Onsu County

Onsu County^{[2][3][4][5][6]} (Uyghur: ئونسۇ ناھىيىسى, romanized: Onsu Nahiyisi^[7]) and from Mandarin Chinese Wensu County (Chinese: 温宿县), is a county in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Aksu Prefecture, bordering Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul Region to the northwest. It contains an area of 14,309 km² (5,525 sq mi).

Onsu County ئونسۇ ناھىيىسى (Uyghur) 温宿县 (Chinese) Wensu, Kona Shahr, Wensuh
County
Aerial view of Onsu County in 2024
Location of Wensu County (red) within Aksu Prefecture (yellow) and Xinjiang
Onsu County Location of the seat Show map of Xinjiang Onsu County Onsu County (China) Show map of China
Coordinates: 41°15′N 80°14′E
Country	China
Autonomous region	Xinjiang
Prefecture	Aksu
County seat	Onsu Town (Wensu)
Area
• Total	14,335.16 km2 (5,534.84 sq mi)
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	266,002
• Density	19/km2 (48/sq mi)
Ethnic groups
• Major ethnic groups	Uyghur[2]
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard[a])
Postal code	843100
Website	www.wszf.gov.cn (in Chinese)

Onsu County
Uyghur name
Uyghur	ئونسۇ ناھىيىسى‎
Transcriptions Latin Yëziqi Onsu Nahiyisi Yengi Yeziⱪ Onsu Naⱨiyisi SASM/GNC Onsu Nahiyisi Siril Yëziqi Онсу Наһийиси
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	温宿县
Traditional Chinese	溫宿縣
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Wēnsù Xiàn Wade–Giles Wên¹-su⁴ Hsien⁴

Etymology

The toponym Wensu (温宿) had appeared in historical records of the Western Han Dynasty as one of the 36 states in the Western Regions.^[8][9] The name 'Onsu' (Wensu) means "ten rivers" in Uyghur and other Turkic languages.^[10] The name is similar to that of the nearby Zhetysu region which means "seven rivers"- both names consist of a number followed by 'su' (river; water).^[11] The name Aksu is Turkic for 'white water'.^[12]

In Uyghur, the county is called Aksu Konaxahar (阿克苏阔纳协海尔) meaning 'the old city of Aksu'.^[13]

History

Onsu County was established in 1902.^[14]

On May 29, 1958, Onsu County was eliminated and its territory made part of Aksu County. In 1962, Onsu County was restored.^[15]

In a Radio Free Asia interview, a Han Chinese staffer in the Onsu County local government said that in July 2017, a policy to affix QR codes to all knives belonging to Uyghurs was being carried out.^[16]

As of March 2018, every cadre in the county was required to spend eight days a month at the home of villagers.^[17]

In the late 2010s, Onsu County was the site of vocational education and training centers (also understood as deradicalization centers, re-education camps or concentration camps).^[18][19] According to a Radio Free Asia interview with an officer at the Onsu county police station, as of August 2018, 30,000 persons, or about one in six Uyghurs in the county (approximately 16% of the overall population of the county), were detained in re-education camps.^[2]

Administrative divisions

Onsu County administered 8 towns, 4 townships, and 1 ethnic township.^[20][21]

Name	Simplified Chinese	Hanyu Pinyin	Uyghur (UEY)	Uyghur Latin (ULY)	Administrative division code	Notes
Towns
Onsu Town (Wensu Town)	温宿镇	Wēnsù Zhèn	ئونسۇ بازىرى	Onsu baziri	652922100
Tumxuk Town[22]	吐木秀克镇	Tǔmùxiùkè Zhèn	تۇمشۇق بازىرى	tumshuq baziri	652922101	formerly Tumxuk Township (吐木秀克乡)
Qizil Town	克孜勒镇	Tǔmùxiùkè Zhèn	قىزىل بازىرى[23]	qizil baziri	652922102	formerly Qizil Township (克孜勒乡)
Aral Town[24]	阿热勒镇	Ārèlè Zhèn	ئارال بازىرى	Aral baziri	652922103	formerly Aral Township (阿热勒乡)
Jam Town	佳木镇	Jiāmù Zhèn	جام بازىرى[25]	jam baziri	652922104	formerly Jam Township (佳木乡)
Topkhan Town	托甫汗镇	Tuōfǔhàn Zhèn	توپقان بازىرى	topqan baziri	652922105
Komsumul Town	共青团镇	Gòngqīngtuán Zhèn	كومسۇمۇل بازىرى	komsumul baziri	652922106
Kökyar Town	柯柯牙镇	Kēkēyá Zhèn	كۆكيار بازىرى	kökyar baziri	652922107
Townships
Toxula Township	托乎拉乡	Tuōhūlā Xiāng	توخۇلا يېزىسى[26]	toxula yëzisi	652922200
Chaghraq Township	恰格拉克乡	Qiàgélākè Xiāng	چاغراق يېزىسى	chaghraq yëzisi	652922202
Ishlemchi Township	依希来木其乡	Yīxīláimùqí Xiāng	ئىشلەمچى يېزىسى	Ishlemchi yëzisi	652922204
Gulawat Township (Gule Awati[27])	古勒阿瓦提乡	Gǔlè'āwǎtí Xiāng	گۈلئاۋات يېزىسى	gül'awat yëzisi	652922206
Ethnic township
Bozdong Kyrgyz Ethnic Township	博孜墩柯尔克孜族乡	Bózīdūn Kē'ěrkèzīzú Xiāng	بوزدۆڭ قىرغىز يېزىسى	bozdöng qirghiz yëzisi	652922207	(Kyrgyz) بوزدۅڭ قىرعىز ايىلى Боздөң Кыргыз айылы

