Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County (sometimes Barkul or Balikul in English) is a part of Hami in Xinjiang and has an area of . It forms part of the China–Mongolia border (bordering the Mongolian provinces of Khovd Province and Govi-Altai) on the county's north, while bordering Yizhou District to the south, Yiwu County to the east and Changji's Mori Kazakh Autonomous County to the west.
Barkol was made an autonomous county on October 1, 1954. It is noted for camel breeding and horse breeding with the Barkol horse well known throughout China. Due to the large number of camels, which is unparalleled in China, the county is nicknamed the "county of ten thousand camels".
Towns | |||||||
巴里坤镇 | Barköl qalaşyğy Баркөл қалашығы | 650521100 | |||||
博尔羌吉镇 | Borşonjy qalaşyğy Боршонжы қалашығы | 650521101 | |||||
大河镇 | Dahy qalaşyğy Дахы қалашығы | 650521102 | |||||
奎苏镇 | Qüisu qalaşyğy Күйсу қалашығы | 650521103 | |||||
三塘湖镇 | Santañhy qalaşyğy Сантаңху қалашығы | 650521104 | |||||
Townships | |||||||
萨尔乔克乡 | Sarşoqy auyly Саршоқы ауылы | 650521200 | |||||
海子沿乡 | Kölboiy auyly Көлбойы ауылы | 650521201 | |||||
下涝坝乡 | 650521202 | ||||||
石人子乡 | Şyrynzy auyly Шырынзы ауылы | 650521205 | |||||
花园乡 | Huaiuan auyly Хуайуан ауылы | 650521206 | |||||
大红柳峡乡 | Ulken Qūlynşary auyly Үлкен Құлыншары ауылы | 650521208 | |||||
八墙子乡 | Baçyañzy auyly Бачяңзы ауылы | 650521209 | |||||
Other Township-level Divisions | |||||||
Liangzhong Breeding Farm | labels=no | labels=no | 650521400 | ||||
Huangtuchang Development Zone | labels=no | labels=no | huangtuchang tereqqiyat rayoni | Sary dala aşu raiony Сары дала ашу районы | 650521401 | ||
Barkol County Shannan Development Zone | labels=no | labels=no | 650521402 | ||||
Bingtuan Hongshan Farm | 兵团红山农场 | labels=no | qiziltagh dëhqanchiliq meydani | Qyzyltau egıs alañy Қызылтау егіс алаңы | 650521500 |
The total amount of water resources in Barkol County is , including of surface runoff and of groundwater resources. The area mainly relies on alpine glaciers melt water and atmospheric precipitation recharge. At present, the total annual development and utilization of water resources is , including of surface water and of groundwater. There are 46 large and small in the county, with an annual runoff of . The larger rivers include Xiheigou, Dongheigou, Hongshankougou and Liutiao River, with a total annual runoff of . The rivers are mainly concentrated in the mountains around the Balikun Basin and flow to the Barkol Lake. Most of them are seasonal rivers with small water volume, short flow and large seepage. Most of the rivers infiltrate underground soon after exiting the mountain pass. Barkol Lake is a salt water lake with a total area of about . There are 556 large and small springs in Barkol, 45 of which can be used for agriculture and animal husbandry. There are 15 glaciers in Barkol, which are distributed on the northern slope of Mount Barkol in the south of the county. There are many small-scale ice bucket glaciers and hanging glaciers. There are flat-topped glaciers on the quasi-plain on the top of the mountain. The glacier area is , and has ice reserves of .
More than 30 kinds of mineral resources in Barkol County have been proved, including coal, petroleum, mirabilite, gold, and bentonite. Coal resources are mainly distributed in the Santanghu coalfield and the western coalfield, of which the Santanghu coalfield reserves 58.5 billion tons and the western coalfield reserves 31.2 billion tons. The net reserves of thenardite are 48.93 million tons, mainly distributed in Barkol Lake. It is one of the three major alkali sulfide production bases in the country, with a market share of 25% in the country. Oil is mainly distributed in the Santanghu Basin, with predicted oil and gas reserves of 930 million tons, proven oil reserves of 570 million tons and natural gas reserves of . Barkol Santanghu wind area is one of the nine major wind areas in Xinjiang, with an average annual wind speed of , an annual effective wind speed of 7,344 hours, more than 2,300 hours of full-load power generation, and a technological development volume of 48.97 million kilowatts. The installed capacity is 450,000 kilowatts, and the grid-connected power generation is 35 kilowatts, with a cumulative power generation of 889 million kWh.
