Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County
| Taxkorgan County 塔什库尔干县 • Toxkhürghon Tujik Oftunum Noya[1] • تاشقۇرغان ناھىيىسى (Chinese) • (Sariquli Tajik) • (Uyghur) | |
|---|---|
| Autonomous county | |
Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County 塔什库尔干塔吉克自治县 تاشقۇرغان تاجیك ئاپتونوم ناھىيىسى Toxkhürghon Tujik Oftunum Noya[2] | |
 | |
.png) Taxkorgan County (red) in Kashgar Prefecture (yellow) and Xinjiang | |
  Taxkorgan County Location of the seat in Xinjiang | |
| Coordinates: 37°46′N 75°13′E / 37.767°N 75.217°ECoordinates: 37°46′N 75°13′E / 37.767°N 75.217°E | |
| Country | China |
| Region | Xinjiang |
| Prefecture | Kashgar |
| County seat | Taxkorgan |
| Area | |
| • Total | 52,400 km2 (20,200 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 3,094 m (10,151 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 30,000 |
| • Density | 0.57/km2 (1.5/sq mi) |
| Time zone | China Standard (UTC+8) |
| Postal code | 845250 |
| Area code(s) | 998 |
Taxkorgan[3] Tajik Autonomous County (sometimes spelled Tashkurgan or Tashkorgan) is a county of Kashgar Prefecture in western Xinjiang, China.
Geography
Taxkorgan County is located in the eastern part of the Pamir Plateau, where the Kunlun, Karakoram, Hindukush and Tian Shan mountains come together, at the borders with Afghanistan (Wakhan Corridor), Tajikistan (Gorno-Badakhshan Province) and Pakistan (Gilgit-Baltistan). The county seat is Taxkorgan Town.
The territorial expansion of the county is 178 kilometres (111 mi) from north to south, and 140 kilometres (87 mi) from east to west, the total area is about 52,400 square kilometres (20,200 sq mi), at an average altitude above 4,000 metres (13,000 ft). The county includes a significant part of the Trans-Karakoram Tract, disputed by India and Pakistan in the ongoing Kashmir conflict; while Pakistan has withdrawn the claim since 1963, India continues to claim it as part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Muztagh Ata, at 7,546 metres (24,757 ft), and the Kongur Tagh, at 7,719 metres (25,325 ft), are the main peaks in the county, while the two main rivers are the Taxkorgan River and the Tiznap (or Tiznef) River (Chinese: 提孜那甫河; pinyin: Tízīnàfǔ Hé). By including the Trans-Karakoram Tract, the county also borders several eight-thousanders, including K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) the second-highest mountain in the world. There are several hot springs and resources of gold, iron, and copper.
Climate
Taxkorgan has a cold desert climate (Köppen BWk), influenced by the high elevation, with long, very cold winters, and warm summers. Monthly daily average temperatures range from −11.9 °C (10.6 °F) in January to 16.4 °C (61.5 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 3.58 °C (38.4 °F). An average of only 68 millimetres (2.68 in) of precipitation falls per year
| Climate data for Taxkorgan (1971−2000) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 6.5 (43.7) |
12.2 (54) |
18.9 (66) |
22.0 (71.6) |
25.1 (77.2) |
31.0 (87.8) |
32.5 (90.5) |
31.4 (88.5) |
27.8 (82) |
22.7 (72.9) |
14.3 (57.7) |
10.5 (50.9) |
32.5 (90.5) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −4.2 (24.4) |
−1 (30) |
6.0 (42.8) |
12.8 (55) |
16.7 (62.1) |
20.5 (68.9) |
23.7 (74.7) |
23.3 (73.9) |
18.6 (65.5) |
11.6 (52.9) |
4.8 (40.6) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
10.9 (51.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −11.9 (10.6) |
−8.2 (17.2) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
6.1 (43) |
9.8 (49.6) |
13.3 (55.9) |
16.4 (61.5) |
16.0 (60.8) |
11.4 (52.5) |
4.0 (39.2) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
−10.0 (14) |
3.6 (38.5) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −18.6 (−1.5) |
−15.3 (4.5) |
−7.3 (18.9) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
3.1 (37.6) |
6.4 (43.5) |
9.4 (48.9) |
8.8 (47.8) |
3.5 (38.3) |
−3.8 (25.2) |
−10.8 (12.6) |
−16.6 (2.1) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −39.1 (−38.4) |
−36.0 (−32.8) |
−25.7 (−14.3) |
−11.5 (11.3) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
2.2 (36) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
−5.0 (23) |
−12.2 (10) |
−23.3 (−9.9) |
−31.5 (−24.7) |
−39.1 (−38.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 3.2 (0.126) |
2.6 (0.102) |
2.4 (0.094) |
4.8 (0.189) |
8.0 (0.315) |
15.5 (0.61) |
11.3 (0.445) |
9.6 (0.378) |
6.0 (0.236) |
2.1 (0.083) |
.7 (0.028) |
2.0 (0.079) |
68.2 (2.685) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.1 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.5 | 5.1 | 6.8 | 6.2 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 1.7 | .5 | 1.6 | 38.6 |
| Source: Weather.com.cn | |||||||||||||
Population
| Taxkorgan | |||||||||
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"Welcome to Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County" | |||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 塔什庫爾干塔吉克自治縣 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 塔什库尔干塔吉克自治县 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Uyghur name | |||||||||
| Uyghur |
تاشقۇرغان تاجىك ئاپتونوم ناھىيىسى | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Sarikoli name | |||||||||
| Sarikoli | Toxkhürghon Tujik Oftunum Noya | ||||||||
The total population of Taxkorgan is 27,800, among them 84% Tajiks, 4% Han and 12% other nationalities. (Figures of 1995)
History
During the Han dynasty, Taxkorgan was known as Puli (Chinese: 蒲犁; pinyin: Púlí);[4] during the Tang dynasty, it was a protectorate of the Parthians, during the Yuan dynasty it was part of the Chaghatai empire. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County was created in 1954 and is part of the district of Kashgar.
