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.
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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.
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