Korla

Korla or Kuerle (Mongolian: Хорл; simplified Chinese: 库尔勒; traditional Chinese: 庫爾勒; pinyin: Kù'ěrlè) is a mid-sized city in central Xinjiang. Korla is the capital of the Bayin'gholin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, which is larger than France and is the largest prefecture in China.

The city name is occasionally spelled Kurla in English.

Geography

Korla is approximately 200 km southwest from Urumqi (Wulumuqi), although road the trip is more than 500 km.

The Iron Gate Pass (Tiemenguan) leading to Yanqi (Karashahr) is about 7 km (4 miles) north of the city and, as it was easily defended, played an important part in protecting the ancient Silk Roads from raiding nomads from the north.

The Kongque River flows through the center of Korla, a unique feature amongst cities in Xinjiang. Often mistranslated as "Peacock River", the Chinese word "kongque" is actually a transliteration of the Uyghur word "konqi", meaning "an abundance of water".

Economy

Korla has long been the biggest centre in the region after Karashahr itself, having abundant water and extensive farmlands, as well as controlling the main routes to the south and west of Karashahr. Due to the discovery of oil in the Taklamakan Desert, Korla is now both more populous and far more developed than Karashar. Korla is home to a huge operational center for PetroChina's exploration in Xinjiang.

Korla is known for its production of fragrant pears - 庫爾勒香梨 which are well known in the region for their sweetness and flavor.

Demographics

The city had 430,000 inhabitants in 2007 with 20,000 additional people every year, of whom the majority were Han Chinese, with a large minority of Uyghurs (about 100,000)and smaller numbers of Mongols and Huis.

History

Korla was known as Weili (尉犁) (reconstructed pronunciation of first character: *i̯wəd) [Karlgren, Bernhard. "Grammata Serica", No. 525 a-b. (1940). Reprint (1966): Ch'eng-wen Publishing Company, Taipei.] during the Han Dynasty. Weili is said in the Hanshu or 'History of the Former Han' (covering the period 125 BCE to 23 CE), to have had 1,200 households, 9,600 individuals and 2,000 people able to bear arms. It also mentions that it adjoined Shanshan and Qiemo (Charchan) to the south. [Hulsewé, A. F. P. and Loewe, M. A. N. 1979. "China in Central Asia: The Early Stage 125 BC – AD 23: an annotated translation of chapters 61 and 96 of the History of the Former Han Dynasty", p. 177. E. J. Brill, Leiden.]

In 61 CE, the Xiongnu led some 30,000 troops from 15 kingdoms including Korla, Karashahr, and Kucha in a successful attack on Khotan.

In 94 CE, the Chinese general Ban Chao sent soldiers to punish the kingdoms of Yanqi (Karashahr), Weixu (Hoxud), Weili(Korla), and Shanguo (in the western Kuruk mountains).

:"He then sent the heads of the two kings of Yanqi (Karashahr) and Weili (Korla) to the capital where they were hung in front of the residences of the Man and Yi princes in the capital (Luoyang). (Ban) Chao then appointed Yuan Meng, who was the Yanqi (Karashahr) Marquis of the Left, king (of Kashgar). The kings of Weili (Korla), Weixu (Hoxud), and Shanguo (in the western Kuruk mountains) were all replaced."

After the rebellion of the "Western Regions" (106-125 CE), only the kings of Korla and Hoxud refused to submit to the Chinese. Ban Yong, the son of Ban Chao, along with the Governor of Dunhuang attacked and defeated them. [Hill, John E. 2004. "The Western Regions according to the Hou Hanshu." Draft annotated English translation. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/hhshu/hou_han_shu.html] ]

The 3rd century Weilue records that Korla, Hoxud and Shanwang (= Shanguo) were all dependencies of Karashahr. [Hill, John E. 2004. "The Peoples of the West from the Weilüe" 魏略 "by Yu Huan" 魚豢": A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE." Draft annotated English translation. [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html] ]

In May, 1877 Yakub Beg, the Muslim ruler of Kashgaria, died here, prompting the reconquest of Eastern Turkestan by the Manchu dynasty.

Francis Younghusband, passed through "Korlia" in 1887 on his overland journey from Beijing to India. He described it as being prosperous and the country round about well-cultivated, with more land under cultivation than any other town he had passed. Maize seemed to be the major crop but rice was also grown. There was a small Chinese town, about 400 yards square (366 m) with mud walls about 35 ft (11 m) high and with a ditch. There were round bastions at the angles, but none at the gateway. A mile (1.6 km) south was the Turk town, but its walls were in ruins. It had one main street about 700 yards (640 m)long. "The shops are somewhat better than at Karashar, but not so good as at Turfan." [Younghusband, Francis E. (1896). "The Heart of a Continent", p. 148. John Murray, London. Facsimile reprint: (2005) Elbiron Classics. ISBN 1-4212-6551-6 (pbk); ISBN 1-4212-6550-8 (hardcover).]

ee also

* The detailed histories listed under Kashgar, Khotan, and Yarkand.

Footnotes

References

*Mallory, J. P. and Mair, Victor H. 2000. "The Tarim Mummies: Ancient China and the Mystery of the Earliest Peoples from the West". Thames & Hudson, London.
*Stein, Aurel M. 1921. "Serindia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China", 5 vols. London & Oxford. Clarendon Press. Reprint: Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass. 1980. [http://dsr.nii.ac.jp/toyobunko/]
*Stein Aurel M. 1928. "Innermost Asia: Detailed report of explorations in Central Asia, Kan-su and Eastern Iran", 5 vols. Clarendon Press. Reprint: New Delhi. Cosmo Publications. 1981.
*von Le Coq, Albert. 1928. Buried Treasures of Turkestan. Reprint with Introduction by Peter Hopkirk, Oxford University Press. 1985.

External links

* [http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/korla.htm More information]
* [http://www.cnhomestay.com/city/cityguides/korla.htm Korla Travel Guide]
* [http://china.notspecial.org/ The Opposite End of China (Korla, Xinjiang Blog)]