In August 2013 the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences announced that they excavated a cluster of Zoroastrian tombs in Taxkorgan.
Museum
In Taxkorgan Town there is a museum that houses a few local artefacts, a photographic display and, in the basement, two mummies – one of a young woman about 18, and another of a baby about 3 months old which, however, was not hers. They are labelled as dating from the Bronze Age to the Warring States period (475-221 BCE). The mummies were discovered in the nearby Xiabandi Valley on the old caravan route to Yarkand. The valley has now been flooded for a hydro-electric project.
Towns and villages
| Conventional | Sarikoli (in IPA) | Uyghur (Ⱪona Yeziⱪ) | Uyghur (Siril Yezik) | Uyghur (Yenɡi Yeziⱪ) | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxkorgan Town | tɔʃqyrʁɔn buzur | تاشقۇرغان بازىرى | Ташқурған базири | Taxⱪurƣan baziri | 塔什库尔干镇 | Tǎshìkù’ěrgàn Zhèn |
| Tajik Abati Town | 塔吉克阿巴提镇 | Tǎjíkè Ābātí Zhèn | ||||
| Tagarma | taʁarmi diyur | تاغارما | Тағарма | Taƣarma | 塔合曼鄉 | Tǎhémàn |
| Tiznap | tiznef diyur | تىزناپ | Тизнап | Tiznap | 提孜那甫 | Tízīnàfǔ |
| Dafdar | ðavðɔr diyur | دەفتەر | Дәфтәр | Defter | 达佈达尔 | Dábùdá’ěr |
| Weqa | watʃa diyur | ۋەچە | Вәчә | Weqe | 瓦恰 | Wǎqià |
| Baldir | baldir diyur | بەلدىر | Балдир | Baldir | 班迪尔 | Bāndí’ěr |
| Maryang | marjɔŋ diyur | مارياڭ | Маряң | Maryang | 马尔洋 | Mǎ'ěryáng |
| Burumsal | bryŋsol diyur | بۇرۇمسال | Бурумсал | Burumsal | 布倫木沙鄉 | Bùlúnmùshā |
| Datong | tyŋ diyur | داتۇڭ | Датуң | Datung | 大同鄉 | Dàtóng |
| Koguxluk | quʁuʃluʁ diyur | قوغۇشلۇق | Қоғухлуқ | Ⱪoƣuxluⱪ | 库克西力克 | Kùkèxīlìkè |
| Kokyar | kɔkjar qirʁiz diyur | كۆكيار قىرغىز يېزىسى | Көкяр Қирғиз йәзиси | Kɵkyar Ⱪirƣiz yezisi | 科克亚尔柯尔克孜族乡 | Kēkèyà’ěr Kē’ěrkèzīzú xiāng |
| Mazar | mazur mutʃaŋ | مازار | Мазар | Mazar | 麻扎 | Mázhā |
| mulin tʃaŋ | ||||||
Transportation
The county is served by Karakoram Highway, which runs through Taxkorgan Town. Taxkorgan or Tashkorgan is the last western most town in China. It is also the last/first town for visitors going/coming in/out of China and Pakistan through the Khunjerab Pass. There are public buses plying between Kashgar and Tashkorgan ( approx. RMB52 2016 ). Another option is to hire a pick up for a few hundred RMB ( depending on your bargaining power)for the two way trip. It would be recommended to hire a car as the scenery along the Karakoram is breathtaking as such you might be spending a lot of time making numerous stops to take in the views and taking photos.
The initial part of the route is rough and as you travel along it gets better and better in terms of road conditions as well as the scenery. However, as of September 2016, China has began building an elevated roads and expected to be completed in a few years.
See also
References
- ↑ Zhōngguó Shèhuì Kēxuéyuàn Mínzú Yánjiūsuǒ 中国社会科学院民族研究所 (ed.), Gāo’ěrqiāng 高尔锵 / Gawarjon: Tǎjíkè–Hàn cídiǎn 《塔吉克汉词典》 / Tujik ziv – Hanzu ziv lughot. Chengdu: Sìchuān mínzú chūbǎnshè 四川民族出版社, 1996.
- ↑ There is no official orthography for Tajik in China. This is the spelling used in the dictionary by Gawarjon.
- ↑ Zhōngguó dìmíng wěiyuánhuì 中国地名委员会: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó dìmínglù 《中华人民共和国地名录》. Beijing: Zhōngguó shèhuì chūbǎnshè 中国社会出版社, 1994; p. 706; 中华人民共和国分省地图集 , p. 122; Cuī Nǎifū 崔乃夫: Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó dìmíng dà cídiǎn 《中华人民共和国地名大词典》. Beijing: Shāngwù yìnshūguǎn 商务印书馆, 2002; p. 6534.
- ↑ See the discussions in Hill, John E. (2009) Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1, Note 20.2, pp. 394-401.
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