Shu, Kazakhstan
Encyclopedia
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
, the administrative center of Shu District
Shu District
Shu is a district of Zhambyl Province in south-eastern Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is Tole bi town....
.
The city is located on the river of the same name, and is populated by approximately 35,000 people.
Transportation
Shu is an important transportation hub for the southern Kazakhstan / northern KyrgyzstanKyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
region. This is where the east-west Turkestan-Siberia railway is joined with the railway running north to Kazakhstan's new capital, Astana
Astana
Astana , formerly known as Akmola , Tselinograd and Akmolinsk , is the capital and second largest city of Kazakhstan, with an officially estimated population of 708,794 as of 1 August 2010...
and Petropavl
Petropavl
Petropavl is a city on the Ishim River in North Kazakhstan Province of Kazakhstan close to the border with Russia, about 261 km west of Omsk along the Trans-Siberian Railway. It is capital of the North Kazakhstan Province...
, a city on the Transsiberian railway.
There is no direct railroad from Shu to Bishkek serviced by Kazakhstani trains. This means that every day a large number of passengers travelling from Astana to Bishkek for example arrive in Shu by train and transfer to minivans
Marshrutka
Marshrutka , from marshrutnoye taksi is a share taxi in the CIS countries, the Baltic states, and Bulgaria. Marshrutnoye taksi literally means routed taxicab...
and taxis to continue into Kyrgyzstan. Though it is possible to travel through Shu and on to Bishkek on Kyrgyz trains, it is much longer than transferring to a marshrutka for the 1.5 hour ride from Shu to Bishkek
Bishkek
Bishkek , formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative centre of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan.The name is thought to...
rather than the 5 to 6 hour train option.
While functioning as a large transportation hub form passengers, Shu's central location makes it a natural large hub for rail freight as well. All rail freight coming through Shu is resorted and new freight trains are assembled.
Other places in Kazakhstan with the name "Shu"
Sozak District
Sozak is a district of South Kazakhstan Province in southern Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the district is Sholakkorgan town.-References:...
in South Kazakhstan Province
South Kazakhstan Province
South Kazakhstan Province is the southernmost province of Kazakhstan, with a population of 2,282,500 people. Its capital is Shymkent, with 539,600 people. Other cities in South Kazakhstan include Turkestan, Sayram, Kentau, Arys, Shardara, Jetysu, Saryag'ash and Lenger...
.
Due to the frequency of the name Shu, the Shu of Zhambyl Province
Zhambyl Province
Jambyl Province is a province of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Taraz. The population of the province is 1,000,000; the city is 335,100. The province borders Kyrgyzstan, and is very near Uzbekistan. Jambyl also borders three other provinces: Karagandy Province, South Kazakhstan Province and Almaty...
is frequently referred to as Stantsia Shu in Russian, or "The Station Shu."