Awat County

Awat County (Template:Langx) is a county in Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. Awat County is located on the southern foot of the Tian Shan mountain range and on the northern edge of the Taklamakan Desert.

History

The term "Awat" translates from Uyghur to signify "prosperity". The region surrounding Awat County was formerly known as "Dolang," the ancestral home of the "Dolang people," an old Uyghur tribe. Subsequently, a significant influx of peasants settled in the region, resulting in a population surge, an expansion of cultivated land, and a daily transformation of the landscape, prompting the renaming to Awat.

During the Han Dynasty, it was part of Template:Ill. During the Tang Dynasty, it was part of Gumo Prefecture. In 1883, Template:Ill was established, with Awat falling under its control. In 1913, the area was part of the three, four, and five districts of Aksu County; in 1922, Awat County was established. Awat County was established in 1930, initially part of Aksu Dao, and subsequently became part of the Aksu District Administrator's Office in 1933. In 1943, it pertains to the Aksu Administrative Inspector General's Office. The People's Government of the County of Awat was officially created in 1950. Subsequently, it has been governed by the Aksu Commissioner's Office and the Aksu Regional Administrative Office.

On January 23, 2013, the People's Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xin Zheng Xin [2013] No. 17) sanctioned the transfer of 474.208 square kilometers of Awat County to Aral City's administration.

Administrative divisions

Awat County is made up of seven towns, two townships and one other area:

Name	Simplified Chinese	Hanyu Pinyin	Uyghur (UEY)	Uyghur Latin (ULY)	Administrative division code	Notes
Towns
Awat Town					652928100
Ghoruchol Town					652928101	formerly Ghoruchol Township ()
Besheriq Town					652928102	formerly Besheriq Township ()
Tamtoghraq Town					652928103	formerly Tamtoghraq Township ( / )
Yengierik Town					652928104	formerly Yengierik Township ( / )
Aybagh Town					652928105	formerly Aybagh Township ( / )
Sanhe Town					652928106	Established on 30 December 2020
Townships
Dolan Township					652928203
Baytoghraq Township					652928204

Demographics

As of 1999, 81.59% of the population of Awat (Awati) County was Uyghur and 17.74% of the population was Han Chinese.

According to the 2010 Sixth Population Census, the total resident population of Awati County was 237,562. As of 2015, 217,722 of the 262,842 residents of the county were Uyghur, 42,960 were Han Chinese, 2,160 were from other ethnic groups.

Economy

A developed irrigation system is in place and agricultural products include wheat, rice, corn and cotton. Sheep are the primary livestock in the county. Industries include coal, construction, food processing, leathermaking and carpetmaking.

One quarter of the cotton production in Aksu prefecture comes from the county.

Historical maps

Historical English-language maps including Awat:

• Map including Awat (1917)
  Map including Awat (1917)
• Map including Awat (labeled as A-wa-t'i (Abad)) and surrounding region from the International Map of the World (AMS, 1950)Template:Efn
  Map including Awat (labeled as A-wa-t'i (Abad)) and surrounding region from the International Map of the World (AMS, 1950)Template:Efn
• Map including Awat (DMA, 1981)
  Map including Awat (DMA, 1981)
• From the Operational Navigation Chart; map including Awat (labeled as A-wa-t'i (Awat)) (DMA, 1985)Template:Efn
  From the Operational Navigation Chart; map including Awat (labeled as A-wa-t'i (Awat)) (DMA, 1985)Template:Efn