Kokyar (Kɵkyar, Көкяр, كۆكيار, Kök-yar, Kök-yār, 库克牙, Pinyin: Kùkèyá;, Kēkèyà Xiāng) is a township headquartered at a small oasis at the base of the Kunlun Mountains in southern Kargilik County, Kashgar Prefecture, southwestern Xinjiang, China.

History

In 1958, Kokyar Commune (柯克亚公社) was established. In 1985, Kokyar Commune became Kokyar Township. On July 6, 2016, a massive landslide killed thirty-five residents from village 6 in Kokyar Township, around 170 km from the county seat. It took several days for rescue operations to reopen the road into the village. 352 residents were relocated. In 2016-2017, Akemeiqite village (阿克美其特村) was disestablished and Nu'er'abati (努尔阿巴提村) was established, Amanxia (阿曼夏村) was disestablished and Halasitan village (哈拉斯坦) was established, and Muchang village (牧场村) was established. In 2019, a cooperative farm (种植合作社) was established in Halasitan village (哈拉斯坦村).

Geography

Kokyar is a small oasis, only about 50 km south of Karghalik, with cultivation limited to: Kokyar was the first oasis reached in the Taklamakan basin after travelling the winter route north from the Karakoram Pass via Bazar Dara or from northern Hunza Valley to Yarkand along the frozen Yarkand River. To the north, Kokyar Township borders Kargilik Town (Kageleke, Qaghiliq), to the east Ushsharbash Town (Wuxiabashi), and to the west Chipan Township (Qipan). The average altitude in the township is between 2200 m and 3500 m above sea level.

Administrative divisions

, Kokyar Township includes eighteen villages divided into four areas (片区) (Mandarin Chinese pinyin-derived names except where noted): Areas (片区): Villages (村): As of 2009, there were seventeen villages in Kokyar:

Demographics

, 96.9% of the residents of Kokyar Township were Uyghur. Some Mountain Tajiks (China) live in Kokyar Township.

Economy

There are orchards containing apricot, mulberry and other fruit trees and fields of wheat and oats and stands of willow and poplar trees. The people produce excellent felts which are famous throughout Turkestan which obviously contribute significantly to the economy. The people speak 'Taghlik' or "hill Turki" (Uyghur). There are many long-lived trees in the area. As of 2015, persons engaged in agriculture made up 93.1% of the population of the township and there was 16,800 mu of arable land. Kokyar (Kekeya) Oil and Gas Field was discovered in the 1970s.

Transportation

Historical maps

Historical English-language maps including Kokyar: