Tacheng

Tacheng, as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Mongolian as Qoqak, is a county-level city (1994 est. pop. 56,400) and the administrative seat of Tacheng Prefecture, in northern Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. The city was sometimes called Tarbaghatay or Tarbagatai (Mongolian: 'having marmots') and in European languages as Chuguchak (based on its name in the Mongolian language). The current official Chinese name Tacheng is an abbreviation of "Tarbaghatay City". The current Uyghur name is Qöqäk transliterated from Mongolian. It is located in the Dzungarian Basin, some from the Chinese border with Kazakhstan. For a long time it has been a major center for trade with Central Asia because it is an agricultural hub. Its industries include food processing, textiles, and utilities. History In the mid-19th century, Chuguchak was considered the most important commercial center of Western China after Ghulja (Yining), being an important center of trade between China and Russia, in particular in tea. The city, surrounded by an earth wall, was the residence of two Qing ambans and had a garrison of some 1,000 Chinese soldiers and 1,500 Manchu and Mongol soldiers.