Yeyik

Yeyik    is a township in central Niya County (Minfeng), Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, China on the upper reaches of the Yeyik River (叶亦克河).

Name
Yeyik means 'spread out' in Uyghur. The Uyghur is transcribed into Mandarin Chinese as Yeyike (pinyin) (Yeh-i-k'o (Wade-Giles)). Yeyik has also been known as Yiyike (乙衣克) and Ya-li-ka.

History
In 1958, Yeyik Commune (叶亦克公社) was established.

In 1984, Yeyik Commune became Yeyik Township (叶亦克乡).

At 5:24 p.m. on February 12, 2014, Yeyik was 88 km from the epicenter of a 5.7 magnitude aftershock of the 2014 Yutian earthquake.

In September 2018, Yeyik was listed as a Strong Town Model Organization in Agricultural Production (农业产业强镇示范建设).

Geography
Yeyik is located 44 km to the southeast of the county seat on an alluvial fan on the upper reaches of the Yeyik River (Yeh-i-k'o Ho, Ya-li-ka Ho; 叶亦克河).

Administrative divisions
Yeyik includes six villages:

Villages (Mandarin Chinese Hanyu Pinyin-derived names except where Uyghur is provided):
 * Ayitage 36.73667°N, 82.9975°W
 * Yeyik (Yeyike; يېيىق كەنت / )
 * Muchang
 * Jinquan (金泉村) 36.66028°N, 83.38667°W
 * Aqtash (Aketashi; ئاقتاش كەنت / )
 * Yengiawat (Ying'awati; يېڭىئاۋات كەنت / )

Former villages:
 * Kunwu'ertuzi (昆吾尔吐孜村)
 * Segeziwuyi (色格孜乌依村) 36.73361°N, 83.16333°W

Economy
Agriculture and animal husbandry are the mainstays of the economy. Crops include wheat, highland barley, black-eyed peas, etc.

Nature and wildlife
A Demoiselle Crane was tracked passing through Yeyik suggesting that Yeyik is a stopover on the autumn migration route of the Demoiselle Crane.