Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture in the southeastern Xinjiang, China. It borders Gansu to the east, Qinghai to the southeast and the Tibet Autonomous Region to the south. It is the largest prefecture-level division nationally, with an area of 471,480 km2, which is even larger than its neighboring province of Gansu. The prefectural capital is Korla. Despite being designated an autonomous area for Mongols in China, only about four percent of Bayingolin's population is Mongol.

History

In a 2017 announcement from officials in Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, it was proclaimed that "there is a severe threat from international terrorism, and cars have been used as a key means of transport for terrorists as well as constantly serving as weapons. It is therefore necessary to monitor and track all vehicles in the prefecture."

Demographics

According to the 2020 census, Bayingolin has 1,056,970 inhabitants (population density: 2.28 per km2). As of 2020, 53.3% of the 1,509,233 residents of the county were Han Chinese, 36.4% were Uyghur, 5.3% were Hui and 4.0% were Mongol.

Ethnic groups in Bayingolin

When Bayingolin was established in 1954, Mongols comprised 35 per cent of the prefecture's population. Due to development needs and migration, the Han population increased from 1,682 in the region of Bayingolin in 1947 to over 660,000 in 2004.

Subdivisions

Bayin'gholin directly controls one county-level city, seven counties and one Hui autonomous county.

Notable persons