Kashgar Prefecture
Kashgar Prefecture
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Kashgar Prefecture

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Kashgar Prefecture

Kashgar Prefecture, also known as Kashi Prefecture, is a prefecture located in southwestern Xinjiang, China, located in the Tarim Basin region (roughly the southern half of Xinjiang). It has an area of 112,057 km2 (43,265 sq mi) and 4,496,377 inhabitants at the 2020 census with a population density of 35.5 inhabitants/km2. The capital of the prefecture is the city of Kashgar which has a population 506,640.

Kashgar Prefecture borders the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan, Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, Gilgit-Baltistan of Pakistan, and Ladakh of India in the far south.

Kashgar, formerly referred to as Shule, served as the capital of the Shule Kingdom in the 2nd century B.C., inhabited by Indo-European tribes speaking Ancient Tocharian languages in the Tarim Basin. The earliest references to Shule emerged in the literature of the Han Dynasty. Shule served as the pivotal junction of the Silk Road in the northern Tarim Basin, facilitating access to the Dayuezhi [zh], Dayuan, and Kangju in Central Asia, and acting as the nexus of east–west communication. Circa 177 B.C., Shule faced oppression by the advancing Dayuezhi and was compelled to ally with the formidable Xiongnu, becoming one of its 36 vassal states.

After the Communist takeover of Kuomintang, Kashgar Prefecture (喀什專區) and Yarkant Prefecture (莎車專區) were established.

In 1902, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the prefecture. It caused extreme devastation, destroying 30,000 homes and killing as many as 10,000 people.

In 1942, Xinjiang restructured Shache, Zephyr, and Maigaiti counties, amalgamating them with Yecheng County in the Hotan district to establish the 10th administrative district of Xinjiang (Shache district), which encompasses Shache, Zephyr, Makgaiti, and Yecheng counties. In 1949, the Kashi subdistrict was established in Xinjiang, which was part of Xinjiang province.

In 1955, Barin, Jamaterek and Ujme, which were part of Yengisar County, became part of Akto County and Bulungkol was transferred to Akto County in Kizilsu from Tashkurgan County in today's Kashgar Prefecture. In June 1956, Yarkant Prefecture was dissolved and made part of Kashgar Prefecture. On January 11, 1971, Kashgar Prefecture was designated as Kashgar Region.

In January 1979, Kashgar zhuānqū Prefecture (喀什专区) became Kashgar dìqū Prefecture (喀什地区).

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