Why was the capital of Xinjiang moved from Ili to Urumqi?

Speaking of Ili, let's take a look at the Ili River. The Ili River, formerly known as Ili Water and Ili Water, has an average water volume of about 480 cubic meters per second. It is the inland river with the largest water volume in China and also the largest water source for Balkhash Lake.

There are three sources in the upper reaches of the Ili River, namely the Teques River, the Gongnais River and the Kashgar River. The Turkos River, the main source of the Ili River, originates from the northern side of the Hantengri Peak and is about 430 kilometers long. It flows through the Zhaosu Basin and the Turks Valley and is called the Ili River after confluence with the Gongnais River and the Kashi River. The Dongyuan Gongnais River flows between Andiurra and Narati Mountains, about 258 kilometers long. The northern source of the Kashgar River, about 304 kilometers long, flows between the Yilenhabirga mountains and Andiurra.

The Ili River is about 1,439 kilometers long, about one third of which is in China. It flows through Kazakhstan and finally empties into Lake Balkhash.

The latitude of the Ili River basin is about 42.5° to 45° north latitude, the longest basin is about 520 kilometers from east to west, the widest basin is about 200 kilometers from north to south, and the total area is about 34,000 square kilometers.39bet-đua chó-game giải trí -đá gà-đá gà trực tuyến-đánh bài

The Ili River Basin, also known as the upper and middle reaches of the Ili River, is between the Bolokonu Mountains in the north and the Halke Mountains in the south of the Tianshan Mountains, passing through a series of mountains and valleys. The Ili River Basin, like a triangle, is a semi-enclosed place, which can resist the dry and cold air from Siberia in the north, the dry heat from Hami and Turpan basins in the east, and the invasion of the Tarim desert sand in the south.

The annual precipitation of the Yili Basin reaches 700 mm. In spring, mountain snow and glacier meltwater flow into the basin, which is rich in water. The main stream is only frozen for about two months a year, so it is called "Jiangnan outside the barrier". The upper reaches are mainly alpine rocks with little sediment, and the water is as clear as the blue sky.

Yili River is rich in grain production, fruits, cattle and sheep all over the field, herds of horses. It is a treasure basin.

As early as two thousand years ago, during the reign of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty, Zhang Qian went on a mission to the Western Regions and came to Wusun State in the Yili River Valley. Wusun is one of the states in the Western Region. The Han Dynasty and the Huns were very close to each other. The Wusun people once joined hands with the Han Dynasty to attack the Huns.

Chigu City, the capital of Wusun, has 120,000 households, 630,000 people, and 188800 riders.

In the Qing Dynasty, the "General of Ili" was appointed as the highest military and political officer of Xinjiang, and his administration was located in Huiyuan City of Ili. Between Yining City and Huocheng County, Yili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, there is a historic site near the border, named "Huiyuan Ancient City". Why was the capital of Xinjiang later moved from Ili to Urumqi? Can the Yili Valley, with its rich water and grass, not afford to be the capital? Of course not.

In the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, the Northwest territory reached the Balkhash Lake, and all the lands to the east and south of the lake were under the jurisdiction of the Ili general.

However, the glory of the early Qing Dynasty could not cover up the weakness of the later period. In the face of Tsarist Russia, the Manchu Dynasty was unable to resist. The crushing defeat of the Qing Dynasty in the first and Second Opium Wars stimulated the desire of the Tsarist Russians to encroach on Qing territory.

11e3acb65293b6259b77c0a84bde6881Tsarist Russia took a lot of territory in the northeast and turned its attention to the northwest. The 1864 Sino-Russian Survey and Partition of the Northwest Boundary Agreement caused the Qing to lose 440,000 square kilometers of territory, including the middle and lower reaches of the Ili River.

Despite Qing resistance, the Tsarist Russians were not able to trace their power back to the source of the Ili River, but it was clear that they would not rest. Soon after the TREATY was signed, the Russians SUPPORTED the HOhan military leader Agubai in his invasion of Xinjiang, and the Russian ARMY took advantage of the trouble, driving the Qing Empire out of the upper reaches of the Ili River and taking full control of the Ili Valley.

This time, the Qing dynasty was determined not to give in. Zuo Zongtang, the 63-year-old governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, carried the coffin from the capital. Dead and gone. The scholar Li Jian pulled wild waves, Chu Erlang do Yak. A year later, Agoubai committed suicide after being defeated, and the whole of Xinjiang was recovered except the upper reaches of the Ili River.

In 1881, Qing envoys went to Russia again, and the two sides signed the Sino-Russian Revision Treaty, and Ili returned to the territory of the motherland.

As the Qing Dynasty lost territory, the Ili Valley was reduced from its former central position to an outpost close to the border.

At this time, Yili was no longer suitable to be an administrative center, either for the military purpose of keeping out the enemy or for communication with the rest of Xinjiang. Next, where should Xinjiang's capital turn? ​Obviously, it's either Urumqi or Kashgar.

But Kashgar is not far from the border, and Urumqi, in the heart of Xinjiang, is better for military, commercial and transportation purposes.

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