far as possible by caravan."[3]
Climate
| Climate data for Qitai (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 5.1 (41.2) | 7.7 (45.9) | 26.0 (78.8) | 34.5 (94.1) | 36.0 (96.8) | 37.6 (99.7) | 39.1 (102.4) | 40.5 (104.9) | 36.1 (97.0) | 30.3 (86.5) | 25.1 (77.2) | 12.4 (54.3) | 40.5 (104.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −8.9 (16.0) | −4.9 (23.2) | 5.8 (42.4) | 18.9 (66.0) | 24.8 (76.6) | 29.3 (84.7) | 31.0 (87.8) | 30.2 (86.4) | 24.6 (76.3) | 15.5 (59.9) | 3.7 (38.7) | −6.4 (20.5) | 13.6 (56.5) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −17.3 (0.9) | −13.0 (8.6) | −1.2 (29.8) | 10.8 (51.4) | 16.9 (62.4) | 21.6 (70.9) | 23.1 (73.6) | 21.7 (71.1) | 15.7 (60.3) | 7.1 (44.8) | −3.2 (26.2) | −13.7 (7.3) | 5.7 (42.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −23.5 (−10.3) | −19.9 (−3.8) | −7.3 (18.9) | 3.6 (38.5) | 9.3 (48.7) | 14.0 (57.2) | 15.6 (60.1) | 14.0 (57.2) | 8.3 (46.9) | 1.0 (33.8) | −8.2 (17.2) | −19.4 (−2.9) | −1.0 (30.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −35.5 (−31.9) | −37.6 (−35.7) | −31.4 (−24.5) | −13.7 (7.3) | −3.0 (26.6) | 2.2 (36.0) | 6.8 (44.2) | 0.1 (32.2) | −3.5 (25.7) | −12.9 (8.8) | −31.9 (−25.4) | −40.1 (−40.2) | −40.1 (−40.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 7.5 (0.30) | 7.1 (0.28) | 11.1 (0.44) | 18.7 (0.74) | 23.0 (0.91) | 23.0 (0.91) | 34.4 (1.35) | 27.7 (1.09) | 18.0 (0.71) | 15.4 (0.61) | 14.1 (0.56) | 11.7 (0.46) | 211.7 (8.36) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 7.3 | 6.1 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 7.5 | 6.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 6.5 | 8.2 | 73.7 |
| Average snowy days | 15.4 | 12.4 | 6.3 | 2.3 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 8.1 | 15.5 | 61.9 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 77 | 77 | 70 | 49 | 45 | 48 | 52 | 50 | 49 | 59 | 74 | 79 | 61 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 144.8 | 171.2 | 238.9 | 265.9 | 303.4 | 301.4 | 300.5 | 298.0 | 274.0 | 240.6 | 168.2 | 127.4 | 2,834.3 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 50 | 57 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 65 | 65 | 70 | 75 | 72 | 59 | 46 | 63 |
| Source 1: China Meteorological Administration[4][5] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: Weather China[6] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Beitashan, Qitai County (elevation 1,654 m (5,427 ft), 1991–2020 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −6.9 (19.6) | −4.0 (24.8) | 1.9 (35.4) | 11.1 (52.0) | 17.3 (63.1) | 22.8 (73.0) | 24.6 (76.3) | 23.4 (74.1) | 17.5 (63.5) | 9.1 (48.4) | 0.5 (32.9) | −5.3 (22.5) | 9.3 (48.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −12.4 (9.7) | −10.1 (13.8) | −4.1 (24.6) | 4.9 (40.8) | 11.1 (52.0) | 16.9 (62.4) | 18.7 (65.7) | 17.2 (63.0) | 11.2 (52.2) | 3.2 (37.8) | −5.0 (23.0) | −10.5 (13.1) | 3.4 (38.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −17.5 (0.5) | −15.3 (4.5) | −9.1 (15.6) | −0.1 (31.8) | 5.4 (41.7) | 11.1 (52.0) | 13.2 (55.8) | 11.8 (53.2) | 6.1 (43.0) | −1.1 (30.0) | −9.5 (14.9) | −15.4 (4.3) | −1.7 (28.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 5.2 (0.20) | 5.8 (0.23) | 8.8 (0.35) | 15.8 (0.62) | 18.9 (0.74) | 24.0 (0.94) | 39.4 (1.55) | 25.0 (0.98) | 12.8 (0.50) | 13.6 (0.54) | 15.1 (0.59) | 7.3 (0.29) | 191.7 (7.53) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 5.5 | 5.4 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 5.5 | 6.4 | 9.2 | 6.7 | 5.0 | 5.7 | 7.7 | 6.9 | 76.2 |
| Average snowy days | 8.3 | 8.0 | 9.1 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 6.6 | 10.0 | 9.8 | 61.2 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 56 | 56 | 54 | 46 | 41 | 42 | 46 | 43 | 42 | 50 | 57 | 57 | 49 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 194.7 | 208.5 | 254.8 | 262.9 | 303.2 | 296.2 | 295.5 | 294.7 | 270.6 | 231.5 | 180.4 | 176.2 | 2,969.2 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 68 | 70 | 68 | 64 | 65 | 63 | 63 | 69 | 74 | 70 | 65 | 65 | 67 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration[4][7] | |||||||||||||
Subdivisions
Qitai County is made up of 9 towns, 3 townships, and 3 ethnic townships.
