8th Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps

The 8th Division (; abbreviation for ) is a division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) distributed over Shihezi and Karamay cities, Manas and Shawan counties, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. It is an economic and paramilitary unit formed in 1953 from the former 26th Infantry Division of the 9th Army of the 22nd Corps of the PLA. The 8th Agricultural Construction Division (; abbreviation for ) was approved and renamed to the present 8th Division of the XPCC in 2012. The division is composed of 14 regiments, and headquartered in Shihezi City, it merges work in one official with Shihezi City. The Shihezi Reclamation Area of the 8th Division has an area of 5,851 square kilometers with a total population of 696,900 and a permanent population of 661,300 (as of 2018), of that, the Shihezi City has an area of 460 square kilometers with a total population of 448,100 and a permanent population of 437,900 (as of 2018).about the divisions, direct-managed county-level citties, direct-managed towns and their information of the XPCC, see , also see In the year of 2018, GDP of the 8th Division was CN¥54.85 billion (US$8.29 billion), and the GDP per capita CN¥82,584 (US$12,480).

Since the establishment of Shihezi City in April 1975, the 8th Division and the city have practised management model of unity of the division and Shihezi City. The Shihezi Agriculture, Industry and Commerce Joint Enterprise Group Corporation () was formed in the reclamation area of the former 8th division in February 1979, the group corporation is co-located with Shihezi City and is integrated into administrative and business enterprises. In December 1981, the XPCC was restored, and its 8th Agriculture and Production Division (renamed as the 8th Division of XPCC in 2012 ) was resumed at the same time, from then onwards the 8th Division has enjoyed the same institution and two brands, and continued to work with Shihezi City.

History

On December 20, 1949, the former Kuomintang 78th Division, 227th Brigade (), Cavalry Regiment of 178th Brigade (), 194th Regiment of 65th Brigade (), Munition Battalion of 42nd Division () were incorporated as the 26th Infantry Division of the 9th Army of the 22nd Corps of the PLA. Its leaders were the division chief Luo Ruzheng (), political commissar Wang Jilong (), 1st deputy division chief Gao Rongguang (), 2nd deputy division chief Zhou Mao (), chief of staff Xiong Lüe (), director of the political department Yu Zhengdong (). The division was headquartered in the county seat of Jinghua County (; present Hutubi County). It had the 76th Regiment, the 77th Regiment, the 78th Regiment, and a munition battalion ().

26th Infantry Division In March 1950, the 26th Infantry Division relocated its headquarters from Jinghua County to Suilai County (, the present Manas County). In March 1953, the troops of Xinjiang Military Region (, XMR) were reorganized, and the 26th Division was integrated into the XMR. It was renamed to the 8th Agricultural Construction Division of the XMR. The three regiments under its jurisdiction were renamed as the 22nd, 23rd and 24 Regiment of the agricultural construction division. On May 27, the 8th Agricultural Construction Division was ordered by the Central Military Commission (CMC) and changed to be a production force as a whole to produce on its place. In August 1953, the 8th Agricultural Construction Division moved its headquarters from Manas County to Shihezi.

8th Agricultural Construction Division On August 6, 1954, the CMC General Staff () issued a decree to revoke the XMR Production Management Department () and the 22nd Corps (), and establish the XMR Production and Construction Corps (, XPCC). On October 7 of the same year, the XMR issued an order to announce the organization of the XMR Production and Construction Corps and the designation of its competent forces. The 8th Agricultural Construction Division officially belonged to the leadership of the XMR Production and Construction Corps on November 1, 1954. In February 1955, the 10th Agricultural Construction Division was abolished, and the 30th regiment and labor reform detachment of the 10th division were merged into the 8th Agricultural Construction Division. From May 21 to 26, 1956, the first CPC Congress of the 8th Agricultural Construction Division was held. Elected the first committee of 15 people, Yu Zhengdong () was the CPC secretary, and Liu Bingzhen () was the CPC deputy secretary.

On August 29, 1967, the temporary Cultural Revolution Committee of the 8th Agricultural Construction Division was established. On October 4, Gong Jianzhang () was appointed as the director. On December 2, 1968, the 8th Agricultural Construction Division established a temporary CPC committee with five members of the standing committee, Duan Yifeng () as the secretary, and Xiao Fengrui () as the deputy secretary. In August of the same year, the division held the Cultural Revolutionary Activist Conference, and elected the Cultural Revolutionary Committee of the division, with 61 members, 23 members of the Standing Committee, Director Duan Yifeng, and 2nd Director Xiao Fengrui ().

On July 7, 1969, the XPCC made a decision to change the new military designation of army units in the corps: the former 7th Anjihai Farm () of the 8th Agricultural Construction Division was changed as 141st Regiment, the 22nd Regiment Farm () as the 142nd Regiment, the 23rd Regiment Farm () as the 143rd Regiment, Shihezi headquarters Farm () as the 145th Regiment and 146th Regiment, the 30th Regiment Farm () as the 147th Regiment, the 2nd Mosuowan Farm () as the 148th Regiment, the 5th Mosuowan Farm () as the 149th Regiment, Gongqingtuan Farm () as the 150th Regiment, Ziniquan breedingsheep Farm () as the 151st Regiment. At the end of the year, 144th Regiment was formed.about the history of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and its divisions, see ; about the history of 8th Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, and Shihezi City, see

On June 1–4, 1971, the 8th Agricultural Construction Division held the 2nd CPC Congress, and elected 43 members of its 2nd committee. The committee elected 12 members of the Standing Committee, and Duan Yifeng served as Secretary and Zhang Shengke as Deputy secretary. On April 20, 1975, the CPC Central Committee approved "Request for Strengthening the CPC's Unified Leadership and Changing the XPCC", and agreed to revoke the XPCC and its affiliated organizations. According to the arrangement, the 8th Agricultural Construction Division was cancelled.