Climate

Climate data for Onsu, elevation 1,133 m (3,717 ft), (1991–2020 normals)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−1.0 (30.2)	5.3 (41.5)	14.2 (57.6)	22.4 (72.3)	26.8 (80.2)	29.9 (85.8)	31.3 (88.3)	30.2 (86.4)	26.2 (79.2)	19.4 (66.9)	9.8 (49.6)	0.8 (33.4)	17.9 (64.3)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−7.3 (18.9)	−1.1 (30.0)	8.0 (46.4)	15.8 (60.4)	20.2 (68.4)	23.1 (73.6)	24.4 (75.9)	23.2 (73.8)	18.9 (66.0)	11.7 (53.1)	2.9 (37.2)	−4.9 (23.2)	11.2 (52.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−12.5 (9.5)	−6.8 (19.8)	1.7 (35.1)	9.2 (48.6)	13.9 (57.0)	16.7 (62.1)	18.0 (64.4)	16.8 (62.2)	12.3 (54.1)	4.9 (40.8)	−2.3 (27.9)	−9.1 (15.6)	5.2 (41.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	1.8 (0.07)	3.2 (0.13)	4.0 (0.16)	5.4 (0.21)	9.6 (0.38)	19.6 (0.77)	15.7 (0.62)	15.9 (0.63)	12.6 (0.50)	4.4 (0.17)	2.5 (0.10)	3.4 (0.13)	98.1 (3.87)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	2.9	2.4	1.4	1.9	3.8	6.6	6.3	7.0	4.2	1.4	1.2	2.9	42
Average snowy days	5.7	3.6	0.8	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.4	5.8	17.4
Average relative humidity (%)	68	59	44	37	41	48	52	56	57	57	64	72	55
Mean monthly sunshine hours	177.1	182.3	199.7	224.8	264.7	281.5	300.5	278.1	250.0	246.4	192.4	158.1	2,755.6
Percentage possible sunshine	59	60	53	56	59	62	66	66	68	73	66	56	62
Source: China Meteorological Administration[28][29]

Economy

Agricultural products include rice, wheat, corn, cotton and fruit products. Sheep wool and sheepskins are produced in abundance. Industries produce food, spun cotton, building materials and coal.^[14]

As of 1885^[update], there was about 139,200 acres (919,475 mu) of cultivated land in Onsu.^[30]

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2000	219,219	—
2010	233,933	+0.65%
[20]

As of 2015, 197,360 of the 259,305 residents of the county were Uyghur, 55,335 were Han Chinese and 6,610 were from other ethnic groups.^[31]

According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 210,000.^{[citation needed]}

As of 1999, 76.17% of the population of Onsu (Wensu) County was Uyghur and 21.43% of the population was Han Chinese.^[32]

Transportation

• China National Highway 314^[14]

Historical maps

Historical English-language maps including Onsu:

• 
  Map including Uqturpan (labeled as WEN-SU (AKSU-KONE SHAHR)) and surrounding region from the International Map of the World (AMS, 1950)^[b]
• 
  Map including Onsu (labeled as WENSU) (DMA, 1981)
• 
  From the Operational Navigation Chart; map including Onsu (labeled as WEN-SU (WENSU)) (DMA, 1985)^[c]

Notes

1. Locals in Xinjiang frequently observe UTC+6 (Xinjiang Time), 2 hours behind Beijing.
2. From map: "THE DELINEATION OF INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES ON THIS MAP MUST NOT BE CONSIDERED AUTHORITATIVE"
3. From map: "The representation of international boundaries is not necessarily authoritative."