Location of Aksay Kazak Autonomous County (pink) within Jiuquan City (yellow), Gansu Province (light grey) and the People's Republic of China (dark grey)
The westernmost county-level division of Gansu, the county has an area of 32,374 km2 (12,500 sq mi)[3] and a population of 10,545 as of 2010.[4] The postal code is 736400.[3]
History
The Aksai Kazakh Autonomous Region Preparatory Committee was set up in 1953, south of Dunhuang.[4] On April 26, 1954, the Aksai Kazak Autonomous Region was established.[4] In 1955, it was renamed Aksai Kazakh Autonomous County.[4]
The Big Harteng River (Chinese: 大哈尔腾河) and the Little Harteng River (Chinese: 小哈尔腾河) both flow through the southern portion of the county.[3] The Sugan Lake [de], which actually comprises the Big Sugan Lake (Chinese: 大苏干湖) and the Little Sugan Lake (Chinese: 小苏干湖) is located in the county.[3]
Climate
The county experiences an average annual rainfall of 100 millimetres or 4 inches, an average annual temperature of 5.4 °C or 41.7 °F and an annual frost-free period of 90 days.[3]
As of 2010, the county had a permanent population of 10,545, of which, 10,079 lived in Hongliuwan.[4]
The county is the only Kazakhautonomous county in the province of Gansu.[4] As of 2005, 41.3% of the county's population were ethnic Kazakhs, up slightly from the 40.7% recorded in 1996.[4] Other ethnic groups in the county include the Han, the Hui, the Uighur, the Tibetans and 6 other ethnic minorities.[3]
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