Balykchy
{{distinguish|Balyqshy}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Balykchy
| native_name = Балыкчы
| image_skyline = {{multiple image
| border = infobox
| perrow = 1/2/2/2/2
| total_width = 250
| image1 = Apartment buildings in Balykchy, Kyrgyzstan, 2012-01.jpg
| image2 = Balykchy train station.jpg
| image3 = Балыкчы сверху (3).jpg
| footer = From the top to bottom-right, Apartment Buildings in Balykchy, The Train station, Aerial view of the town}}
| imagesize =
| image_caption =
| image_flag = Flag of Balykchy.svg
| image_shield = Coat of arms of Balykchy.svg
| image_map =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = Kyrgyzstan
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_mapsize = 300
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Kyrgyzstan
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = Kyrgyzstan
| subdivision_type1 = Region
| subdivision_name1 = Issyk-Kul Region
| established_title = Founded
| established_date = 1884
| government_type =
| leader_title =
| leader_name =
| area_magnitude =
| area_total_sq_mi =
| area_total_km2 = 38
| area_land_sq_mi =
| area_land_km2 =
| area_urban_sq_mi =
| area_urban_km2 =
| area_metro_km2 =
| area_metro_sq_mi =
| population_as_of = 2021
| population_total = 51305
| population_urban =
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| population_density_sq_mi =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| timezone =
| utc_offset =
| timezone_DST =
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| coordinates = {{coord|42|28|N|76|11|E|region:KG|display=inline}}
| elevation_footnotes =
| elevation_m = 1630
| elevation_ft =
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 721900
| area_code = +996 3944
| website =
| footnotes =
| established_title1 = Current from
| established_date1 = 1954
}}
Balykchy ({{langx|ky|Балыкчы}}) is a town at the western end of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan, at an elevation of about 1,900 metres. Its area is {{convert|38|km2}},{{cite Kyrgyzstan census 2009|Issyk-Kul|11, 16}} and its resident population was 42,875 in 2021 (both including Orto-Tokoy).{{cite Kyrgyzstan population 2021}} A major industrial and transport centre (wool and crop processing, lake shipping, rail terminal, and road junction) during the Soviet era, it lost most of its economic base after the collapse of the Soviet Union and the closure of virtually all of its industrial facilities.
The main road from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, to China, a part of the ancient Great Silk Road, passes through Balykchy before it starts its long and arduous way across the alpine ranges of Naryn Province in central Kyrgyzstan to the Chinese border at Torugart Pass. Plans for the rail road from the Chinese border to Balykchy, where the line from Bishkek currently ends, are under discussion. Two other roads go around the north and south sides of Issyk Kul to Karakol and then around the east end of the Kungey Alatau to the far southeast of Kazakhstan.
History
The history of Balykchy begins with a post station and farm, established by M. I. Bachin, retired soldier of Naryn Fort in Kyzyl Tokoy area in 1884. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century the settlement was known as Ketmaldy (the nearby river's name), Novodmitrievka (after the family name of the owner of a local stud-farm; E.S.Dmitriev), and Bachino (after M. I. Bachin). It was named Rybachye (fishing place in Russian) from 1909-1993.{{cite book|script-title=ru:Иссык-Куль. Нарын:Энциклопедия|trans-title=Encyclopedia of Issyk-Kul and Naryn Oblasts|publisher=Chief Editorial Board of Kyrgyz Soviet Encyclopedia|language= ru|location=Bishkek
|year=1994|isbn=5-89750-009-6|pages=512}} In the early 1990s, following the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the town was known as Issyk-Kul, taking the name of the adjacent lake. Shortly after independence, its name was changed to Balykchy [https://web.archive.org/web/20050212090021/http://www.dostuck.com.kg/old/cities.shtml] which means fisherman in the Kyrgyz language (and also in its sister language Turkish).
Demographics
Balykchy is the seventh largest town in Kyrgyzstan with a resident population, as of 2021, of 50,814 or 51,305 including Orto-Tokoy.
{{Historical populations
|title = Historical populations in Balykchy
|type =
|align = none
|width =
|state =
|shading =
|percentages = pagr
|1935|2000
|1939|5400
|1970|28555
|1979|33716
|1989|43265
|1999|42346
|2009|42875
|2021|51305
}}
Climate
{{Weather box
|location= Balykchy (1991–2020)
|single line= Yes
|metric first= Yes
|Jan mean C= -3.4
|Feb mean C= -2.1
|Mar mean C= 2.5
|Apr mean C= 8.6
|May mean C= 13.1
|Jun mean C= 17.0
|Jul mean C= 19.5
|Aug mean C= 19.0
|Sep mean C= 14.9
|Oct mean C= 8.6
|Nov mean C= 2.6
|Dec mean C= -2.0
|year mean C=
|source 1 =NOAA
{{cite web |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/Kazakhstan/XLS/Balykchy_36927.xls|title=Climate Normals 1991–2020 |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |access-date=1 November 2023 }}
|date=November 2011
}}
Transport
The small old airport is no longer in operation. The passenger railway station marks the end of the railway line from Bishkek; it has newly begun direct services in 2018 to/from Tashkent, as well as long existing rail services to Kazakhstan.{{cite web |url=https://en.trend.az/casia/kyrgyzstan/2866473.html |title = Sale of tickets for passenger train Tashkent-Rybachye-Tashkent started}} In March 2018, Uzbekistan Railways began a new service, connecting Tashkent with Balykchy.{{cite news |publisher=EurasiaNet |title=Uzbekistan Opens New Railway Routes to Kyrgyzstan, Russia |date=March 22, 2018 |url=https://eurasianet.org/s/uzbekistan-opens-new-railway-routes-to-kyrgyzstan-russia |quote=A weekly train running the route from the capital of Uzbekistan to Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul region was set to depart on its maiden trip on the evening of March 22 [...] The train traveling from Tashkent to Balykchy, a town on the western end of Issyk-Kul Lake, will be able to carry up to 300 passengers.}}
In 2022, construction began on a new 186 km extension of the existing railway from Balykchy to Karakeche, primarily meant to carry coal from mines at Karakeche to Bishkek.{{Cite web |title=Kyrgyz president launches construction of railway to Kara-Keche |url=https://www.railwaygazette.com/infrastructure/kyrgyz-president-launches-construction-of-railway-to-kara-keche/61435.article |website=Railway Gazette International}} In June 2023, a railway between Balykchy and Bishkek was officially opened.{{cite web |author= |date=16 June 2023 |title=Из Бишкека в Балыкчы начал курсировать пассажирский поезд |url=https://mtd.gov.kg/iz-bishkeka-v-balykchy-nachal-kursirovat-passazhirskij-poezd |website=Министерство транспорта и коммуникаций Кыргызской Республики |access-date=19 February 2025}}{{cite web |last=Kudryavceva |first=Tatyana |date=13 June 2023 |title=Напоминаем: завтра начнет курсировать поезд Бишкек — Балыкчи |url=https://24.kg/obschestvo/296574_napominaem_zavtra_nachnet_kursirovat_poezd_bishkek_balyikchi |website=24.kg |access-date=19 February 2025}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Wikivoyage|Balykchy}}
{{commonscat-inline|Balykchy}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20130515231622/http://www.thespektator.co.uk/issue19.html Article about visiting Balykchy]
{{Portal|Asia}}
{{Districts of Kyrgyzstan}}
{{Cities in Issyk-Kul Region}}
{{coord|42|27|40|N|76|10|49|E|display=title|region:KG_type:city}}