Kümüx

Kümüx (Kumishi; كۈمۈش بازىرى / ) is a town in Toksun County, Turpan Prefecture, Xinjiang, China.

Name
'Kümüx' (كۈمۈش) means 'silver' in Uyghur. Silver is mined in the area.

Kümüx has also been written in Chinese characters as Kumushi (庫穆什 / 库穆什 and 庫木什 / 库木什).

History
In 1984, Kümüx Town was established.

In December 2010, Zeng Lingquan (曾令权), who ran an adoption agency for the physically and mentally disabled with no operation license in Sichuan, was arrested. Zeng reportedly sent the mentally ill to work in a factory run by Li Xinglin (李兴林) where they were enslaved and worked year round (instead of seasonally as with other local factories) in unsafe conditions at the Jia'ersi Green Construction Material Chemical Factory (佳尔思绿色建材化工厂) in Kümüx.

Geography
The nearby Kuruktag (Kuluketage; 库鲁克塔格) mountains (at around 41.5°N, 90°W) are a source of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, iron and other metals as well as asbestos, marble, mengfeitu (蒙肥土), limestone, table salt, mirabilite, gypsum and quartz.

Administrative divisions
Kümüx includes one residential community and two villages:

Residential community:
 * Kümüx (Kumishi; 库米什社区)

Villages:
 * Qirghiz tam (Ke'erkezitiemi; قىرغىز تام كەنتى / 柯尔克孜铁米村)
 * Yëngi bostan (Yingbositan; يېڭى بوستان كەنتى / 英博斯坦村) 42.18556°N, 88.37833°W

Economy
Kümüx is an important stop on the road from Ürümqi to Kashgar. There are restaurants, a transport and shipping station, a regional weather station, hotel, post office, gas station, etc. There is little arable land in the surrounding area and spring water is used in irrigation.

Demographics
, more than 600 persons lived in Kümüx, mostly Uyghur. , 88.1% of the population of Kümüx were Uyghur.

During the Qing Dynasty, Kümüx was described as having twenty or more households.

Transportation

 * China National Highway 314
 * S24 Shanku Expressway

Historical maps
Historical English-language maps including Kümüx: