Aral (),The official spelling according to , (Beijing, SinoMaps Press 1997); The official spelling is Aral, according to the Zhōngguó dìmínglù, (Beijing, SinoMaps Press 1997); ; p. 1, 299. also known as Alar (), is a sub-prefecture-level city surrounded by Aksu Prefecture in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. Aral means "island" in Uyghur.
Aral is the headquarter of the 1st Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps and currently administered by the 1st Division. Aral implemented the "division and city integration" (师市合一, shī shì héyī) management system and shares the same leader group with the 1st Division.
History According to Radio Free Asia, a United States government-funded news service, Aral was created in the 1950s by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps to facilitate Han Chinese immigration to the region.
Aral became a city in 2002 and its population increased to 166,205 in 2010.
On January 23, 2013, of territory was transferred from Awat County (Awati) to Aral city and of territory was transferred from Aksu city (Akesu) to Aral city.
Administrative divisions Aral contains three subdistricts, 15 towns, a township, and two township-equivalent regions:
Name Simplified Chinese Hanyu Pinyin Uyghur (UEY) Uyghur Latin (ULY) Administrative division code NotesSubdistricts Jinyinchuan Road Subdistrict 659002001 Xingfu Road Subdistrict 659002002 Qingsong Road Subdistrict 659002003Towns Jinyinchuan Town(1st Regiment Farm)* () 659002100 de facto administered by the 7th Division since May 2017 Xinjingzi Town(2nd Regiment Farm)* () 659002101 Ganquan Town(3rd Regiment Farm)* () 659002102 Yongning Town(4th Regiment Farm)* () 659002103 Shahe Town(5th Regiment Farm)* () 659002104 de facto administered by the 11th Division (Construction Engineer Division) since May 2017 Shuangcheng Town(6th Regiment Farm)* () 659002105 Huaqiao Town(11th Regiment Farm)* () 659002106 Xingfu Town(13th Regiment Farm)* () 659002107 Jinyang Town(14th Regiment Farm)* () 659002108 Matan Town(7th Regiment Farm)* () 659002109 Tamen Town(8th Regiment Farm)* () 659002110 Lihua Town(9th Regiment Farm)* () 659002111 Chang'an Town(10th Regiment Farm)* () 659002112 Tanan Town(12th Regiment Farm)* () 659002113 Xinkailing Town(16th Regiment Farm)* () 659002114Township Tokay Township 659002200Township-equivalent regions Aral Industrial Park 659002402 Aral Western Industrial Park 659002518 * One institution with two names. See also Tuntian#People's Republic of China.
Geography The city has an administrative area of . It is bordered by mountainous regions to the north and northwest and the Taklamakan Desert to the east and south.
Demographics As of 2015, 167,697 (93.6%) of the 179,214 residents of the county were Han Chinese, 6,036 (3.4%) were Uyghur and 5,481 were from other ethnic groups.
Climate
Education Tarim University is located in Aral.
Transportation Ala'er Talimu Airport is a regional airport located at 12 km south from Aral city.
Aral Railway Station is located at southwest suburban of the city.
See also Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps
Notes
References