Karamay City

The city of Karamay, located in the northwestern part of the Junggar Basin, administers four districts -- namely the district of Karamay, Dushanzi, Baijiantan (Karamay High-tech Industrial Development Zone), and Urho, with a population of 500,000 and covering 7,733-square-kilometer area. The city’s name is derived from the Uygur words for "black oil". Karamay is the only city named after the word “oil” in the world, and is also the first large oil field for exploration and development after the founding of new People's Republic of China, known as "the eldest son of new China's oil industry."

Karamay No.1 oil well erupted industrial oil flow on Oct 29, 1955, which announced the birth of the first large oil field in the new People's Republic of China. The State Council approved the establishment of Karamay as a city, in May 29, 1958. Since then, a brand-new oil city has sprung up in the Gobi Desert. Its brilliant entrepreneurial achievements have been praised as "a moving myth" by then Vice Chairman Zhu De, and the beautiful name has spread throughout the country with a song called “the Song of Karamay”.

After more than 60 years of development and construction, Karamay has developed from the original "no grass, no water, even birds do not fly" Gobi desert into a modern livable city of dynamic economy, charming environment, prosperous and harmonious society, and people's living and working in peace and contentment. Karamay has been entitled to a series of awards and honorary titles, such as national civilized city, national environmental protection model city, national health city, national garden city, China's excellent tourism city, China's living environment model award, national sustainable development experimental zone, Xinjiang major new type industrialized city and circular economy pilot city, etc.. In 2020, it has been identified as the first batch of national demonstration cities for the construction of a government ruled by law by the Office of the Central Committee for the Comprehensive Rule of Law.

Karamay is an important node city in the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt. It is rich in tourism resources. The construction of petrochemical industry is magnificent and famous at home and abroad. The urban landscape is exquisite and unique. With perfect tourism function, orderly operation of modern public cultural service system and standardized service, the city can meet the multi-level and diversified life needs of the masses. It is one of the few modern leisure cities suitable for living, business and tourism in Xinjiang. From the ancient wasteland to a busy modern city, the development history of Karamay is not only a history of entrepreneurship and struggle to dedicate energy to the motherland, but also a history of unity of the sons and daughters of all ethnic groups to help each other and share weal and woe. It is also a history of the CPC Central Committee raising the banner, planning the layout, calling on people across the country to support construction and overcome difficulties.