Yining 伊宁市

Setting and landscape

The Kegurqin Mountains (科古尔琴山), a branch of the Tianshan, rise to the north. The Ili River winds west along the city's southern edge for 35.3 kilometres, with Qapqal Xibe Autonomous County (察布查尔锡伯自治县) on the far bank; Yining County (伊宁县) lies to the east and Huocheng County (霍城县) to the west. People's Daily describes reed-lined wetlands along the riverbank where egrets take flight, and the city's tree cover has earned it the name "Jiangnan beyond the frontier" (塞外江南).

History

The New Book of Tang (新唐书) records a town called Zheshimi (蛰失密城), an old name for Yining. After the Qing conquered the Ili basin in 1755, they built nine towns in the valley: Huiyuan (惠远城, now in Huocheng) held the General of Ili, while Ningyuan (宁远城), today's Yining, was the town of traders and residents. Ningyuan County was renamed Yining County in 1914, and Yining city was carved out of the county seat in May 1952. When Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture was founded in November 1954, Yining became its seat. The Xibe (锡伯族) people living in the city descend from families moved from north-east China under the Qianlong emperor.

What to see

Kazanqi (喀赞其), whose name comes from the Uyghur for "people who cast pots", is a blue-walled quarter with more than 300 buildings from the Qing to the Republican era. Craftsmen work in the street at saddle-making, ironwork and woodcarving, and visitors can tour the lanes by horse cart. Liuxing Street (六星街) was laid out in the 1930s as a hexagon, with six main streets running out from a central square, and is home to many ethnic groups. The old General of Ili's Mansion (伊犁将军府) is a nationally protected site; the Shaanxi Grand Mosque (陕西大寺) and Baytulla Mosque (拜都拉大寺) are among the city's religious buildings.

Food and local products

The Yining city tourism bureau describes youtazi (油塔子), a steamed Uyghur bun shaped like a pagoda: thin sheets of dough are spread with rendered sheep-tail fat, salt and Sichuan pepper, rolled, twisted into a tower and steamed over a fierce fire for half an hour. It is eaten for breakfast, and the bureau recommends it with hezhi soup (合汁汤), a mutton broth with beef, meatballs, mushrooms, wood-ear fungus, glass noodles, tofu, tomato and chilli. People's Daily recommends the city's ice cream, made by hand from fresh milk, eggs and honey without added water, and the baked samsa (烤包子), pilaf and yoghurt found around Kazanqi and Liuxing Street.

Highlights

• Kazanqi 喀赞其: Blue-walled quarter named for pot-casters, with 300-plus Qing and Republican buildings and street craftsmen.
• Liuxing Street 六星街: Hexagonal quarter planned in the 1930s, six streets radiating from a central square.
• General of Ili's Mansion 伊犁将军府: Listed as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.
• Ili River 伊犁河: Runs along the city's southern edge, with wetlands and reeds on its banks.
• Youtazi 油塔子: Pagoda-shaped steamed bun layered with sheep-tail fat, eaten for breakfast with hezhi soup.