# Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County

Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County (often shortened to Tashkurgan County and officially spelled Taxkorgan) is an autonomous county of Kashgar Prefecture, in western Xinjiang, China. The county seat is Tashkurgan. The county is the only Tajik (Pamiri) autonomous county in China.

## History

During the Han dynasty, the town of Tashkurgan was known as Puli (Chinese: 蒲犁; pinyin: Púlí); during the Tang dynasty, it was a protectorate of the Sassanids, during the Yuan dynasty it was part of the Chaghatai empire. It was part of China during the Qing dynasty.
Many centuries later, Tashkurgan became the capital of the Sarikol kingdom (色勒库尔), a kingdom of the Pamir Mountains, and later of Qiepantuo (朅盘陀) under the Persian Empire. At the northeast corner of the town is a huge fortress known as the Princess Castle dating from the Yuan dynasty (1279–1368 CE) and the subject of many colourful local legends. A ruined fire temple is near the fortress.
The region came under Chinese rule from Qing dynasty, to the Republic of China and later on to the People's Republic of China.
On September 17, 1954, Tashkurgan was made an autonomous region (Chinese: 自治区). In February 1955, it was made an autonomous county (Chinese: 自治县).
In 1955, Bulungkol was transferred to Akto County from Tashkurgan County.
In August 2013, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences announced that they excavated a cluster of Zoroastrian tombs in Tashkurgan.
In May 2017, the county was hit with a magnitude 5.5 earthquake that killed eight and injured 29.

## Geography

Tashkurgan 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), Pakistan (Gilgit-Baltistan) and India (Ladakh). The county seat is Tashkurgan Town.
The territorial expanse 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 25,000 square kilometres (9,700 sq mi), with 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 and China settled the border issue in 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 Tashkurgan River and the Tiznap River. 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

Tashkurgan 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 Tashkurgan (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–2010) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 6.5 (43.7) | 12.2 (54.0) | 18.9 (66.0) | 22.0 (71.6) | 25.1 (77.2) | 31.0 (87.8) | 32.5 (90.5) | 31.4 (88.5) | 27.8 (82.0) | 22.7 (72.9) | 14.3 (57.7) | 10.5 (50.9) | 32.5 (90.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −4.1 (24.6) | 0.3 (32.5) | 7.4 (45.3) | 13.3 (55.9) | 17.4 (63.3) | 20.9 (69.6) | 24.1 (75.4) | 23.3 (73.9) | 19.2 (66.6) | 12.2 (54.0) | 5.7 (42.3) | −1.3 (29.7) | 11.5 (52.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −11.8 (10.8) | −6.8 (19.8) | 0.7 (33.3) | 6.6 (43.9) | 10.4 (50.7) | 13.8 (56.8) | 16.8 (62.2) | 16.1 (61.0) | 11.9 (53.4) | 4.7 (40.5) | −2.3 (27.9) | −9.2 (15.4) | 4.2 (39.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −18.6 (−1.5) | −13.9 (7.0) | −6.3 (20.7) | −0.2 (31.6) | 3.7 (38.7) | 7.1 (44.8) | 9.9 (49.8) | 9.4 (48.9) | 4.1 (39.4) | −3.1 (26.4) | −9.6 (14.7) | −15.9 (3.4) | −2.8 (27.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −40.1 (−40.2) | −36.0 (−32.8) | −25.7 (−14.3) | −11.5 (11.3) | −5.6 (21.9) | −1.0 (30.2) | 2.2 (36.0) | −0.2 (31.6) | −5.0 (23.0) | −12.2 (10.0) | −23.3 (−9.9) | −31.5 (−24.7) | −40.1 (−40.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 2.7 (0.11) | 3.5 (0.14) | 3.2 (0.13) | 5.3 (0.21) | 11.7 (0.46) | 19.7 (0.78) | 13.6 (0.54) | 12.7 (0.50) | 7.8 (0.31) | 2.1 (0.08) | 0.8 (0.03) | 2.3 (0.09) | 85.4 (3.38) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 5.9 | 7.6 | 6.8 | 6.3 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 43.2 |
| Average snowy days | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 3.1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 26.9 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 52 | 46 | 36 | 33 | 37 | 41 | 40 | 42 | 41 | 38 | 40 | 47 | 41 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 174.9 | 171.1 | 229.6 | 258.9 | 282.3 | 296.3 | 314.2 | 285.2 | 269.8 | 254.6 | 212.3 | 181.1 | 2,930.3 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 57 | 55 | 61 | 65 | 64 | 67 | 71 | 69 | 74 | 75 | 71 | 61 | 66 |
| Source 1: China Meteorological Administration ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: Weather China ||||||||||||||

