Chalachigu Valley or Karachukur Valley is a valley in
Taxkorgan 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 ...
,
Kashgar Prefecture,
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. It borders
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
to the west,
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
to the north and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
to the south.
It borders
Taghdumbash Pamir
Taghdumbash Pamir ( or historically ) or Taxkorgan Valley is a ''pamir'' or high valley in the south west of Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, in Xinjiang, China. It lies to the west of the Karakoram Highway. It is inhabited by Wakhi, Kirg ...
to the east,
Gojal
Gojal ( Wakhi: , Kyrgyz: ), also called Upper Hunza, is situated in the north western part of Pakistan. It borders China at the Khunjerab Pass, and Afghanistan at the Chapursan valley. In 2019, Gojal Valley became the second Sub-Division wit ...
to the south, and
Little Pamir
The Little Pamir ( Wakhi: ''Wuch Pamir''; Kyrgyz: ''Kichik Pamir''; fa, rtl=yes, پامیر خرد, translit=Pāmīr-e Khord) is a broad U-shaped grassy valley or ''pamir'' in the eastern part of the Wakhan in north-eastern Afghanistan. The vall ...
to the north and west. The name of the valley is from
Kyrgyz meaning "black cave".
The valley is part of the
Taxkorgan Nature Reserve
The Taxkorgan Nature Reserve (officially spelled Taxkorgan Natural Reserve) is a nature reserve in Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. It is situated around the Taghdumbash Pamir of Pamir Mountains and Karakorum Mountains. It covers about wa ...
.
The protected
Marco Polo sheep
The Marco Polo sheep (''Ovis ammon polii'') is a subspecies of argali sheep, named after Marco Polo. Their habitat are the mountainous regions of Central Asia. Marco Polo sheep are distinguishable mostly by their large size and spiraling horns. T ...
is only found around this area.
The
Chalachigu River or
Karachukur River () flows through the valley and is a tributary of
Tashkurgan River
The Tashkurgan River (; pinyin ''Tǎshíkù'ěrgàn hé'') is a river in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China. The Tashkurgan River runs through Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County and is one of the tributaries of the Yarkand Ri ...
.
The region is often referred to by the Chinese as the Chinese portion
Wakhan Corridor
The Wakhan Corridor ( ps, واخان دهلېز, translit=wāxān dahléz, fa, دالان واخان, translit=dâlân vâxân) is a narrow strip of territory in Badakhshan Province of Afghanistan, extending to Xinjiang in China and separatin ...
.
There is an ethnic
Kyrgyz village call
Bayik ( or )
The entire Chalachigu Valley is closed to visitors; however, local residents and herders from the area are permitted to access.
In March 2017,
CCTV-7
CCTV-7 is a Chinese free-to-air television channel owned by China Central Television. The channel primarily carries programming devoted to the People's Liberation Army. Prior to 1 August 2019, the channel also carried agriculture-related progr ...
's ''Documentary for Military'' program produced a mini-series covering the numerous border outposts in Chalachigu Valley.
Mountain Passes
The valley was a significant thoroughfare of the
Silk Road during ancient times. Around the valley are numerous passes connecting to other countries:
* Tajikistan -
Beyik Pass
The Beyik Pass, also written and Payik Pass and Bayik Pass, is a mountain pass in the Sarikol Range between Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in Tajikistan and the Taghdumbash Pamir region of Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang, Ch ...
* Afghanistan -
Wakhjir Pass
The Wakhjir Pass,Ludwig W. Adamec. Historical and political gazetteer of Afghanistan Vol. 1. Badakhshan Province and northeastern Afghanistan. Graz : Akad. Druck- und Verl.-Anst., 1972.p. 185. also spelled Vakhjir Pass, is a mountain pass in t ...
,
Tegermansu Pass
Tegermansu Pass or Tigarman Su Pass (''Kotal-e Tegermansu'', ) is a closed mountain pass on the border between Afghanistan and China in Wakhan Corridor, in the Hindu Kush — Pamir mountain range. It is located between the Tegermansu Valley on ...
* Pakistan -
Kilik Pass
The Kilik Pass (elevation ; ; ur, کلوک پاس) to the west of Mintaka Pass is a high mountain pass in the Karakorum Mountains between Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. The two passes were, in ancient times, the two mai ...
,
Mintaka Pass
The Mintaka Pass or Mingteke Pass or Mintika Pass() is a mountain pass in the Karakorum Mountains, between Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. In ancient times, the Mintaka Pass and the nearby Kilik Pass, to the west, were the two main access poin ...
Of the above passes, it is believed that the famous Chinese Buddhist pilgrim
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
traveled through
Wakhjir Pass
The Wakhjir Pass,Ludwig W. Adamec. Historical and political gazetteer of Afghanistan Vol. 1. Badakhshan Province and northeastern Afghanistan. Graz : Akad. Druck- und Verl.-Anst., 1972.p. 185. also spelled Vakhjir Pass, is a mountain pass in t ...
on his return trip back to China around
649 AD
__NOTOC__
Year 649 ( DCXLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 649 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar er ...
.
Some Chinese historians argue that he also used Beyik Pass on his way to India.
See also
*
Afghanistan–China border
The Afghanistan–China border is a boundary between Afghanistan and China, beginning at the tripoint of both countries with the Pakistan-administrated region of Kashmir ( Gilgit-Baltistan), following the watershed along the Mustagh Range, and ...
*
China–Pakistan border
The China–Pakistan border is and runs west–east from the tripoint with Afghanistan to the disputed tripoint with India in the vicinity of the Siachen Glacier. It traverses the Karakorum Mountains, one of the world's tallest mountain ranges ...
*
China–Tajikistan border
The China–Tajikistan border is in length and runs from the tripoint with Kyrgyzstan following a roughly north–south line across various mountain ridges and peaks of the Pamir range down to the tripoint with Afghanistan. The border divides ...
*
Dafdar
Dafdar or Davdar or Daftar or via Mandarin Chinese as Dabuda'er, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (), is a township in the Taghdumbash Pamir located in Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghu ...
*
Beyik Pass
The Beyik Pass, also written and Payik Pass and Bayik Pass, is a mountain pass in the Sarikol Range between Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in Tajikistan and the Taghdumbash Pamir region of Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang, Ch ...
*
Tegermansu Pass
Tegermansu Pass or Tigarman Su Pass (''Kotal-e Tegermansu'', ) is a closed mountain pass on the border between Afghanistan and China in Wakhan Corridor, in the Hindu Kush — Pamir mountain range. It is located between the Tegermansu Valley on ...
*
Wakhjir Pass
The Wakhjir Pass,Ludwig W. Adamec. Historical and political gazetteer of Afghanistan Vol. 1. Badakhshan Province and northeastern Afghanistan. Graz : Akad. Druck- und Verl.-Anst., 1972.p. 185. also spelled Vakhjir Pass, is a mountain pass in t ...
*
Kilik Pass
The Kilik Pass (elevation ; ; ur, کلوک پاس) to the west of Mintaka Pass is a high mountain pass in the Karakorum Mountains between Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. The two passes were, in ancient times, the two mai ...
*
Mintaka Pass
The Mintaka Pass or Mingteke Pass or Mintika Pass() is a mountain pass in the Karakorum Mountains, between Pakistan and Xinjiang in China. In ancient times, the Mintaka Pass and the nearby Kilik Pass, to the west, were the two main access poin ...
References
External links
Kalachukur river basin OpenStreetMap, retrieved 27 May 2022.
{{Authority control
Valleys of Xinjiang
Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County