Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County (; Xibe: , “Cabcal Sibe beye dasangga siyan”, also transliterated as Chapchal; ; ) in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in northern Xinjiang. The only Xibe autonomous county of China, Qapqal borders Kazakhstan's Almaty Region to the west, has an area of 4,430 square kilometers and a population of 160,000 (2000).
Etymology Qapqal means "the granary" in the Xibe language.
History The Xibe, sent to garrison the area by the Qing dynasty, were divided into eight niru (companies); each niru established a settlement. The settlements are thus simply referred to as "First Niru" through "Eighth Niru", with the exception of the settlement established by the Sixth, which came to be known as Qapqal, thus giving the county its name.
Subdivisions Qapqal administered 7 towns, 5 townships, and 1 ethnic township.
Name Simplified Chinese Hanyu Pinyin Xibe Möllendorff transliteration Uyghur (UEY) Uyghur Latin (ULY) Kazakh (Arabic script) Kazakh (Cyrillic script) Administrative division codeTowns Cabcal Town 654022100 Aisin Šeri Town 654022101 Sunjaci Niru Town (5th Niru) 654022102 Cohor Town 654022103 Jahūstai Town 654022104 Amba Boro Town 654022105 Hainuk Town 654022106Townships Dūici Niru Township (4th Niru) 654022200 Nadaci Niru Township (7th Niru) 654022203 Jakūci Niru Township (8th Niru) 654022204 Kan Township 654022206 Gohūnci Township 654022207Ethnic Townships Miliangquan Hui Township 654022205
169th Regiment of the XPCC () () () () Ambanbaq Breeding grounds () () () () Dolat Port of Entry () () () Ili Prefectural Forestry Field () () () Mountain Area Forest Farm () () () ()
Demographics +Demographics per niru (2000)NumberXibe nameChinese name% Xibe% Han% OtherPopulationNumber of villagesSource1Uju Niru61.820.917.32Jai Niru72.215.512.33Ilaci Niru73.212.314.54Duici Niru32.928.438.75Sunjaci Niru38.21546.8803346Ningguci Niru or Capcal2932397Nadaci Niru41.63224.68Jakûci Niru72.215.512.313,0005
Climate
Media
The county has one Xibe language newspaper, the Qapqal News. A television station broadcasts a few programmes in Xibe monthly, with the rest of all programmes being broadcast in Mandarin, Uyghur and Kazakh.
Notes
References
External links County info page, at an Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture info site