
The China–Tajikistan border is
in length and runs from the tripoint with
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
following a roughly north–south line across various mountain ridges and peaks of the
Pamir range
The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range between Central Asia and Pakistan. It is located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, Hindu Kush and the Himalaya mountain ranges. They are among the world' ...
down to the tripoint with
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 bord ...
. The border divides
Murghob District,
Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region
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 percen ...
in
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
from
Akto County,
Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture
Kizilsu (also as Kezilesu; ; ug, قىزىلسۇ قىرغىز ئاپتونوم ئوبلاستى; Kyrgyz: , , , ) is an autonomous prefecture of Kyrgyz people in the west of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, bordering with Kyrgyzstan and ...
(to the north) and
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 ...
,
Kashgar Prefecture
Kashgar Prefecture, also known as Kashi Prefecture, is located in southwestern Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), ...
(to the south) in
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region,
China.
History

The origins of the border date from the mid-19th century, when the Russian empire expanded into Central Asia and established control over the
Lake Zaysan
Lake Zaysan (, ''Zaısan kóli'', زايسان كؤلئ, ; , ''Zaisan nuur'', en: ''Noble lake''; , ''Ozero Zajsan''; , Xiao'erjing: جَىْصْا پْ; dng, Җэсонпә) is a freshwater lake, ca. 1,810 km² (700 mi²), in eastern ...
region. The establishment of the border between the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...
and the
Qing Empire
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
, not too different from today's Sino-Kazakh/Kyrgyz/Tajik border was provided for in the
Convention of Peking
The Convention of Peking or First Convention of Peking is an agreement comprising three distinct treaties concluded between the Qing dynasty of China and Great Britain, France, and the Russian Empire in 1860. In China, they are regarded as amon ...
of 1860;
the actual border line pursuant to the convention was drawn by the
Treaty of Tarbagatai
The Treaty of Tarbagatai () or Treaty of Chuguchak () of 7 October O.S./nowiki> 1864 was a border protocol between Qing dynasty">Qing China and the Russian Empire that defined most of the western extent of their border in central Asia, between Out ...
(1864) and the Treaty of Uliassuhai (1870), leaving Lake Zaysan on the Russian side.
The Qing Empire's military presence in the Irtysh basin crumbled during the
Dungan revolt (1862–1877)
The Dungan Revolt (1862–1877) or Tongzhi Hui Revolt (, Xiao'erjing: تُجِ خُوِ لُوًا, dng, Тунҗы Хуэй Луан) or Hui (Muslim) Minorities War was a war fought in 19th-century western China, mostly during the reig ...
. After the failure of the rebellion and the reconquest of Xinjiang by
Zuo Zongtang
Zuo Zongtang, Marquis Kejing ( also spelled Tso Tsung-t'ang; ; November 10, 1812 – September 5, 1885), sometimes referred to as General Tso, was a Chinese statesman and military leader of the late Qing dynasty.
Born in Xiangyin County ...
, the border between the Russian and the Qing empires in the
Ili River
The Ili ( ug, ئىلى دەرياسى, Ili deryasi, Ili dəryasi, 6=Или Дәряси; kk, Ile, ; russian: Или; zh, c=伊犁河, p=Yīlí Hé, dng, Йили хә, Xiao'erjing: اِلِ حْ; mn, Ил, literally "Bareness") is a river si ...
basin was further slightly readjusted, in Russia's favour, by the
Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881)
The Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1881) (), also known as Treaty of Ili (), was a treaty between the Russian Empire and the Qing dynasty that was signed in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on . It provided for the return to China of the eastern part of th ...
and a series of later protocols.
In 1915 an agreement was signed more precisely delimiting the border between the Ili Valley and the
Dzungarian Alatau
The Dzungarian Alatau ( mn, Зүүнгарын Алатау, ''Züüngaryn Alatau''; ; kk, Жетісу Алатауы, ''Jetısu Alatauy''; russian: Джунгарский Алатау, ''Dzhungarskiy Alatau'') is a mountain range that lies on t ...
region.
