Karamay
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| Karamay | |
| — Prefecture-level city — | |
| Chinese transliteration(s) | |
| - Traditional | 克拉瑪依 |
|---|---|
| - Simplified | 克拉玛依 |
| - Pinyin | Kèlāmǎyī |
| Uyghur transliteration(s) | |
| - Uyghur | قاراماي شەھرى |
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.png/220px-Location_of_Karamay_Prefecture_within_Xinjiang_(China).png) |
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  Karamay
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | China |
| Region | Xinjiang |
| City seat | Karamay District |
| Subdivisions | |
| Area | |
| - Total | 9,252 km² (3,572.2 sq mi) |
| Population (2002) | |
| - Total | 290,000 |
| - Density | 31.3/km² (81.2/sq mi) |
| - Major Nationalities | Han - 75% |
| Time zone | China Standard (UTC+8) |
| Postal code | 834000 |
| Area code(s) | 0990 |
| GDP | ¥15.482 billion in total; ¥53,000 per capita (2003) |
| License Plate Prefix | 新J |
| Website: http://www.klmy.gov.cn | |
Karamay or Karamai (Uyghur: قاراماي, Qaramay, K̡aramay; Chinese: 克拉瑪依; pinyin: Kèlāmǎyī, Wade-Giles: K'o-la-ma-i) is a prefecture-level city in the north of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in northwestern China. Karamay comes from the Uyghur language, and means "black oil". Karamay was the site of one of the worst disasters in modern Chinese history, the 12/8/94 incident, when 324 people, 288 of them school children, lost their lives in a cinema fire on 8 December 1994.[1] Population (2002): 290,000.
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[edit] Geography
Karamay is located in the Dzungarian basin.
[edit] Climate
Karamay has a dry and hot summer climate. The annual range can be from -25 to 40 °C.
[edit] Subdivisions
Karamay has 4 districts.
- Karamay District (克拉玛依区: Kèlāmǎyī Qū)
- Baijiantan District (白碱滩区 : Báijiǎntān Qū)
- Dushanzi District (独山子区: Dúshānzǐ Qū)
- Urho District (乌尔禾区: Wūěrhé Qū)
The territory of the "Prefecture-level City of Karamay" is not contiguous: Dushanzi District, located south of the Lanxin Railway, forms an exclave, as it is separated by Kuytun City from the other three districts in the north. City of Karamay taken together with the City of Kuytun would form an enclave surrounded on all sides by Tacheng Prefecture.
[edit] Demographics
75% of Karamay's population are Han with minorities such as Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Mongols and Hui making up the rest.
[edit] Economy
In 1955, one of the largest oil fields in China was discovered there. Since then, the city has grown into an oil-producing and refining center.
[edit] 12/8/94 incident
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (May 2007) |
On December 8, 1994, a serious fire broke out in Friendship Theatre (友谊馆), Karamay, which caused the tragic death of 323 people including 288 school children, with 130 more injuries, according to official figures. Many teachers were killed while trying to protect and evacuate their students from the poorly safety-designed building. A show was being organized at that moment for a number of local government officials, who managed to escape ahead of the others on spotting the fire, and were afterwards charged with neglecting their duty and were each sentenced years in jail.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ China aghast at ‘sacrifice’ of 288 pupils, The Sunday Times, May 6, 2007.
[edit] External links
- Government website of Karamay (in Simplified Chinese)
- Map of the City of Karamay
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