authored Tārīkh-i amniyya (History of Peace), which is considered by modern historians as one of the most important historical sources on the period. Modern era British Army officer Francis Younghusband visited Aksu in 1887 on his overland journey from Beijing to India. He described it as being the largest town he had seen on his way from the Chinese capital, with a population of about 20,000, besides other inhabitants of the district and a garrison of about 2,000 soldiers. "There were large bazaars and several inns—some for travellers, others for merchants wishing to make a prolonged stay to sell goods." In 1913, Aksu County () was established. The Battle of Aksu (1933) occurred here on 31 May 1933. Isma'il Beg, a Uighur, became the rebel Tao-yin of Aksu. After the outbreak of the Ili Rebellion, the Ili National Army forces led by Abdulkerim Abbas attempting to take Aksu were repelled by National Revolutionary Army defenders commanded by Zhao Hanqi after two bitter sieges in September 1945. On 19 August 1983, Aksu County became Aksu City (). The city government began operation on 7 May 1984. Aksu was the site of a bombing in 2010. On 23 January 2013, of territory was transferred from Aksu city to Aral city. Timeline Before 600 the region was under control of Huns and Uyghur Turkic tribes. 630: Xuanzang visited the kingdom. 800: Uyghur Khaganate 1000: Kara-Khanid Khanate 1250: Chagatai Khanate 1500: Yarkent Khanate Geography Aksu City is divided into two non-contiguous areas. The northern area is inhabited and the southern area is in the Taklamakan Desert. The southern area ends at a strait line in the desert along the 39°28′57″N parallel that divides it from Lop County (Luopu) and Qira County (Cele) in Hotan Prefecture (Hetian). Neighbours The kingdom bordered Kashgar to the south-west, and Kucha, Karasahr then Turpan to the east. Across the desert to the south was Khotan. Climate Aksu has a cold desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWk) with extreme seasonal variation in temperature. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from in January to , and the annual mean is . Precipitation totals only annually, and mostly falls in summer, as compared to an annual evaporation rate of about ; there are about 2,800–3,000 hours of bright sunshine annually. The frost-free period averages 200–220 days. Administrative divisions , Aksu City included seven subdistricts, two towns, four townships and five other areas: