Manas

Manas stands on the northern slopes of the Tian Shan, where the river of the same name leaves the mountains for the Dzungarian plain. Its waters sustain an oasis on the edge of a dry basin, while the nearby mountains yield green jade. Pastoral peoples and successive states controlled this country before Qing rule brought a new network of settlements and garrisons.

After the conquest of Dzungaria, the Qing established Suilai county here in 1778, with its seat at Kangji, a town built the previous year. Fields and canals expanded along the mountain front as soldiers and settlers were brought into the region. The mountains also attracted miners: Qing records describe both gold workings and the extraction of Manas green jade, some of which reached the imperial court for use in carved objects.