Lake Barkol is an Soda lake in a closed basin located at . Current rainfall averages , while the annual evaporation rate is . Ancient shorelines show up as concentric rings on the satellite photo at right, indicating that water levels have varied many times in the past. One study identified five climates at Lake Barkol over the past 8,000 years, ranging from warm and wet to cold and wet and finally cold and dry at present. The average annual temperature in the area is now just , though temperatures swing from extreme highs () to extreme lows (). Barkol Lake, Xinjiang at Nasa Earth Observatory
In 2019, the regional GDP of Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County was 7.86806 billion yuan, the added value of the primary industry was 1.00353 billion yuan, the added value of the secondary industry was 4.35177 billion yuan, the general public budget revenue was 585.06 million yuan, and the general public budget expenditure was 2.1399 billion yuan. The disposable income of urban and rural residents reached 32,387 yuan and 14,758 yuan respectively, and the added value of industries above designated size reached 3 billion yuan. Planting of wheat, of edible sunflower, of open field vegetables and of potatoes, the coverage rate of good crop varieties is 98%; 6,094 cattle have been improved in cold breeding, with an improvement rate of 75%; 435,100 livestock of various types have been slaughtered. First, the commodity rate reached 85.7%. The annual output of wind power was 5.5 billion kWh, and the output value of agricultural product processing enterprises was 109 million yuan, with online purchases of 27.95 million yuan and sales of 11.38 million yuan, an increase of 67% and 74% respectively. It received 2 million tourists throughout the year, achieved tourism revenue of 500 million yuan, and tax revenue of 119 million yuan.
Balikun's specialty snacks mainly include grilled meat, lamb stewed pancakes, soil hot pot, wild mushroom stewed chicken, shaozi noodles, steamed pancakes, barbecued meat, roasted lamb chops, and stewed meat including eight bowls of Xinjiang intangible cultural heritage Barkol soil mat, steamed meat, finger meat, Baoer Shake, horse meat Naren, pilaf, milk tea, etc. The characteristic wild vegetables mainly include Artemisia vulgaris, shallots, wild mushrooms, endives, and wild mustards.
In 1773, a professor's yamen was set up in Zhenxi Prefecture, and an education yamen was set up in Yihe County. In 1855, the Zhenxi Hall set up a school and political yamen, and established Songfeng Academy in Wenchang Palace, East Street of Hancheng. In 1906, the school palace of Yuanyuan Temple was changed to a primary school. In 1908, the elementary school was changed to the second-class school in Zhenxi Hall. In the early years of the Republic of China, 7 schools and schools in the county were merged into Zhenxi County National School. In 1950, there were 15 primary schools with a total of 1232 students. In October 1951, 5 tent primary schools were set up in each of the east and west pastoral areas, recruiting 335 students from pastoral areas. In 2010, there were 25 primary schools, 6 junior middle schools, and 2 senior middle schools. In 2005, the nine-year compulsory education schools in Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County were adjusted and merged from 41 to 29. At present, there are 31 primary and secondary schools in the county, including 21 primary schools, 1 high school, 1 complete middle school, and 8 nine-year schools.
Climate
Demographics
As of 2010, the autonomous county has 27,236 registered permanent households and 75,442 registered permanent residents, including 40,038 males, 35,404 females, and 50,775 agricultural populations. In 2000, the autonomous county had 22,257 registered permanent households and 85,964 registered permanent residents, including 44,068 males, 41,896 females, and 68,857 agricultural populations.
+Township-level populations of Barkol Kazakh Autonomous County
!Township-level division
!2000 Population
!2010 Population 12,552 14,313 443 1,797 17,842 9,784 10,018 6,635 1,403 1,953 4,472 3,662 6,229 5,297 5,273 4,335 7,531 4,757 6,504 4,942 2,915 3,388 1,458 2,037 Liangzhong Breeding Farm n/a 367 Huangtuchang Development Zone n/a 2,109 Barkol County Shannan Development Zone n/a n/a Bingtuan Hongshan Farm 6,533 10,066 Bingtuan Hongxing One Ranch 2,791 n/a
Ethnic composition
Economy
Culture
Transportation
Notes
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