## Administrative divisions

The county administers 2 towns, 9 townships and 1 ethnic township, which then administer 50 village-level divisions.
| Name$^{:234–236}$ | Sarikoli (Uyghur Arabic) | Sarikoli (in IPA) | Uyghur (Erep Yeziⱪi) | Uyghur (Siril Yezik) | Uyghur (Yenɡi Yeziⱪ) | Chinese (Simplified) | Pinyin |
| Tashkurgan Town | تاشقۈرغان بۇزۇر | tɔʃqyrʁɔn buzur | تاشقۇرغان بازىرى | Ташқурған базири | Taxⱪurƣan baziri | 塔什库尔干镇 | Tǎshíkù'ěrgān Zhèn |
| Tajik Abat [zh; ug] | تۇجىك ئاباد بۇزۇر | tudʒikobod buzur | تاجىك ئابات بازىرى | Таҗик Абaт базири | Tajik Abat baziri | 塔吉克阿巴提镇 | Tǎjíkè Ābātí Zhèn |
| Tashkurgan Township [zh; ug] | تاشقۈرغان دىيۇر | tɔʃqyrʁɔn diyur | تاشقۇرغان يېزىسى | Ташқурған йәзиси | Taxⱪurƣan yezisi | 塔什库尔干乡 | Tǎshíkù'ěrgān Xiāng |
| Tagarma Township [zh; ug] | تەغەرمى دىيۇر | taʁarmi diyur | تاغارما يېزىسى | Тағарма йәзиси | Taƣarma yezisi | 塔合曼乡 | Tǎhémàn Xiāng |
| Tiznap Township [zh; ug] | تىزنېف دىيۇر | tiznef diyur | تىزناپ يېزىسى | Тизнап йәзиси | Tiznap yezisi | 提孜那甫乡 | Tízīnàfǔ Xiāng |
| Dafdar Township | ذەۋذار دىيۇر | ðavðɔr diyur | دەفتەر يېزىسى | Дәфтәр йәзиси | Defter yezisi | 达布达尔乡 | Dábùdá'ěr Xiāng |
| Weqa Township [zh; ug] | ۋەچە دىيۇر | watʃa diyur | ۋەچە يېزىسى | Вәчә йәзиси | Weqe yezisi | 瓦恰乡 | Wǎqià Xiāng |
| Baldir Township [zh; ug] | بەلدىر دىيۇر | baldir diyur | بەلدىر يېزىسى | Балдир йәзиси | Baldir yezisi | 班迪尔乡 | Bāndí'ěr Xiāng |
| Maryang Township [zh; ug] | مەرياڭ دىيۇر | marjɔŋ diyur | مارياڭ يېزىسى | Маряң йәзиси | Maryang yezisi | 马尔洋乡 | Mǎ'ěryáng Xiāng |
| Datong Township [zh; ug] | تۈڭ دىيۇر | tyŋ diyur | داتۇڭ يېزىسى | Датуң йәзиси | Datung yezisi | 大同乡 | Dàtóng Xiāng |
| Koguxluk Township [zh; ug] | قۇغۇشلۇغ دىيۇر | quʁuʃluʁ diyur | قوغۇشلۇق يېزىسى | Қоғухлуқ йәзиси | Ⱪoƣuxluⱪ yezisi | 库科西鲁格乡 | Kùkēxīlǔgé Xiāng |
| Kokyar Kyrgyz Township [zh; ug]$^1$ | کاکيەر قىرغىز مىلى دىيۇر | kɔkjar qirʁiz mili diyur | كۆكيار قىرغىز مىللىي يېزىسى | Көкяр Қирғиз миллий йәзиси | Kɵkyar Ⱪirƣiz milliy yezisi | 科克亚尔柯尔克孜族乡 | Kēkèyà'ěr Kē'ěrkèzīzú xiāng |
* Mazar sheep breeding farm (麻扎尔种羊场)
* Buhoi Jirap farm (布候依吉拉甫农场))
* Dairy farm (牛奶场)
* Bazadax forest farm(巴扎达什牧林场)
Notes
* Official Kyrgyz name of Kokyar Kyrgyz Township: كۅكجار قىرعىز ۇلۇتتۇق ايىلى (Көкжар Кыргыз улуттуқ айылы / Kökcar Kyrgyz ayyly)

## Demographics

As of 2018, Tashkurgan County had a population of 40,999, up slightly from the 40,381 reported in 2015, and the 37,843 counted in the 2010 Chinese census.

### Ethnic composition

Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County Ethnic Composition :
| Ethnic group | 2015 | 2015 | 2018 | 2018 |
| Tajiks | 32,867 | 81.39% | 33,718 | 82.24% |
| Han Chinese | 2,911 | 7.21% | 2,690 | 6.56% |
| Kyrgyz | 2,320 | 5.75% | 2,369 | 5.78% |
| Uyghur | 2,179 | 5.40% | 2,131 | 5.20% |
| Hui | 30 | 0.07% | 29 | 0.07% |
| Kazakh | 15 | 0.04% | 15 | 0.04% |
| Manchu | 9 | 0.02% | 6 | 0.01% |
| Mongol | 9 | 0.02% | 6 | 0.01% |
| Sibe | 7 | 0.02% | 6 | 0.01% |
| Russian | 1 | < 0.01% | 0 | 0.00% |
| Others | 33 | 0.08% | 29 | 0.07% |
| Total | 40,381 | 100.00% | 40,999 | 100.00% |
Tajiks make up a supermajority of the county's population, with recent figures indicating they make up somewhere from 80.9% of the population, to 82.24%. Other prominent ethnic groups include the Han Chinese, the Kyrgyz, and Uyghurs.
In 1999, 6.28% of the population of Tashkurgan County was Han Chinese and 5.08% of the population was Uyghur.
In 1995, the total population of Tashkurgan was 27,800, among them 84% Tajiks of Xinjiang, who speak the Sarikoli language, 4% Han and 12% other nationalities.

## Economy

Animal husbandry is the primary economic mode with agriculture. The well-known Dunbashi fat-tailed sheep (敦巴什大尾羊) are raised in the county as well as domestic yaks. Agricultural products include highland barley, wheat, and others. Mineral resources include iron, sulfur, and asbestos. In 2011, the county was considered relatively poor. 90% of the residents were engaged in animal husbandry.
The annual per capita disposable income 2018 totaled ¥29,053 for the county's urban residents, and ¥7,630 for the county's rural residents. These figures increased 6.7% and 10.2%, respectively, from 2017.
In 2019, the county government reported that the county has 17 impoverished villages, and 893 households with 3682 people in poverty.

## Transportation

The county is served by Karakoram Highway, which runs through Tashkurgan. As of September 2016, China has begun building an elevated road which is expected to be completed in a few years. Tashkurgan Khunjerab Airport is now under construction and will be in service in 2022.