Shule County

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Shule County, also known as Yengisheher or Yengixahar, is a county in Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. It sits to the south of the city of Kashgar. The county seat is the town of Yengisheher (Shule).

Shule covers about 2,394 square kilometers and had a population of around 355,500 in 2020, with a density of roughly 149 people per square kilometer. The population is mainly Uyghur, with smaller numbers of Han Chinese and others. The county is divided into 3 towns and 12 townships. It lies in China Standard Time (UTC+8) and has the postal code 844200. It is served by China National Highway 315 and the Kashgar-Hotan Railway.

Historically, Shule was part of ancient oasis civilizations and was once associated with the Shule Kingdom. The name Shule for the Uyghur area means “Kashgar New City.” The Chinese name Shule originally referred to a new city built by Han settlers about 9.7 kilometers from the old Kashgar city. The name may be connected to the Sanskrit Śrīkrīrāti, meaning “fortunate hospitality.”