Korla was known as Yuli during the Han Dynasty. Yuli is said in the Hanshu or 'History of the Former Han', to have had 1,200 households, 9,600 individuals and 2,000 people able to bear arms. It also mentions that it adjoined Shanshan and Qiemo to the south. In 61 CE, the Xiongnu led some 30,000 troops from 15 kingdoms including Korla, Karashahr, and Kucha in a successful attack on Khotan. In 94 CE, the Chinese general Ban Chao sent soldiers to punish the kingdoms of Yanqi, Weixu, Yuli, and Shanguo. After the rebellion of the "Western Regions", only the kings of Korla and Hoxud refused to submit to the Chinese. Ban Yong, the son of Ban Chao, along with the Governor of Dunhuang, attacked and defeated them. The 3rd centuryWeilüe records that Korla, Hoxud and Shanwang were all dependencies of Karashahr. In May, 1877 Yakub Beg, the Muslim ruler of Kashgaria, died here, prompting the reconquest of Kashgaria by the Qing dynasty. Francis Younghusband, passed through "Korlia" in 1887 on his overland journey from Beijing to India. He described it as being prosperous and the country round about well-cultivated, with more land under cultivation than any other town he had passed. Maize seemed to be the major crop but rice was also grown. There was a small Chinese town, about square with mud walls about high and with a ditch. There were round bastions at the angles, but none at the gateway. A mile south was the Turk town, but its walls were in ruins. It had one main street about long. "The shops are somewhat better than at Karashar, but not so good as at Turfan."
Korla was incorporated as a city on September 30, 1979. In September 2019, drone video appeared allegedly showing the mass transfer of hundreds of ethnic minority prisoners, which drew condemnation from Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne.
Geography
Korla is approximately southwest from Ürümqi, although, due to the intervening Tian Shan, the road distance is considerably greater. The Iron Gate Pass leading to Karasahr is about north of the city and, as it was easily defended, playing an important part in protecting the ancient Silk Roads from raiding nomads from the north. The Kaidu River, also known as the Konqi River or Kongque River, flows through the center of Korla, a unique feature amongst cities in Xinjiang. While the literal meaning of the Chinese name "Kongque River" is "Peacock River", the name originates from a semantically distorted transliteration of the Uyghur name "Konqi Darya" which means "Tanner's River".
Climate
Korla has a cold desert climate with extreme seasonal variation in temperature. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to, and the annual mean is, which is still warmer than most locales at the same latitude further east in the country. Precipitation totals only annually, and mostly falls in summer, as compared to an annual evaporation rate of about ; there are about 3,000 hours of bright sunshine annually. The frost-free period averages 210 days. The period between April and October closely resembles subtropical climates, but the continental nature is facilitated by the rapid drop of temperatures going into winter.
The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps has 2 regiments within Korla: its and its.
Demographics
In the 2010 Chinese Census, the city had a total population of 549,324 people, a significant increase from the 381,943 recorded in the 2000 Census. The city is home to 23 ethnic groups. The city had 430,000 inhabitants in 2007, increasing with 20,000 people every year, majority of whom were Han Chinese, with a large minority of Uyghurs and smaller numbers of Mongols and Huis.
Economy
Korla has long been the biggest centre in the region after Karashahr itself, having abundant water and extensive farmlands, as well as controlling the main routes to the south and west of Karashahr. Due to the discovery of oil in the Taklamakan Desert, Korla is now both more populous and developed than Karashar. PetroChina's Tarim Oilfield operations are headquartered in Korla. The city reported a fiscal revenue of 4.572 billion Yuan in 2019. In the same year, the city's GDP grew 5.6%, fixed asset investment grew 10%, the public budget grew 5%, retail sales grew 8%, and the city's CPI grew 2.3%. Korla is known for its production of fragrant pears.
