Shymkent

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Shymkent (Шымкент) or Chimkent, is a city and the capital of Ongtustik Qazaqstan (South Kazakhstan) Province, the most populated province in Kazakhstan. It is a major railroad junction on the Turkestan-Siberia Railway and a cultural center. Current population is more than 840,000. It is situated some 690 km west of Almaty at 42.303° N 69.573° E.

Shymkent is the center of the Eurasian continent from a travellers point of view. It is the city where the major roads from Europe, China and India meet.

1 History
2 Demographics
3 Economy
4 Sights
5 Sister Cities
6 External links

[edit] History

Shymkent was founded in 12th century as a stopping place on the Silk Road, and as a market center for trade between nomads and the settled people of Uzbekistan, but was destroyed several times by nomad attacks. Once part of the Khanate of Kokand, it became part of the Emirate of Bukhara in 1810 and was then annexed by the Russian Empire in 1864. It was renamed Chernyaev in 1914 and renamed back Chimkent in 1924.

After the independence of Kazakhstan, it was renamed Shymkent in 1993 as part of the government’s campaign to apply Kazakh names to cities.

[edit] Demographics

The ethnic make-up of the city is as follows:-

Kazakhs 49.5%
Russians 24.6%
Uzbeks 15%
Tatars 2.7%
Others 8% (Azeris, Ukrainians, Koreans)

[edit] Economy

Formerly dominated by lead mining, industrial growth began in the 1930s and the city has industries producing refined lead and zinc, processed karakul pelts, textiles, foodstuffs, and pharmaceuticals. Also, the city has a medium size refinery. The Shymkent Refinery is owned and operated by PetroKazakhstan.