The southernmost section of the frontier (i.e. roughly the southern half of the modern China–Tajikistan border) remained undemarcated, owing partly to the ongoing rivalry between Britain and Russia for dominance in Central Asia known as the
Great Game
The Great Game is the name for a set of political, diplomatic and military confrontations that occurred through most of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century – involving the rivalry of the British Empire and the Russian Empi ...
; eventually the two agreed that
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 bord ...
would remain an independent buffer state between them, with Afghanistan's
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 separat ...
being created in 1895.
China was not a party to these agreements and hence the southernmost section of the China-Russia boundary remained undefined.
When Tajikistan became independent in 1991 it inherited a section of the China-USSR frontier. That boundary followed the drainage basin divide between the
Amu Darya
The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
and the
Yarkand River
The Yarkand River (or Yarkent River, Yeh-erh-ch'iang Ho) is a river in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of western China. It originates in the Siachen Muztagh in a part of the Karakoram range and flows into the Tarim River or Neinejoung R ...
until reaching Markansu.
In 2011, Tajikistan ratified a 1999 deal (and a 2002 supplementary agreement) to cede and respectively
of land in the Pamir Mountains to the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...
, ending a 130-year dispute. In the treaty, China also relinquished claims to over of Tajikistani territory.
The Republic of China had historically made similar claims in the area. Tajik attitudes toward the boundary treaty varied significantly among different interest groups, ranging from overt opposition to overt support.
In July 2020, repeated publication of an article by Cho Yao Lu in Chinese domestic media which suggested Tajikistan should give China more land was met with sharp disapproval in Tajikistan and Russia.
Geography
A point north of the Markansu River () on the China–Tajikistan border is the
westernmost point of China.
The border's southern terminus is found at the
Afghanistan-China-Tajikistan tripoint on Povalo-Shveikovskogo Peak
() / Kokrash Kol Peak (Kekelaqukaole Peak; )
which is also the eastern end of the
Afghanistan-Tajikistan border and the northern end of the
Afghanistan-China border as well as the
easternmost point of Afghanistan.
Border crossings
The Karasu Port of Entry at the
Kulma Pass
The Kulma Pass (Tajik: , ) or Qolma Pass, also referred to as Karasu Pass, is a mountain pass across the Pamir Mountains on the border between Murghob District, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in Tajikistan and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous Cou ...
() is the only modern day border crossing between China and Tajikistan.
Historically, two passes further south along the border,
Nezatash Pass and
Beyik Pass, have also been traversed. Northwest of Kulma Pass is the
Uzbel/Kyzyl-Dzhiik Pass (also known as Uzbel Shankou,
[, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency] Pereval Kyzyl-Dzhiik,
[, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency] Wuzibieli Pass
(
), Kizil Jik Dawan, Kizöl-jiik Pass, K'o-tse-lo-chi-k'o Shan-k'ou, Qizil Jik Dāwan, Utzupieli Pass and Wu-tzu-pieh-li Shan-k'ou
).
Historical maps
Historical English-language maps of the China-
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
(
Tajik SSR
The Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic,, ''Çumhuriji Şūraviji Sotsialistiji Toçikiston''; russian: Таджикская Советская Социалистическая Республика, ''Tadzhikskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Resp ...
) border area, mid to late 20th century, and historical maps including the pre-2011 China–Tajikistan border:
File:STANFORD(1917) p61 PLATE19. SINKIANG (14597194848).jpg, Map including the China-Russia border in the modern-day Tajikistan area (1917)
File:Txu-oclc-6654394-nj-43-5th-ed.jpg, From the International Map of the World
The International Map of the World or IMW (also called the Millionth Map of the World, after its scale of 1:1 000 000) was a project to create a complete map of the world according to internationally agreed standards. It was first proposed by the ...
