Yili is a very beautiful place in Xinjiang and is known as "Saiwai Jiangnan". The geography and climatic conditions here are unique. Although it is far from the sea, it is rich in natural resources and agriculture is very well developed. In the northwest border, it is just like the beautiful scenery and abundant products of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River.
The Ili River Valley is located in an intermountain basin in the western part of the Tien Shan Mountains, surrounded by high mountains and relatively closed terrain. Due to its special geographical location, the region is affected by the warm and humid air currents from the Atlantic Ocean, with relatively abundant precipitation, the formation of many rivers and lakes, and abundant water resources, which provide excellent conditions for the development of irrigated agriculture.
Despite its inland location, the Ili region has a mild and humid climate, especially in summer, which is not as dry and hot as most other parts of Xinjiang, thanks to the cold air blocking effect of the surrounding mountains and the guidance of moist air currents by the valley topography.
The fertile soil of the Ili River Valley, coupled with abundant water, is suitable for growing a variety of crops and trees, such as cotton, wheat, corn, grapes, etc., and there are vast pastures suitable for animal husbandry. This diversified agricultural development model has given Yili an abundance of products, and it is vividly known as the "land of fish and rice". When you come here, you can enjoy river valleys, oases, forests, grasslands, wetlands, and flowers at the same time. In ancient times, it was an important post on the Silk Road.
Now in Yili, the tourism industry is developing rapidly. Traditional agriculture and animal husbandry are well protected and have achieved a good symbiosis with the ecological environment. The local specialty industry is the horse industry, so if you go, you can visit the local area.
During the Qin and Han dynasties, the Ili River valley was an area where nomadic peoples such as the Cypriots and Wusun lived. Around the 2nd century BC, the Wusun Kingdom was established here, and maintained close relations with the Han Dynasty, and part of the territory became under the jurisdiction of the Western Regions Protectorate. From the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Western Turkic Khanate once controlled the region, and then after the Tang Dynasty defeated the Western Turks, it established an administrative body in the second year of Xianqing (657 AD), which was included in the jurisdiction of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate and later the Beiting Imperial Protectorate.
During the Song and Yuan dynasties, the Ili region was ruled by the Qarakhanid Dynasty and the Chagatai Khanate. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Ili gradually became an area of activity for the Erut Mongols (Oirat Mongols), among which the Dzungar tribe was particularly powerful. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty put down the Junggar rebellion. During the Qianlong period, it was completely pacified and the establishment of the "** Ili and other generals", that is, the Ili generals, ruled the garrison cities on the north and south roads of the Tianshan Mountains and managed the entire territory of Xinjiang.
After the Opium War, China's national power weakened, and through a series of unequal treaties, Tsarist Russia gradually invaded part of the land that was originally under the jurisdiction of the Qing Dynasty's Ili generals, including the vast area south of Lake Balkhash.
Between 1864 and 1871, Aguba, the official of the Central Asian Khan of Kokand, invaded and controlled most of Xinjiang. Tsarist Russia took advantage of the fire to loot and occupy Ili and its surrounding areas, and actually occupied them in the name of "escrow". Compared with the Agubo forces, Tsarist Russia, as an imperialist power at that time, was powerful and directly confronted the Qing Dynasty, which made the recovery work more difficult.
When Zuo Zongtang was planning to recover Xinjiang, China was facing internal and external troubles. In the face of Tsarist Russia's invasion and occupation of Ili, the Qing wanted to negotiate a settlement, but they were unsuccessful. In this regard, Zuo Zongtang led the army to quell the turmoil and rebellion in Xinjiang, recovered Urumqi and other major cities, and put Ili to the last to solve it, knowing that it was impossible to forcibly recover Ili in the short term.
In the end, after many efforts, after a long period of diplomatic struggle and military deployment, the Qing Dynasty signed the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty and the revised Land Trade Charter in 1881, although it failed to fully recover all the territory in accordance with the original boundary, but basically restored its sovereignty over the Ili region.
The lost part of the Ili region is located in Kazakhstan, mainly in the western basin of the Ili River and its environs, and a large territory south of and near Lake Balkhash. It has been about 143 years since it was lost. That is, these places have been away from us for 143 years.
The territorial issue has always been a sensitive issue, and it is now very difficult for countries to change their borders easily. As for the previously lost territories, the border has been clearly demarcated in the "China-Kazakhstan State Border Agreement" signed between China and Kazakhstan in 1994. So this place is destined not to return to our arms.
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