Alashankou
Alashankou
County-level city in Xinjiang, China
Alashankou is a border city in Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It is a port of entry by both railroad and highway from Kazakhstan as part of the Eurasian Land Bridge.
Alashankou
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|---|---|
Tianshan Street, Alashankou | |
| Coordinates: 45°10′24″N 82°33′17″E | |
| Country | China |
| Autonomous region | Xinjiang |
| Autonomous prefecture | Bortala |
| Municipal seat | Alataw Subdistrict |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,204 km2 (465 sq mi) |
| Population (2020)[1] | |
| • Total | 11,097 |
| • Density | 9.2/km2 (24/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard Time[lower-alpha 1]) |
| Website | www |
| Alashankou | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 阿拉山口市 | ||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese | 阿拉套阿格兹 | ||||||||||
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| Mongolian name | |||||||||||
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Алаг уул хот | ||||||||||
| Mongolian script | ᠠᠯᠠᠭ ᠠᠭᠤᠯᠠ ᠬᠣᠲᠠ | ||||||||||
| Uyghur name | |||||||||||
| Uyghur | ئالاتاۋ ئېغىزى شەھىرى or ئالاتاۋ ئېغىزى | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Alatau Pass | ||||||||||
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| Kazakh name | |||||||||||
| Kazakh | الاتاۋ ساعاسى قالاسى or الاتاۋ قالاسى | ||||||||||
The city is located at the Dzungarian Gate[2] (Alashankou in Chinese), a pass connecting the two countries through the Dzungarian Alatau mountains. West of the pass, the port of entry on the Kazakhstan side is Dostyk. Alashankou is 73 kilometers (45 mi) from Bole, 460 kilometers (290 mi) from Ürümqi, and 580 kilometers (360 mi) from Almaty.[3] The weather in Alashankou is harsh.[4]
Alashankou is one of China's national first-class ports of entry. The volume of imports and exports passing through Alashankou accounts for 90% of the total for all of Xinjiang.[5] Since 2010, it has surpassed Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia to become the busiest land port-of-entry in China.[6]
Formerly a township-level port commission under the administration of Bole City, Alashankou was upgraded to a county-level city in December 2012. The city governs an area of 1,204 square kilometres (465 sq mi), including 12 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi) of built-up area, which is divided into Alatao and Aibihu subdistricts. It has a permanent population of 10,000 and a floating population of 30,000.[6]
The agreement between the Soviet Union and the China to connect Kazakhstan with Western China by rail was achieved in 1954. On the Soviet side, the railway reached the border town of Druzhba (Dostyk) in 1959. On the Chinese side, however, the westward construction of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway was stopped once it reached Ürümqi in 1962. Due to the Sino-Soviet split, the railway link was not completed until September 12, 1990. The highway port of entry was opened in December 1995.[5]
The railway networks of the two countries use different gauges (China, like most of Europe, uses the standard gauge of 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in), but Kazakhstan uses the broader gauge of 1,520 mm (4 ft 11+27⁄32 in) Russian gauge), so there are breaks of gauge. It is proposed to build a standard gauge transcontinental railway to link Europe and China to bypass these two breaks of gauge. This project was signed in 2004.[7]
On July 10, 2010, Bole Alashankou Airport was opened with scheduled flights to Ürümqi.[8]
Alashankou has again become a major transportation hub due to freight associated with the Belt and Road Initiative's Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor.[2]
Alashankou is made up of 1 subdistrict and 1 town.
