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KULJA (Chinese, Ili-ho)

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Originally appearing in Volume V15, Page 944 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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KULJA (See also:Chinese, See also:Ili-ho) , a territory in See also:north-See also:west See also:China; bounded, according to the treaty of St See also:Petersburg of 1881, on the W. by the See also:Semiryechensk See also:province of See also:Russian See also:Turkestan, on the N. by the Boro-khoro Mountains, and on the S. by the mountains See also:Khan-tengri, Muz-See also:art, Terskei, Eshik-bashi and Narat. It comprises the valleys of the Tekez (See also:middle and See also:lower portion), Kunghez, the Ili as far as the Russian frontier and its tributary, the Kash, with the slopes of the mountains turned towards these See also:rivers. Its See also:area occupies about 19,000 sq. m, (Grum-Grzimailo). The valley of the Kash is about 16o m. See also:long, and is cultivated in its lower parts, while the Boro-khoro Mountains are See also:snow-clad in their eastern portion, and fall with very steep slopes to the valley. The Avral Mountains, which See also:separate the Kash from the Kunghez, are lower, but rocky, naked and difficult of See also:access. The valley of the Kunghez is about 120 M. long; the See also:river flows first in a See also:gorge, then amidst thickets of rushes, and very small portions of its valley are See also:fit for cultivation. The Narat Mountains in the See also:south are also very See also:wild, but are covered with forests of See also:deciduous trees (See also:apple See also:tree, See also:apricot tree, See also:birch, See also:poplar, &c.) and See also:pine trees. The Tekez flows in the mountains, and pierces narrow See also:gorges. The mountains which separate it from the Kunghez are also snow-clad, while those to the south of it reach 24,000 ft. of See also:altitude in Khan-tengri, and are covered with snow and glaciers—the only pass through them being the Muzart. Forests and alpine meadows See also:cover their See also:northern slopes. See also:Agriculture was formerly See also:developed on the Tekez, as is testified by old See also:irrigation canals. The Ili is formed by the junction of the Kunghez with the Tekez, and for 120 M. it flows through Kulja, its valley reaching a width of 5o M. at Horgos-koljat.

This valley is famed for its fertility, and is admirably irrigated by canals, See also:

part of which, however, See also:fell into decay after .55,000 of the inhabitants migrated to Russian territory in 1881. The See also:climate of this part of the valley is, of course, See also:continental—frosts of – 22° F. and heats of 170° F. being experienced—but snow lasts only for one and a See also:half months, and the summer See also:heat is tempered by the proximity of the high mountains. Apricots, peaches, See also:pears and some vines are grown, as also some See also:cotton-trees near the See also:town of Kulja, where the See also:average yearly temperature is 48°.5 F. (See also:January 5°, See also:July 770). See also:Barley is grown up to an altitude of 6500 ft. The See also:population may number about 125,000, of whom 75,000 are settled and about 50,000 nomads (Grum-Grzimailo). The Tarhnchis from See also:East Turkestan represent about 40 % of the population; about 40,000 of them See also:left Kulja when the Russian troops evacuated the territory, and the Chinese See also:government sent some 8000 families from different towns of Kashgaria to take their See also:place. There are, besides, about 20,000 Sibos and Solons, 3500 Kara-kidans, a few Dungans, and more than 10,000 Chinese. The nomads are represented by about 18,000 Kalmucks, and the See also:remainder by See also:Kirghiz. Agriculture is insufficient to satisfy the needs of the population, and See also:food is imported from Semiryechensk. Excellent beds of See also:coal are found in different places, especially about Kulja, but the fairly See also:rich See also:copper ores and See also:silver ores have ceased to be worked. The See also:chief towns are See also:Suidun, See also:capital of the province, and Kulja.

The latter (Old Kulja) is on the Ili river. It is one of the chief cities of the region, owing to the importance of its bazaars, and is the seat of the Russian See also:

consul and a See also:telegraph station. The walled town is nearly square, each See also:side being about a mile in length; and the walls are not only 30 ft. high but broad enough on the See also:top to serve as a See also:carriage drive. Two broad streets cut the enclosed area into four nearly equal sections. Since 187o a Russian suburb has been laid out on a wide See also:scale. The houses of Kulja are almost all See also:clay-built and See also:flat-roofed, and except in the See also:special Chinese See also:quarter in the eastern end of the town only a few public buildings show the See also:influence of Chinese See also:architecture. Of these the most noteworthy are the Taranchi and Dungan mosques, both with turned-up See also:roofs, and the latter with a See also:pagoda-looking See also:minaret. The population is mainly See also:Mahommedan, and there are only two Buddhist pagodas. A small Chinese See also:Roman See also:Catholic See also:church has maintained its existence through all the vicissitudes of See also:modern times. See also:Paper and See also:vermicelli are manufactured with See also:rude appliances in the town. The outskirts are richly cultivated with See also:wheat, barley, See also:lucerne and poppies. See also:Schuyler estimated the population, which includes Taranchis, Dungans, Sarts, Chinese, Kalmucks and Russians, at Io,000 in 1873; it has since increased.

New Kulja, Manchu Kulja, or Ili, which lies lower down the valley on the same side of the stream, has been a See also:

pile of ruins since the terrible See also:massacre of all its inhabitants by the insurgent Dungans in 1868. It was previously the seat of the Chinese government for the province, with a large penal See also:establishment and strong See also:garrison; its population was about 70,000. See also:History.—Two centuries B.C. the region was occupied by the See also:fair and See also:blue-eyed Ussuns, who were driven away in the 6th See also:century of our era by the northern See also:Huns. Later the Kulja territory became a dependency of See also:Dzungaria. The Uighurs, and in the 12th century the Kara-Khitai, took See also:possession of it in turn. Jenghiz Khan conquered Kulja in the 13th century, and the Mongol Khans resided in the valley of the Ili. It is supposed (Grum-Grzimailo) that the Oirads conquered it at the end of the 16th or the beginning of the 17th century; they kept it till 1755, when the Chinese annexed it. During the insurrection of 1864 the Dungans and the Taranchis formed here the Taranchi sultanate, and this led to the occupation of Kulja by the Russians in 1871. Ten years later the territory was restored to China.

End of Article: KULJA (Chinese, Ili-ho)

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