Yining

Yining (Chinese: 伊宁), also known as Ghulja (Uyghur: غۇلجا) or Kulja (Kazakh: قۇلجا), is a county-level city in northwestern Xinjiang, China. It is the administrative seat and largest city of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. Yining is the modern successor to the nearby ruined city of Almaliq, Huocheng County, and is the third largest city in Xinjiang after Ürümqi and Korla. It was established by Erdeni Batur Khong Tayiji, of the Dzungar Khanate. The city of Yining is a county-level administrative unit located along Ili River. As of 2015, it has an estimated population of 542,507, with a total land area of 629 km (243 sq mi). It is the most populous city in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. The land area and population of the City of Yining saw an increase in 2003; the increase resulted from the transfer of two villages with some 100 km (39 sq mi) of land from the adjacent Yining County, which is a separate administrative unit from the city. Yining's population is primarily Uyghur, Han, Hui, and Kazakh, along with smaller numbers of people of Mongolian, Xibe, Uzbek, Russian, or other ethnicity. From the 13 to 15th century, it was under the control of Chagatai Khanate.