Poskam County, Xinjiang

Zepu (Tajik: Zepruleshan) means “Golden River,” so named because gold dust was found in its sands. “Zepu” is also known as Poskam, a phonetic variation of the Uyghur Postikan, meaning “fertile land.” In 318 BCE, Zepu was a large settlement of the Kingdom of Shache in the Western Regions, located on the southern bank of the Zelepushan River.^[14][15]

In 65 BCE, the King of Shache killed twelve envoys and rebelled against the Han. Marquis Feng Fengshi led a coalition army from various states to suppress the revolt and installed a new king. In 60 BCE, the Han established the Protectorate of the Western Regions, and Zepu came under its administration through Shache. In 61, the Kingdom of Yutian annexed Shache, and Zepu fell under Yutian’s control. In 73 CE, the Han general Ban Chao reconquered Yutian, and Zepu returned to Han control. In 80, Shache submitted to Kucha, and Zepu followed. In 85, Ban Chao again mobilized troops from various states to attack Shache, bringing Zepu back under the authority of the central government.^[16][17]

From the late Han to the Northern Wei period, Shache was incorporated into Shule.^[18] In 840, the Uyghurs entered the region. In 1124, the area came under the Qara Khitai. In 1218, Genghis Khan conquered the regions north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and Zepu became part of the Mongol Empire. In 1225, Zepu became territory of the Chagatai Khanate. In 1304 CE, the area was brought under Yuan administration. In 1514, Zepu came under the Yarkand Khanate established by Said Khan, serving as an appanage for members of the royal family.^[19]

In 1678, Zepu became subordinate to the Dzungar Khanate. In 1759, after the Qing court suppressed the Khoja rebellions, a military outpost was established in Zepu, along with the Poskam relay station. A sixth-rank kazibek official office was set up under the authority of the Yarkand amban. In 1883, Poskam was placed under the jurisdiction of Zepu County. In 1902, Shache Directly Governed Department was upgraded to a prefecture, and Zepu came under its direct administration. In 1903, Upper and Lower Poskam were reassigned to Zepu County, where an inspectorate was established to manage administrative affairs.^[20]

In 1921, Poskam County was established.^[2] After the Communist takeover, Poskam (Zepu) County was part of Yarkant Prefecture (莎車專區), which was dissolved and became part of Kashgar Prefecture in June 1956.^[1]

In 1990, 'unauthorized' mosque construction in Poskam (Zepu) County was reported in the Xinjiang Daily.^[21]

Chinese state media reported that in the early morning of October 24, 1999, two died, two were injured and major property damage was sustained at the Seyli (Saili) Township police office in a terrorist attack.^[22][23]

On August 27, 2018, Tong'an Township was established.^[24] (See also: Kosrap)

In 2018, Poskam County was among ten counties in Xinjiang named by the Ministry of Commerce as a model rural e-commerce county.^[25] The county was also listed as the only county in Kashgar Prefecture reaching the standard for a national-level public sanitation county.^[26]

In 2019, China National Petroleum Corp announced plans to close Taxinan refinery (塔西南勘探开发公司^[1]).^[27]

The county is between 1215 and 1490 meters above sea level. The land is flat and soil is fertile. Rainfall amounts are low.^[13]

The county includes 2 towns, 10 townships, 1 ethnic township, and 2 township-level divisions:^{[2][32][4][33]}

Irrigation is well-developed in the county, and the county is an important producer of wheat, rice, corn and cotton in southern Xinjiang. Grapes are a local speciality. Industries include mining, machinery, construction and cotton-spinning.^[37] As of 2017, Poskam County had 42,405.25 hectares of arable land.^[1] On January 14–15, 2020, Kashgar Prefecture officials carried out fourteen lectures in Poskam County on scientific methods of agriculture attended by more than 12,000 persons.^[38]

As of the end of 2016, 175,686 (84.1%) of the 208,950 residents of the county were Uyghur, 27,131 (13%) were Han Chinese, 4,463 (2.1%) were Mountain Tajik (China), and 1,670 (0.8%) were from other ethnic groups.^[1]

As of 2015, 181,256 of the 223,694 residents of the county were Uyghur, 35,950 were Han Chinese, 4,452 were Mountain Tajik (China) and 2,036 were from other ethnic groups.^[41]

As of the 2000 Census, ethnic minorities made up 79.38% of the population of Poskam County.^[40] As of 1999, 75.29% of the population of Poskam (Zepu) County was Uyghur and 20.76% of the population was Han Chinese.^[42]

Poskam is served by China National Highway 315 and the Kashgar-Hotan Railway.

• 
  Map including Poskam (labeled as Posgambasar) (1917)
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  Map including Zepu (labeled as TSE-P'U (POSGAM)) and surrounding region from the International Map of the World (AMS, 1966)^[b]
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  Map including Poskam (labeled as ZEPU TSE-P'U) (DMA, 1980)
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  From the Operational Navigation Chart; map including Poskam (labeled as Zepu (Tse-p'u)) (DMA, 1980)^[c]
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  Map including Poskam (labeled as Zepu (Tse-p'u)) (DMA, 1984)^[d]