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Administrative division code | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Towns | ||||||
| Qitai Town | 奇台镇 | Qítái Zhèn | گۇچۇڭ بازىرى | guchung baziri | 652325100 | |
| Laoqitai Town | 老奇台镇 | Lǎoqítái Zhèn | لوچىتەي بازىرى (كونا گۇچۇڭ بازىرى) | lochitey baziri (kona guchung baziri) | 652325101 | |
| Banjiegou Town | 半截沟镇 | Bànjiégōu Zhèn | بەنجەگۇ بازىرى | benjegu baziri | 652325102 | |
| Jebki Town | 吉布库镇 | Jíbùkù Zhèn | جېبكى بازىرى | jëbki baziri | 652325103 | |
| Dongwan Town | 东湾镇 | Dōngwān Zhèn | دۇڭۋەن بازىرى | dungwen baziri | 652325104 | |
| Xidi Town | 西地镇 | Xīdì Zhèn | شىدى بازىرى | shidi baziri | 652325105 | |
| Biliuhe Town | 碧流河镇 | Bìliúhé Zhèn | بىلۇخې بازىرى | biluxë baziri | 652325106 | |
| Sangezhuangzi Town | 三个庄子镇 | Sāngèzhuāngzǐ Zhèn | سەنگىجاڭزا بازىرى | sengijangza baziri | 652325107 | |
| Xibeiwan Town | 西北湾镇 | Xīběiwān Zhèn | شىبېيۋەن بازىرى | shibëywen baziri | 652325108 | |
| Townships | ||||||
| Kariz Township | 坎尔孜乡 | Kǎn'ěrzī Xiāng | كارىز يېزىسى | kariz yëzisi | 652325202 | |
| Gucheng Township | 古城乡 | Gǔchéng Xiāng | گۇچۇڭ يېزىسى | guchung yëzisi | 652325204 | |
| Qihu Township | 七户乡 | Qīhù Xiāng | چىخۇ يېزىسى | chixu yëzisi | 652325204 | |
| Ethnic townships | ||||||
| Wumachang Kazakh Ethnic Township | 五马场乡 (五马场哈萨克族乡) | Wǔmǎchǎng Xiāng (Wǔmǎchǎng Hāsàkèzú Xiāng) | ۋۇماچاڭ قازاق يېزىسى | wumachang qazaq yëzisi | 652325203 | (Kazakh) ۋماچاڭ قازاق اۋىلى |
| Qorin Kazakh Ethnic Township | 乔仁乡 (乔仁哈萨克族乡) | Qiáorén Xiāng (Qiáorén Hāsàkèzú Xiāng) | چورىن قازاق يېزىسى | chorin qazaq yëzisi | 652325205 | (Kazakh) ٴشورىن قازاق اۋىلى |
| Daquan Tatar Ethnic Township | 塔塔尔乡 (大泉塔塔尔族乡) | Tǎtǎ'ěr Xiāng (Dàquán Tǎtǎ'ěrzú Xiāng) | داچۈەن تاتار يېزىسى | dachüen tatar yëzisi | 652325208 | (Tatar) Дацюань-Татар милли волосте |
Transportation
In 2009, the Ürümqi–Dzungaria Railway was constructed through the Jiangjun Gobi desert in the northern part of the county. It terminates at a coal mine in Jiangjunmiao.[8]
The radio telescope project
In 2012, the officials of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Xinjiang government presided over the groundbreaking at the site of the Xinjiang Qitai Astronomical and Science Education Base.[9] The facility, in Qitai County's Banjiegou Town (半截沟镇), will be the home of the proposed Qitai Radio Telescope.[10] Once completed it will be the largest fully steerable single-dish radio telescope in the world.[11][12]
Footnotes
References
- Lattimore, Owen (1929). The Desert Road to Turkestan. Owen Lattimore. Boston, Little, Brown, and Company. Reprinted with new introduction, 1972, AMS Press, New York, N.Y.