Hami Prefecture
Kumul (Hami) Prefecture (simplified Chinese: 哈密地区; traditional Chinese: 哈密地區; pinyin: Hāmì Dìqū; Uyghur: قۇمۇل ۋىلايىتى, ULY: Qumul Wilayiti, UYY: K̡umul Vilayiti?) is the easternmost prefecture-level division of Xinjiang, People's Republic of China, bordering Gansu and Mongolia to the east. It has an area of 140,749 km2 (54,343 sq mi) and 492,096 inhabitants (2000).
History
The Ming Dynasty established this region as Kumul (Hami) Prefecture in 1404 after the Mongol kingdom Qara Del accepted its supremacy. But it was later controlled by Oirat Mongols. Since the 18th century, Kumul became the center of the Kumul Khanate, a semi-autonomous vassal state within the Qing Empire and the Republic of China as part of Xinjiang. The last ruler of the khanate was Maqsud Shah.
Demographics
Of its inhabitants, 68.95% are Han, 18.42% are Uyghur, 8.76% are Kazakh, 2.97% are Hui, with the remainder belonging to other nationalities.
Administrative divisions
Mineral resources
A newly discovered nickel mine in Hami is estimated to contain reserves of over 15.8 million tons of the metal, it therefore ranks as China's second largest nickel mine. Around 900,000 tons of nickel has already been detected.
