Pishan County () as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Uyghur as Guma County (; ), is a county within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. It contains an area of . According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 220,000. The county borders Maralbexi County and Makit County to the north, Karakax County, Hotan County and Kunyu to the east and Kargilik County to the west. The county includes lands near the Karakoram Pass which are part of the Aksai Chin area that is disputed between China and India.
History In 1902, Pishan County was created from Guma, Sanju and other areas originally part of Kargilik.
In March 1950, the Pishan County People's Government was established.
In May 2010, Shahidulla (Xaidula/Saitula) was made a town.
On the night of December 28, 2011, Koxtag (Kuoshi Tage) in Pishan was the site of the 2011 Pishan hostage crisis.
In 2012/3, Muji was changed from a township into a town.
On July 3, 2015, the 2015 Pishan earthquake occurred, killing three and wounding 71.
On July 24, 2015, Koxtag was changed from a township to a town.
On January 9, 2016, Sanju was changed from a township to a town.
Geography The northern part of Pishan/Guma County is made up of sand dunes in the Taklamakan Desert. The main part of the population of the county is grouped around oasis areas at the base of the Kunlun Mountains. The southern part of the county is mountainous including the Qizil Koran Range. A prominent mountain pass in the area is Sanju Pass. A prominent lake in the area is Cuolule Co (Cuolule Cuo, Tsorūl Tso; ).
Climate
Administrative divisions The county is made up of 1 subdistrict, 6 towns, 8 townships, 2 ethnic townships, and two other areas:
Name Simplified Chinese Hanyu Pinyin Uyghur (UEY) Uyghur Latin (ULY) Administrative division code NotesSubdistrict Pishan County Subdistrict 653223001Towns Guma Town 653223100 Duwa Town 653223101 Shahidulla Town 653223102 Muji Town 653223103 formerly Muji Township ( / ) Koxtag Town, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency 653223104 formerly Koxtag Township ( / ) Sanju Town 653223105 formerly Sanju Township ( / )Towns Kilian Township 653223201 Kokterak Township 653223202 Choda Township 653223205 Mokoyla Township(Mo-kuei-la) 653223206 Zangguy Township 653223207 Piyalma Township 653223208 Pixna Township, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency 653223209 Bashlengger Township 653223210 Ethnic townships Nawabat Tajik Ethnic Township 653223211 (Sarikoli) Kangkir Kyrgyz Ethnic Township 653223212 (Kyrgyz)
Other: Pishan Sanxia Industrial Park (, )
Economy
The county produces rice, wheat, cotton, apricots, peaches, grapes, silkworms and furs. Coal, gypsum and mica are mined in the county. Industries include tractor repair, carpet making and food processing. Local specialities include sangpi paper and walnuts.
, there was about 54,600 acres (360,891 mu) of cultivated land in Guma.
Demographics
In the late 2010s, ethnic minorities made up 98.4% of the population of the county, mainly Uyghurs. In 2011, Han Chinese accounted for less than 2% of the population of Pishan.
As of 2015, 290,016 of the 296,075 residents of the county were Uyghur, 3,788 were Han Chinese and 2,271 were from other ethnic groups.
As of 1999, 97.85% of the population of Guma (Pishan) County was Uyghur and 1.32% of the population was Han Chinese.
Transportation China National Highway 219 China National Highway 315
Notable persons Ablajan Awut Ayup, pop singer Ghojimuhemmed Muhemmed, modern poet Osmanjan Muhemmed Pas'an, modern poet
Historical maps
Notes
References