Hekang County
Hekang County is a county in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. It administers part of Aksai Chin. The seat of the administration is Kunling Township, known as Saitula Township prior to June 2025.
History
On 27 December 2024, The people's government of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region announced the establishment of Hekang County.The establishment of the county, administered by Hotan Prefecture, was approved by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council of the People's Republic of China. In response to the creation of the county, Ministry of External Affairs of India spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that India "never accepted the illegal Chinese occupation of Indian territory in this area" and "creation of new counties will neither have a bearing on India's long-standing and consistent position regarding our sovereignty over the area nor lend legitimacy to China's illegal and forcible occupation of the same." India, which considers Aksai Chin as Indian territory under Chinese occupation, issued protest regarding the creation of the county with the Chinese side through diplomatic channels.
The county seat of Hekang is Kunling Township, formerly called "Saitula".