In the Late Qing dynasty, the area that would become Karakax County was divided into four ming (明) (Mandarin ChineseHanyu Pinyin-derived names): Hayashi (哈雅什明), Buhua (布華明), Makuiya (馬奎牙明), and Kuiya (奎牙明). On the eve of the creation of the county, the area was divided into six ming (明): Zhawa (扎瓦明), Ying'ai (英愛明) (also known as Tahe (塔合明)), Balamusu (巴拉木蘇明), Kuiya (奎牙明), Makuiya (馬奎牙明), and Ka'ersai (喀爾賽明).[9]
In October 1984, the people's communes in the county were replaced with towns and townships.[11]
In 2012, Zawa (Zhawa) was changed from a township into a town.[1][11]
In 2013, Kuya (Kuiya) was changed from a township into a town.[1][11]
On February 13, 2014, Qarasaz (Ka'ersai) was changed from a township into a town.[1][11]
On the morning of June 20, 2014, five police officers at a security checkpoint in Kayash village in Manglay township were found dead killed by unknown assailants. The security checkpoint, known as a place where women wearing headscarves and men wearing beards would be interrogated, was razed to the ground.[12]
At 3 AM on July 19, 2014, the day after a raid at a local mosque, Zeynep Memtimin, wife of party secretary Rejep Islam, was killed by unknown assailants in an attack at their home. Islam was severely injured and left for dead, but survived.[13]
In December 2016, the Communist Party office in Karakax County was reportedly attacked by assailants using knives and improvised explosive devices, leading to the deaths of two government employees and three assailants.[14][15][16]
In 2017, the county was divided between four and later five main district area committees (大片区管委会).[11]
In May 2017, Abduheber Ahmet, the imam of the Dongbagh Mosque in Urchi township, was arrested for bringing his son to an underground religious school on one occasion several years before the arrest. Because Ahmet admitted that the events took place, Ahmet was sentenced to five and a half years in prison instead of seven years.[17]
In February 2020 dissidents leaked the hacked records of 311 detained Uyghurs from a single neighborhood in Karakax County.[18]
Geography
The populated part of Karakax county is located at the northern edge of the Karakoram mountains and southern part of Tarim Basin (Taklamakan Desert). The Karakax river separates the county from Hotan County and the Hotan River separates the county from Lop County. The length from south to north is 320 km (200 mi) and width from east to width is 51 km (32 mi). Mazartag is a prominent arc-shaped mountain range in the northern desert area of the county.
Map including Karakax (labeled as MO-YÜ (KARAKASH)) and surrounding region (USATC, 1971)[b]
Map including part of northern Karakax (Moyu) County (ATC, 1971)
Map including Kárakásh (1865)
Climate
Climate data for Karakax, elevation 1,349 m (4,426 ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010)
The county produces cotton, corn, wheat, melons, silkworm cocoons, black jade and walnuts. Industries include cotton ginning, food processing, tractors and carpet making.[2]
As of 2015, Uyghurs made up 97.61% of the population of the county. Han Chinese made up 2.34% of the population.[4]
As of 1999, 98.53% of the population of Karakax (Moyu) County was Uyghur and 1.44% of the population was Han Chinese.[27]
Transportation
Karakax county has daily bus and taxi to Hotan and other counties like Guma, and also has direct luxury buses to Ürümchi, which is the capital city of Xinjiang, Karakax is also served by China National Highway 315 and the Kashgar-Hotan Railway.
A long, straight special-use road (专用道[28]) enters the Taklamakan Desert northwest of Dunkule village (墩库勒村) in Kawak (Kawake) township. The road turns near a ridge[29] and terminates near buildings. The area is near Mazar Tagh (Ma-cha-t'a-ko, Mazartag; مازار تاغ / 麻扎塔格戌堡遗址).[30][31]
^From map: "DELINEATION OF INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES MUST NOT BE CONSIDERED AUTHORITATIVE".
References
^ abcdef墨玉县历史沿革 [Karakax County Historical Development] (in Simplified Chinese). XZQH.org. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2019. 2000年第五次人口普查，墨玉县常住总人口405634人，{...}2003年，全县总面积25788.86平方千米，{...}2010年第六次人口普查，墨玉县常住总人口500114人，其中：喀拉喀什镇31332人，喀尔塞乡40892人，奎牙乡43212人，扎瓦乡52165人，阿克萨拉依乡27352人，乌尔其乡16400人，托胡拉乡18800人，萨依巴格乡32355人，加汗巴格乡24524人，普恰克其乡35142人，芒来乡23408人，阔依其乡26346人，雅瓦乡33949人，吐外特乡24685人，英也尔乡11485人，瓦克乡10992人，其尼巴格街道13810人，波斯坦街道11877人，斯孜街道9522人，兵团四十七团3699人，兵团二二四团8167人。 2012年，自治区政府（新政函[2012]28号）批准同意撤销扎瓦乡，设立扎瓦镇。2013年，自治区政府（新政函[2013]140号）批准同意撤销奎牙乡，设立奎牙镇。 2014年2月13日，喀尔赛乡正式撤乡建镇。调整后，全县辖4个镇、12个乡：喀拉卡什镇、扎瓦镇、奎牙镇、喀尔赛镇、阿克萨拉依乡、乌尔其乡、托胡拉乡、萨依巴格乡、加汗巴格乡、普恰克其乡、芒来乡、阔依其乡、雅瓦乡、吐外特乡、英也尔乡、喀瓦克乡。
^ ab人口 民族. 墨玉县人民政府. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2019. 2015年，墨玉县境内（包括47团、224团）有维吾尔族563 606人，占总人口的97.61%；有汉族13 522人，占总人口的2.34%；
^1997年墨玉县行政区划 [1997 Karakax County Administrative Divisions]. XZQH.org. 6 January 2011. Retrieved 4 April 2020. 和田地区辖县。面积23098.5平方千米，人口37.3万，有维吾尔、汉、回、壮等民族，其中维吾尔族占98.7％，汉族占1.3％，辖1镇15乡。
^Ben Westcott (26 February 2020). "Chinese government disputes Xinjiang detention records leaked to CNN". CNN. Retrieved 2 April 2020. The leaked document contained a list of 311 Uyghur residents from Karakax county in southwestern Xinjiang, all of whom were shown to have been sent off to re-education sites for a wide range of alleged offenses.
