The Kazak Autonomous County of Mori celebrated its 50th founding anniversary Sunday in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

This minority county, located at the foot of the Tianshan Mountain bordering Mongolia to the north, became a Kazak autonomous region in 1954. It received its present name in 1958.

The county, with an area of 22,171 sq km, has a population of 85,000, over 30 percent of whom are ethnic nationals including Kazaks, Uygurs, Hui Muslims and Uzbeks.

The border county reported 507 million yuan (about 60 million US dollars) of gross domestic product in 2003, 19 times the 1954 figure, according to statistics provided by the county government. Meanwhile, the per-capita annual cash income of its urban employees climbed 22 times to 13,647 yuan (some 1,650 US dollars).

The average net income of local farmers and herders, on the other hand, was nearly 3,000 yuan (approximately 360 US dollars), 31.5 times more than the amount reported in 1978, the year China decided to reform and open up to the outside world.

Over the past two decades, the ethnic county has drawn investment from across the country to foster the local manufacturing sector, particularly the food processing industry, as the county boasts abundant agricultural resources.

The Ethnic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress and the State Ethnic Affairs Commission under the State Council have sent a congratulatory message to hail the county's achievements over the half century and to wish it further success in social and economic development.