Yining [key], city (1994 est. pop. 197,500), W Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, on the Ili River in the Dzungarian basin. An old commercial center trading in tea and cattle, it is still and agricultural area with extensive livestock raising. It has fruit orchards, and iron and coal are mined nearby. Yining was seized by the Russians in 1871 but was restored to China in 1881. It became the capital of an autonomous district in 1954. The names were formerly spelled Ining and Kuldja.
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