| Name | Simplified Chinese | Hanyu Pinyin | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Mongolian (traditional) | Mongolian (Cyrillic) | Administrative division code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subdistrict | ||||||||
| Alataw Subdistrict | 阿拉套街道 | Ālātào Jiēdào | ᠠᠯᠠᠭ ᠠᠭᠤᠯᠠ ᠵᠡᠭᠡᠯᠢ ᠭᠤᠳᠤᠮᠵᠢ | Алаг уул зээл гудамж | 652702001 | |||
| Town | ||||||||
| Ebinur Town | 艾比湖镇 | Àibǐhú Zhèn | ئېبنۇر كۆلى بازىرى | Ëbnur köli baziri | ᠡᠪᠢ ᠨᠠᠭᠤᠷ ᠪᠠᠯᠭᠠᠰᠤ | Эв нуур балгас | 652702100 | |
| Climate data for Alashankou (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.3 (46.9) |
8.8 (47.8) |
23.5 (74.3) |
36.2 (97.2) |
40.2 (104.4) |
41.8 (107.2) |
44.1 (111.4) |
42.3 (108.1) |
39.1 (102.4) |
30.7 (87.3) |
19.5 (67.1) |
10.9 (51.6) |
44.1 (111.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −12.0 (10.4) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
6.6 (43.9) |
19.8 (67.6) |
26.6 (79.9) |
32.2 (90.0) |
34.2 (93.6) |
32.5 (90.5) |
25.5 (77.9) |
15.5 (59.9) |
3.9 (39.0) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
14.3 (57.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −15.5 (4.1) |
−10.1 (13.8) |
1.9 (35.4) |
13.9 (57.0) |
20.5 (68.9) |
26.1 (79.0) |
27.9 (82.2) |
26.3 (79.3) |
19.8 (67.6) |
10.7 (51.3) |
0.3 (32.5) |
−10.3 (13.5) |
9.3 (48.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −18.2 (−0.8) |
−13.4 (7.9) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
8.8 (47.8) |
15.0 (59.0) |
20.5 (68.9) |
22.4 (72.3) |
20.8 (69.4) |
14.7 (58.5) |
6.5 (43.7) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
−12.6 (9.3) |
5.0 (41.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −31.4 (−24.5) |
−30.5 (−22.9) |
−25.3 (−13.5) |
−10.6 (12.9) |
1.9 (35.4) |
8.8 (47.8) |
12.7 (54.9) |
9.1 (48.4) |
1.5 (34.7) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
−28.0 (−18.4) |
−31.9 (−25.4) |
−31.9 (−25.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 5.8 (0.23) |
4.2 (0.17) |
4.2 (0.17) |
10.1 (0.40) |
18.8 (0.74) |
15.6 (0.61) |
20.7 (0.81) |
16.5 (0.65) |
11.8 (0.46) |
8.8 (0.35) |
4.9 (0.19) |
8.1 (0.32) |
129.5 (5.1) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 10.5 | 7.3 | 3.6 | 4.8 | 6.3 | 6.8 | 8.8 | 7.0 | 5.1 | 4.0 | 5.2 | 12.0 | 81.4 |
| Average snowy days | 21.2 | 16.7 | 6.1 | 0.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 | 7.6 | 21.5 | 74.8 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 80 | 77 | 63 | 42 | 35 | 34 | 36 | 36 | 39 | 52 | 70 | 81 | 54 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 108.3 | 130.8 | 192.1 | 251.8 | 299.2 | 294.0 | 300.8 | 296.6 | 259.8 | 204.2 | 113.9 | 73.7 | 2,525.2 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 38 | 44 | 51 | 61 | 65 | 63 | 64 | 70 | 71 | 62 | 41 | 27 | 55 |
| Source: China Meteorological Administration[9][10] | |||||||||||||
- Locals in Xinjiang frequently observe UTC+6 (Xinjiang Time), 2 hours behind Beijing.
- Curtis, Simon; Klaus, Ian (2024). The Belt and Road City: Geopolitics, Urbanization, and China's Search for a New International Order. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 161. doi:10.2307/jj.11589102. ISBN 9780300266900. JSTOR jj.11589102.
- 阿拉山口陸運（鐵路、公路）口岸. 中国网.
- "新疆兵团护路民兵寒冬巡逻阿拉山口铁路线_国内". Archived from the original on 2018-01-22. Retrieved 2018-01-21.
- 阿拉山口——中国向西开放的前沿. 人民网.
- 新疆阿拉山口市挂牌成立. Sina (in Chinese). 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
- "Trans-Kazakhstan link will complete standard-gauge transcontinental artery". Railway Gazette International. Archived from the original on 2011-08-13. Retrieved 2011-10-04.
- 新疆博乐阿拉山口机场正式通航. Xinhua. 2010-07-11. Archived from the original on July 15, 2010.
- 中国气象数据网 – WeatherBk Data (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 10 October 2023.
- 中国气象数据网 (in Simplified Chinese). China Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 10 October 2023.