Shihezi شىخەنزە
—  Sub-prefecture-level city  —
石河子市
Shihezi (red) in Xinjiang (orange) and China
Shihezi Location in Xinjiang
Coordinates: 44°18′N 86°02′E / 44.3°N 86.033°E / 44.3; 86.033Coordinates: 44°18′N 86°02′E / 44.3°N 86.033°E / 44.3; 86.033
Country	People's Republic of China
Region	Xinjiang
Government
• CPC Shihezi	Committee Secretary
• Mayor
Area
• Total	460 km2 (180 sq mi)
Population [1]
• Total	640,000
• Density	1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
Time zone	China Standard (UTC+8)
Postal code	832000
Area code(s)	0993

Shihezi (Chinese: 石河子; pinyin: Shíhézǐ; Uyghur: شىخەنزە‎, ULY: Shihenze, UPNY: Xihənzə^?) is a sub-prefecture-level city in northern Xinjiang, People's Republic of China.

Demography[link]

Shihezi is the second largest city in Xinjiang, after Ürümqi.

Its population is about 640,000 (2007), with the majority of the residents being Han Chinese and minorities making up 5.4% of the population.^[2]

Geography and climate[link]

Shihezi is located at the northern foothills of the middle part of the Tian Shan range approximately 136 kilometres (85 mi) from the regional capital of Ürümqi.

Although Shihezi is almost surrounded from east, west, and north by Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture (which also includes the city's eastern neighbor, the much older historically Hui town of Manas), it is not a part of it.

Located in an area further from the nearest seacoast than any other region on earth, Shihezi has a semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), with very large temperature differences between summer and winter. Monthly average temperatures range from −15.3 °C (4.5 °F) in January to 25.3 °C (77.5 °F), and the annual mean temperature is 7.39 °C (45.3 °F). Precipitation is very low year-round, with an annual total of only 206 millimetres (8.11 in), compared to the annual evaporation rate, which is usually more than 1,000 millimetres (39 in).^[3]

History[link]

Farms surrounding Shihezi fueled the development of the city. These quasi-military structured farms produce materials for the factories that have been the economic driver of the city. In 1974 Shihezi became a city.

Education[link]

Shihezi University is located in Shihezi. It is the 2nd largest university in Xinjiang, with approximately 40,000 students.

Economy[link]

Nowadays textile and food industries are the most important in Shihezi. Railway connection to Wusu and Ürümqi skirts the city, while a United Nation economic development project provided high quality highway systems for the city. Textile industry is the primary employment, although international trade environment on textiles has brought in fluctuations in employment. As a hub to surrounding farms, the city's destiny is currently tied with theirs. Sugar beets are cultivated near Shihezi. Cultivation of cotton in the farms was accelerated in the 1990s and now dominates the economy.^[4]

Transport[link]

Shihezi is served by China National Highway 312, the Northern Xinjiang and the Second Ürümqi-Jinghe Railways.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Shihezi economic development zone (simplified Chinese)
• Shihezi party politics public information network (simplified Chinese)
• Map of the City of Shihezi (Chinese)
• Shihezi a 'Shining Pearl in the Gobi Desert'
• Shihezi (China) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia