Note on historical place names From the 13 to 15th century, it was under the control of
Chagatai Khanate. Another Mongol empire—the
Dzungar Khanate—established around Ili area. In the 19th and early 20th century, the word Kulja, (from ) or Ghulja was often used in Russia, and in the West as the name for the entire Chinese part of the Ili River basin as well as for its two main cities. In fact, the
1911 Encyclopædia Britannica clarifies the distinction between two similarly named cities of its time: •
Kulja (i.e. today's Yining) or more specifically
Old Kulja (elsewhere, also called
Taranchi Kulja), which was the commercial center of the region. •
Suidun (i.e.
Suiding, now called
Shuiding) or more specifically
New Kulja,
Manchu Kulja, or
Ili (elsewhere, also
Chinese Kulja), the Chinese fortress and the regional capital. Until the 1860s,
Huiyuan to the south of Suiding was the regional capital.
Establishment and Dzungar Khanate After the establishment of the Dzungar Khanate,
Erdeni Batur, the first
Khong Tayiji of the nation, built the city named as
Khobak Sari, as the capital city of the Dzungar Khanate, which featured a monastery. New buildings such as
warehouses,
urban centers, and
settlements were also installed, as Erdeni Batur encouraged civilians to settle in the city. He also promoted
Buddhism, use of the
Clear Script created by the Oirat Monk,
Zaya Pandita, and created laws for practice of
animal husbandry, and
handicrafts. According to Russian diplomats, the city was made of
bricks and defended by 4
cannons. Limited
agricultural practices were also present in the city during the reign of Erdeni Batur. Later during
Tsewang Rabtan Khan, and
Galdan Tseren Khan's rule, Uyghurs were sent to the city to practice agriculture, and
horticulture in the capital. The city was also introduced with irrigation system and were able to supply the city needs with their agricultural reforms. Farmers were common, which
Slaves from Bukhara, and
Dzungar civilians themselves engaged in agriculture, producing
wheat,
barley,
millet,
pumpkins,
melons,
grapes,
apricots, and
apples. Merchants were also frequent in the city, reportedly achieving
economic growth from their available goods. Later, Galdan Tseren Khan established two monasteries in the Ili River, with one of them built at the capital city. As it was about 3
story tall, and about 1
li tall. It was later destroyed during the rebellion of
Amursana, which Qianlong emperor later rebuilt it as Anyuan temple, in 1764 which resembled the old temple to cherish the men afar.
Qing dynasty The fort of Ningyuan () was built in 1762 to accommodate new settlers from southern
Xinjiang. The forts of Huining, () and Xichun () built later in 1765 and 1780 were also located within the modern Yining City. The Sino-Russian
Treaty of Kulja 1851 opened the area for trade. In 1864–66, the city suffered severely from fighting during the
Dungan Revolt. The city, and the rest of the Ili River basin were seized by the
Russians, in 1871, during
Yakub Beg's independent rule of
Kashgaria. It was restored to the Chinese under the terms of the
Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881). In 1888, the Ningyuan County was established.
The Geographical Magazine in 1875 by Sir Clements Robert Markham stated: What little industry Kulja possesses is all due to the Chinese, who transplanted the taste for art, assiduity and skillfulness of their pigtailed race, even to these western outskirts of "the celestial flowery dominion of the Middle." Had the
Taranjis, and
Kalmuks been left to themselves, or had they remained in a preponderating majority, Kulja would not be a bit farther advanced than either
Yarkand or
Aksu. The principal trades are the following: — founders, manufacturing kettles, plates, and other implements of a very primitive form; papermakers, whose productions do not seem to be superior to the paper manufactured at the present time after Chinese patterns at
Khokand and
Samarkand. There are, moreover, some confectionaries in which cakes of all shapes are baked of rice and millet, overlaid with sugar; also, macaroni-makers, the Taranjis being notoriously very fond of dried farinaceous food. In Eastern Turkestan there still exist many similar trades, and although their products are not equal to European articles of the same kind—I mean here the fabrics of the formerly western Chinese provinces— they are still said to be profitable. Finally, among the tradesmen we may mention millers, vinegar manufacturers and potters. The number of factories amount to-day at Kulja to 38, wherein over 131 hands are occupied. To these of course other tradespeople have to be added, such as 169 bootmakers, 50 blacksmiths, 48 carpenters, 11 brass-founders, 3 silversmiths, 26 stonecutters, and 2 tailors.
Republic of China In 1914, the Ningyuan County was renamed Yining County to avoid confusion with
other places in China named Ningyuan.
East Turkestan Republic Ghulja was the site of the 7 November 1944 East Turkestan Revolution and served as capital city of the
Second East Turkestan Republic from 12 November 1944 until 22 December 1949.
People's Republic Yining became a separate city from
Yining County in 1952. In 1962, major Sino-Soviet clashes took place along the
Ili River. In 1997, in what came to be known as the
Ghulja incident, the city was rocked by two days of demonstrations or riots. == Geography ==