^ ab行政区划. 墨玉县人民政府 (in Simplified Chinese). 13 February 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2019. 新中国成立前行政区划:清末，墨玉设有4明（千户）：哈雅什明、布华明、马奎牙明、奎牙明。建县前夕，由4明扩至6明，即扎瓦明、英爱明（又称塔合明）、巴拉木苏明、奎牙明、马奎牙明、喀尔赛明。{...}2015年7月，全县辖4镇12乡3个街道办事处，即墨玉镇、扎瓦镇、奎牙镇、喀尔赛镇、托胡拉乡、加汗巴格乡、阿克萨拉依乡、萨依巴格乡、乌尔其乡、雅瓦乡、芒来乡、普恰克其乡、阔依其乡、吐外特乡、英也尔乡、喀瓦克乡、其乃巴格街道办事处、波斯坦街道办事处、斯孜街道办事处。
^历史沿革. 墨玉县人民政府 (in Simplified Chinese). 13 February 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2019. 民国2年（1913）改和阗直隶州为和阗县，今墨玉县属和阗县管辖。民国8年（1919）成立墨玉县。
^ abcde墨玉县历史沿革. 墨玉县人民政府. 13 February 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2019. 1984年，和田地区各县市撤社建乡，政社分开。1984年10月，墨玉县实行社改乡制，撤销人民公社，建立乡镇，成立乡镇人民政府和党委；撤销大队、生产队，建立村民委员会、村民小组。墨玉县下辖1镇16乡。{...}2012～2014年，墨玉县陆续开展撤乡建镇，先后成立扎瓦镇、奎雅镇和喀尔赛镇3个镇。{...}2017年5月，墨玉县新建4个片区管委会，即第一、第二、第三、第四片区管委会（其乃巴格街道、斯孜街道、波斯坦街道以及城区新拆分管委会）；同月，新建11个社区（没有编办成立文件）。每个片区管委会下辖8个社区，224团社区单独设立，不隶属于新建的4个片区管委会。 2017年6月，墨玉县委将全县划分为5个大片区管委会，下辖31个乡镇、街道、园区和拆分的小管委会。第一大片区管委会下辖1个乡镇、3个街道和1个管委会。第二片区管委会下辖4个乡镇、4个管委会。第三大片区管委会下辖3个乡镇、2个管委会。第四大片区管委会下辖4个乡镇和3个管委会。第五大片区管委会下辖4个乡镇和2个管委会。 截至2017年7月，墨玉县辖5个大片区管委会，大片区管委会下辖4镇12乡12个管委会362个行政村，4个片区管委会33个社区。
^Watt, Louise (December 29, 2016). "China: Police shoot dead 3 who killed 2 in Xinjiang attack". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016. Three 'rioters' drove into Moyu County's Communist Party courtyard in a vehicle, attacked workers with knives and detonated an explosive device, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the Ministry of Public Security. It said an official and security guard were killed. A ministry press officer, who would only identify herself by her surname, Wang, confirmed the information in the report.
^Hernández, Javier C. (December 29, 2016). "China Says 5 Killed in Attack at Communist Party Office in Xinjiang". The New York Times. Retrieved December 9, 2016. The confrontation erupted shortly before 5 p.m. on Wednesday, according to Xinhua. Several people emerged from a car and began attacking government employees with knives before detonating a bomb, Xinhua reported. A party official and a security guard were killed, according to Xinhua, and three others were injured.
^Ng, Teddy (December 29, 2016). "Five dead in car bomb terror attack in China's western Xinjiang region, official media reports". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on December 29, 2016. A car carrying the attackers crashed into the yard of the office building of the local Communist Party committee in Karakax county at 4.50pm, and a home-made explosive device was ignited, according to the news portal of the Xinjiang government. Police shot and killed the three attackers, while an official and a security worker were also killed and three others were injured, Xinhua reported, quoting the Ministry of Public Security.
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![Map including Karakax (labeled as MO-YÜ (KARAKASH)) and surrounding region (USATC, 1971)[b]](File:Txu-oclc-6654394-nj-44-3rd-ed.jpg)