Present On December 3, 1981, the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and the Central Military Commission decided to resume the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps system and be under the dual leadership of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (). The 8th Agricultural Construction Division was resumed and the use of the military designation began on May 25, 1982. the 8th Agricultural Construction Division of the XPCC (; abbreviation for ) was approved to rename as the present 8th Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps by the State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform on October 25, 2012.

Regiments 13 Regiments and the Headquarters Farm of the 8th Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corpsthe allocation of historic regiments in the 8th Division of the XPCC, the 2000 census population in the 8th Division, its historic regiments and Shihezi City, the 2010 census population in the 152nd Regiment, the Headquarters Farm (Beiquan Town) and Shihezi City are based on the History of Shihezi City (); also see ; Present regimentsFormer regimentsBased on placesCounties2000 Census2010 Census8th Division兵团8师8th Division兵团农8师 590,115624,377Shihezi石河子Shihezi石河子Shihezi石河子Shihezi石河子298,885380,130 Shihezi Headquarters Farm总场145th Regiment146th Regiment145,146团Beiquan Town北泉镇Shihezi石河子52,01139,631 152nd Regiment152团152nd Regiment152团South of Shihezi石河子南Shihezi石河子3,4733,205 121st Regiment121团121st Regiment121团Paotai炮台Shawan Countythe 2010 census population of 7 regiments of 8th Division of the XPCC based in Shawan County, according to the History of Shawan County (), also see 沙湾县22,54038,320 122nd Regiment122团Dongye东野Shawan County沙湾县17,724133rd Regiment133团132nd Regiment132团Hongguang红光Shawan County沙湾县11,16719,919 133rd Regiment133团Xiyedi西野地Shawan County沙湾县13,908 134th Regiment134团134th Regiment134团Xiayedi下野地Shawan County沙湾县15,68818,801 135th Regiment135团Shamenzi沙门子Shawan County沙湾县8,531141st Regiment141团141st Regiment141团Beiye北野Shawan County沙湾县 12,328 10,023 142nd Regiment142团142nd Regiment142团Xin'anji新安集Shawan County沙湾县 30,110 27,588 143rd Regiment143团143rd Regiment143团Huanyuan花园Shawan County沙湾县34,02537,902 151st Regiment151团Ziniquan紫泥泉Shawan County沙湾县4,877144th Regiment144团144th Regiment144团Zhongjiazhuang钟家庄Shawan County沙湾县16,90911,598 147th Regiment147团147th Regiment147团Shihutan十户滩Manas Countythe 2010 census population of 4 regiments of 8th Division of the XPCC based in Manas County, according to the History of Manas County (), also see 玛纳斯县17,47114,311 148th Regiment148团148th Regiment148团Mosuowan莫索湾Manas County玛纳斯县30,82727,302 149th Regiment149团149th Regiment149团Donggucheng东古城Manas County玛纳斯县17,96715,660 150th Regiment150团150th Regiment150团Xigucheng西古城Manas County玛纳斯县19,00514,435 136th Regiment136团136th Regiment136团Xiaoguai小拐镇Karamay Districtthe 2010 census population of 129th Regiment and 136th Regiment of the XPCC based in Karamay District, according to the History of Karamay District (), also see 克拉玛依区9,8048,388

Geography The Shihezi Reclamation Area of the 8th Division is located in the northern foothills of Tianshan, the southern margin of the Junggar Basin, the east longitude is 84°58- 86°24, and the north latitude is 43°26- 45°20. Its agricultural and pastoral regiment farms, and factories and mines in a number of groups, are kept in Shihezi, Karamay cities and Shawan, Manas counties. The northeast is connected with Lanzhouwan Township () and the Xinghu Headquarters Farm () Of the 6th Division in Manas County, the southern part is directly connected to Hejing County in the mountainous region in Shawan County, the west is adjacent to the city of Kuytun in the western part of Shawan County, the north-west is deep into the city of Karamay, and the north is bordered by the Gurbantünggüt Desert.

Economy According to preliminary accounting, in the year of 2018, the gross domestic product of Shihezi Reclamation Area reached CN¥54,851 million (US$8,289 million), an increase of 4.6% over the previous year. The value added of the primary industry was CN¥8,955 million (US$1,353 million), an increase of 7.8%, the value added of the secondary industry decreased by 5.6% to CN¥19,764 million (US$2,987 million), and the value added of the tertiary industry was CN¥25,059 million (US$3,787 million), an increase of 12.8%. The GDP per capita is CN¥82,584 (US$12,480). At the end of the year, 330,400 people were employed in the reclamation area.

Agriculture