Tashkurgan

Tashkurgan (official spelling: Taxkorgan; Chinese: 塔什庫爾干; Pinyin: TÇŽshíkù'Ä›rgÄ?n) is a Tajik town in western Xinjiang, China. It is also the seat of Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County. Tashkurgan means stone tower. Some scholars believe that a stone tower mentioned in Ptolemy and other early accounts of travel on the Silk Road, refers to this spot. It said by them to have marked the midway point between Europe and China. Other scholars, however, disagree with this identification.

Today Tashkurgan is on the Karakoram Highway which follows the old silk road route from China to Pakistan. Travelling from China it is the last town before the border with Pakistan, and 120km over the Khunjerab Pass from Sust in Pakistan, which is the border crossing town. It is almost on the borders of both Afghanistan and Tajikistan, and close to the borders of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. It is a recommended overnight stop for travellers from China in order to have the best chance of crossing the snow-prone Khunjerab Pass in daylight. However accommodation is primitive.

Tashkurgan is a market town for sheep, wool and woollen goods, particularly carpets, and is surrounded by orchards.

Tashkurgan was the capital of Sarikol, a kingdom of the Pamir Mountains, and later of Qiepantuo under the Persians. Nearby is a fortress known as the Princess Castle dating from the Yuan Dynasty, and the subject of many colourful local legends.