The Nezatash Pass or Neza-Tash Pass (

Tajik Tajik, Tadjik, Tadzhik or Tajikistani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Tajikistan * Tajiks, an ethnic group in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan * Tajik language, the official language of Tajikistan * Tajik (surname) * Tajik cu ...

: ; ''Aghbai Nayzatosh'') is a mountain pass in the

Sarikol Range The Sarikol Range (russian: Сарыкольский хребет; zh, s=萨雷阔勒岭, 色勒库尔山脉; tg, Рашти Куҳи Сариқӯл) is a mountain range in the Pamirs on the border of Tajikistan and the People's Republic of China ...

between

Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province Gorno-Badakhshan, officially the Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous Region,, abbr. / is an autonomous region in eastern Tajikistan, in the Pamir Mountains. It makes up nearly forty-five percent of the country's land area, but only two perce ...

Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...

and

Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County (also known as Taxkorgan County, sometimes spelled Tashkurgan, Tashkorgan and Tash Kurghan Tadzhik Autonomous Hsien) is an autonomous county of Kashgar Prefecture in Western Xinjiang, China. The county seat is t ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It is situated at an elevation of . The name of the path means "spear stone" in

Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...

as it is named after a rock near the location.

History

Neztash Pass is a minor path on the

Silk Road The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...

. During ancient times, it was not a main Silk Road route due to the fact that it took traveler far from settlements, lacked sources of water, and had a relatively higher elevation. However, during the 19th century, Neztash Pass was frequently used by European explorers passing through the region. That path sits on the border between China and Tajikistan in the historic region of

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...

. In the 1890s, the Chinese, Russian, and Afghan governments signed a series of agreements that divided

, but China contested the result of the division. The dispute was eventually settled in 2002 when Tajikistan and China signed a border agreement.

References

{{Mountain passes of China Mountain passes of China Mountain passes of Tajikistan Mountain passes of Xinjiang China–Tajikistan border Mountain passes of the Pamir Sites along the Silk Road Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County

History

See also

References