The toponym Wensu (温宿) had appeared in historical records of the Western Han Dynasty as one of the 36 states in the Western Regions.[8][9] The name 'Onsu' (Wensu) means "ten water" in Uyghur and other Turkic languages.[10] The name is similar to that of the nearby Zhetysu region which means "seven rivers"- both names consist of a number followed by 'su' (river; water).[11] The name Aksu is Turkic for 'white water'.[12]
In Uyghur, the county is called Aksu Konaxahar (阿克苏阔纳协海尔) meaning 'the old city of Aksu'.[13]
On May 29, 1958, Onsu County was eliminated and its territory made part of Aksu County. In 1962, Onsu County was restored.[15]
In a Radio Free Asia interview, a Han Chinese staffer in the Onsu County local government said that in July 2017, a policy to affix QR codes to all knives belonging to Uyghurs was being carried out.[16]
As of March 2018, every cadre in the county was required to spend eight days a month at the home of villagers.[17]
In the late 2010s, Onsu County was the site of vocational education and training centers (also understood as re-education camps or concentration camps).[18][19] According to a Radio Free Asia interview with an officer at the Onsu county police station, as of August 2018, 30,000 persons, or about one in six Uyghurs in the county (approximately 16% of the overall population of the county), were detained in re-education camps.[2]
Agricultural products include rice, wheat, corn, cotton and fruit products. Sheep wool and sheepskins are produced in abundance. Industries produce food, spun cotton, building materials and coal.[14]
As of 1885[update], there was about 139,200 acres (919,475 mu) of cultivated land in Onsu.[30]
^ abcShohret Hoshur, Joshua Lipes (31 August 2018). "One in Six Uyghurs Held in Political 'Re-Education Camps' in Xinjiang's Onsu County". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 28 April 2020. Onsu (in Chinese, Wensu) county, in the XUAR's Aksu (Akesu) prefecture is home to around 230,000 people, according to the county government's website. Some 180,000 of them are members of minority groups—the largest of which is Uyghurs.
^"温宿县人民政府 领导致词" [Wensu County People's Government – Address by the Leaders] (in Chinese). 温宿县人民政府. 2019-03-22. Retrieved 30 November 2019. 温宿,维吾尔语意为"十股水"
^"China: Visiting Officials Occupy Homes in Muslim Region". Human Rights Watch. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2020. Since March, every cadre in Wensu County, Aksu Prefecture, has been required to stay in the homes of villagers "for no less than eight days a month." An official article describes how, after a work day at the office, cadres "brought their own bedding" to a minority villager's home, where they "will stay the night." (See also Civil Servant-Family Pair Up)
^ ab温宿县历史沿革 [Onsu County Historical Development] (in Simplified Chinese). XZQH.org. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2019. 2010年第六次人口普查,温宿县常住总人口233933人,其中:温宿镇42712人,吐木秀克镇10715人,克孜勒镇19545人,阿热勒镇23569人,佳木镇18108人,托乎拉乡12804人,恰格拉克乡15728人,依希来木其乡13047人,古勒阿瓦提乡17798人,博孜墩柯尔克孜族乡5235人,水稻农场6143人,青年农场6549人,共青团农场2111人,塔格拉克牧场3289人,博孜墩牧场2664人,萨瓦甫齐牧场2954人,恰其力克牧场1544人,佳木林场3393人,兵团五团17786人,兵团六团8239人。
^2019年统计用区划代码和城乡划分代码:温宿县 [2019 Statistical Area Numbers and Rural-Urban Area Numbers: Onsu County] (in Simplified Chinese). National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China. 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019. 统计用区划代码 名称 652922100000 温宿镇 652922101000 吐木秀克镇 652922102000 克孜勒镇 652922103000 阿热勒镇 652922104000 佳木镇 652922105000 托甫汗镇 652922106000 共青团镇 652922107000 柯柯牙镇 652922200000 托乎拉乡 652922202000 恰格拉克乡 652922204000 依希来木其乡 652922206000 古勒阿瓦提乡 652922207000 博孜墩柯尔克孜族乡
^3-7 各地、州、市、县(市)分民族人口数 (in Simplified Chinese). Statistic Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. 15 March 2017. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2017.