Geography

The city is officially 5,258.739 square kilometers. It is bordered by mountainous regions to the north and northwest and the Taklamakhan desert to the east and south.

History

The city was created by the Xinjiang production and Construction Corp as a means of emigration of Han Chinese to the region. Aral was opened as its own city in 2002 and thus saw a steady increase of population, reaching 166,205 in 2010.