GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT KORLA

Korla is the capital of the Bayangol Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, which occupies an area of 478,700 square kilometers in the southern part of Xinjiang. Situated on the northern fringe of the Tarim Basin and the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, between latitude 414 and 424 north and longitude 852 and 867 east Korla, which is 471 kilometers from Urumqi, covers an area of 7,449 square kilometers at an average elevation of 933.2 meters.

At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, this prefecture was the place where eleven kingdoms (Ruoqiang, Loulan, Quli, Shanshan, Qiemo, Xiaowan, Shanguo, Wuli, Luntou, Weili, Yanqi and Weixu) of the thirty-six in the Western Region were located. During the Sui and the Tang Dynasties, the Yanqi Superintendent’s Office and the Quli Superintendent’s Office were established here. From the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty it was under the jurisdiction of Xizhou Huigu. During the Yuan Dynasty it was under the administration of Bieshibali Executive Chancery. During the reign of Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong, it was administered by Zhuledusi after the Mongolian Torgut Tribe conceded to the central government. In 1884, in the tenth year of the reign of the Qing Dynasty Emperor Guangxu, when the province of Xinjiang was founded, first Karashar Prefecture directly under the administration of the central government was established in the Korla area, then was upgraded to Yanqi Prefecture. Under the People’s Republic of China, the prefecture of Yanqi and Yanqi Administrative Area were set up.

During the Western Han Dynasty Korla was the territory of the Quli Kingdom, then was annexed by the Yanqi Kingdom after the Eastern Han Dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty it was administered by a third-rank Uygur governor appointed by the Qing court, and under the Karashar executive minister. In 1917, the sixth year of the Republic of China, an office of the assistant magistrate of Yanqi was set up here and it was under the jurisdiction of Yanqi Prefecture. In 1930, the nineteenth year of the Republic of China, it was changed to an administrative Area. In 1939, the twenty-eighth year of the Republic of China, a county government was established here and it was under the administration of the Yanqi Administrative Supervisor’s Office. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, it was first under the administration of the Yanqi Prefectural Commissioner’s Office, then under the administration of the Korla Prefectural Commissioner’s Office and now it is under the administration of the Bayangol Mongol Autonomous Prefecture.

The city of Lorla has a population of 220,000, with an urban population of 120,000. Of the whole population of the city, the Han nationality accounts for 63.28 percent, the Uygur 33.93 percent, the Hui 1.89 percent and the Mongol 0.64 percent.

Xinjiang food has much more of a Central Asian flavor to it than a Chinese taste. Korla is one of the best cities in the region to sample authentic Xinjiang cuisine and there are literally thousands of tiny Uigur restaurants dotted about the place serving up local specialties.¡¡

One of the most gourmet dishes of Uigur cuisine is whole roast lamb, a rare treat only found at Uigur celebrations and special occasions.

TRANSPORTATION TO AND WITHIN KORLA

By plane:
There are daily flights between Korla and Urumqi. The flight takes half an hour and costs around RBM510. You can book ticket at the Xinjiang Airline Office on Jiefang Nan Lu, south of the People’s Hotel. Local travel agencies charge RMB50 to book each plane ticket. The airport is 11 km from the city center and there are regular bus services from the airport to the city for RMB6. A taxi should cost approximately RMB30.

By train:
A new railroad has just been constructed and put to use around Korla. All destinations are at least an overnight journey and timetables etc. have not yet been fully released.It takes one day on the train to reach Urumqi.

By bus:
The bus between Urumqi and  korla goes via Dawanching ,Toksun, and Kumux . The trip takes about 12 hours and costs RMB100. Sleeper buses are more comfortable and cost RMB200. Some people hire jeeps and drivers and cover the distance this way. Foreigners are often asked to pay 100 per cent more for bus tickets than the Chinese. This is technically illegal, but it is difficult to do anything about.

Korla dominated by a continental climate, the prefecture is dry with light rainfall, a high evaporation rate, lots of sun and a huge temperature disparity between day and night. The city of Korla has an annual mean temperature of 11.4 and an annual precipitation of 50 millimeters. The prefecture has 186,667 hectares of forested land.