Kuqa County

Kuqa County
库车县كۇچار ناھىيىسى
County

Location of Kuchar County (red) within Aksu Prefecture (yellow) and Xinjiang
Kuqa County

Location of the seat in Xinjiang

Coordinates: 41°43′N 82°58′E / 41.717°N 82.967°E / 41.717; 82.967Coordinates: 41°43′N 82°58′E / 41.717°N 82.967°E / 41.717; 82.967
Country People's Republic of China
Province Xinjiang
Prefecture-level divisions Aksu
Elevation 1,072 m (3,517 ft)
Time zone China Standard (UTC+8)
Kuqa County
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 庫車縣
Simplified Chinese 库车县
Uyghur name
Uyghur
كۇچار ناھىيىسى

Kuqa County[1] is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region under the administration of the Aksu Prefecture. It covers an area of 15,200 km2 (5,870 sq mi) and at the 2002 census had a population of 450,000. It was once the homeland of the ancient Buddhist Kingdom of Kucha.

Geography

The county is located at the southern periphery of the Tian Shan range, the northern portion of the Tarim Basin, and the centre of the autonomous region. It occupies part of the northeastern portion of Aksu Prefecture, bordering Xinhe County, Xayar County, and Luntai County, Heiing County, and Lopnur County in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Region.

Kuqa County has nine towns and six townships under its administration, including Kuqa City, Wuqia Town, Alakaga Town, Yaha Town, Uzun Township, Bixibage Township, Agger Township. etc.

Kuqa has a continental desert climate (Köppen BWk), with an average annual precipitation of 74.6 millimetres (2.94 in), a majority of which occurs in summer. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) in January to 25.3 °C (77.5 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 11.29 °C (52.3 °F). The frost-free period lasts for 266 days on average. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 54% in March to 69% in September and October, sunshine is abundant and the county receives 2,712 hours of bright sunshine annually.

Climate data for Kuqa County (1971–2000)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) −1.3
(29.7)
4.4
(39.9)
12.7
(54.9)
21.5
(70.7)
26.8
(80.2)
30.2
(86.4)
32.0
(89.6)
31.0
(87.8)
26.4
(79.5)
19.0
(66.2)
9.0
(48.2)
0.5
(32.9)
17.7
(63.8)
Average low °C (°F) −11.9
(10.6)
−6.4
(20.5)
1.7
(35.1)
9.2
(48.6)
14.0
(57.2)
16.9
(62.4)
18.7
(65.7)
17.5
(63.5)
12.7
(54.9)
5.4
(41.7)
−2.1
(28.2)
−9.4
(15.1)
5.5
(42.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 1.8
(0.071)
2.9
(0.114)
3.4
(0.134)
2.7
(0.106)
8.7
(0.343)
18.1
(0.713)
12.9
(0.508)
11.6
(0.457)
7.0
(0.276)
3.2
(0.126)
1.1
(0.043)
1.2
(0.047)
74.6
(2.938)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 2.3 1.8 1.7 1.5 3.1 6.0 6.9 6.1 3.4 1.3 0.7 1.2 36.0
Average relative humidity (%) 64 52 40 31 34 39 41 44 45 49 55 66 46.7
Mean monthly sunshine hours 184.1 179.4 199.2 220.2 252.8 265.9 281.0 268.3 255.1 237.6 197.8 170.5 2,711.9
Percent possible sunshine 63 61 54 55 57 59 61 63 69 69 67 60 61.5
Source: China Meteorological Administration [2]

Transport

Kuqa is served by China National Highway 217 and the Southern Xinjiang Railway.

See also

References

  1. The official spelling is "Kuqa" according to Zhōngguó dìmínglù 中国地名录 (Beijing, SinoMaps Press 中国地图出版社 1997); ISBN 7-5031-1718-4; p. 306.
  2. 中国地面国际交换站气候标准值月值数据集(1971-2000年) (in Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
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