( AMS, 1966)
File:Afghanistan-China Boundary. 4-69. LOC gm70003373 cropped.jpg, Map of Afghanistan-China Boundary (with the Afghanistan-China-USSR (Tajik SSR) tripoint labeled as PEAK POVALO SHVEIKOVSKI 5698 (18694)) (1969)
File:China-USSR Border Western Sector Ct002818.tif, Map of the western China-USSR border showing the Pamir area () claimed by China. "This section shown as 'Indefinite' on Chinese maps, 'Definite' on Russian maps. Based on 1895 Anglo-Russian treaty." (1977)
File:Operational Navigation Chart G-7, 6th edition.jpg, Border region (DMA
DMA may refer to:
Arts
* ''DMA'' (magazine), a defunct dance music magazine
* Dallas Museum of Art, an art museum in Texas, US
* Danish Music Awards, an award show held in Denmark
* BT Digital Music Awards, an annual event in the UK
* Doctor of M ...
, 1980)
File:Txu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566 g-6b.jpg, Northern/western section of the border (DMA
DMA may refer to:
Arts
* ''DMA'' (magazine), a defunct dance music magazine
* Dallas Museum of Art, an art museum in Texas, US
* Danish Music Awards, an award show held in Denmark
* BT Digital Music Awards, an annual event in the UK
* Doctor of M ...
, 1981)
File:Txu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566 g-7a.jpg, Southern/eastern section of the border (DMA
DMA may refer to:
Arts
* ''DMA'' (magazine), a defunct dance music magazine
* Dallas Museum of Art, an art museum in Texas, US
* Danish Music Awards, an award show held in Denmark
* BT Digital Music Awards, an annual event in the UK
* Doctor of M ...
, 1984)
File:NJ-43-11 Taxkorgan, China; Soviet Union; Pakistan.jpg, Map including part of the China-USSR (Tajik SSR) border near Taxkorgan
Tashkurgan ( ug, تاشقورغان بازىرى; zh, s=塔什库尔干镇, p=Tǎshíkù'ěrgān Zhèn; ) is a town in the far northwest of China, close to the country's border with Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It is the principal tow ...
(T'a-shih-k'u-erh-kan) (DMA
DMA may refer to:
Arts
* ''DMA'' (magazine), a defunct dance music magazine
* Dallas Museum of Art, an art museum in Texas, US
* Danish Music Awards, an award show held in Denmark
* BT Digital Music Awards, an annual event in the UK
* Doctor of M ...
, 1985)
File:NJ-43-2 Ulugqat, China; Soviet Union.jpg, Portion of the China-USSR (Tajik SSR) border (DMA
DMA may refer to:
Arts
* ''DMA'' (magazine), a defunct dance music magazine
* Dallas Museum of Art, an art museum in Texas, US
* Danish Music Awards, an award show held in Denmark
* BT Digital Music Awards, an annual event in the UK
* Doctor of M ...
, 1989)
File:Txu-oclc-224033229-nj43-06.jpg, Portion of the China-USSR (Tajik SSR) border (DMA
DMA may refer to:
Arts
* ''DMA'' (magazine), a defunct dance music magazine
* Dallas Museum of Art, an art museum in Texas, US
* Danish Music Awards, an award show held in Denmark
* BT Digital Music Awards, an annual event in the UK
* Doctor of M ...
, 1988)
File:Txu-oclc-224033229-nj43-10.jpg, Portion of the China–Tajikistan border (labeled "BOUNDARY IN DISPUTE") including the tripoint with Afghanistan (DMA
DMA may refer to:
Arts
* ''DMA'' (magazine), a defunct dance music magazine
* Dallas Museum of Art, an art museum in Texas, US
* Danish Music Awards, an award show held in Denmark
* BT Digital Music Awards, an annual event in the UK
* Doctor of M ...
, 1992)
File:Tajikistan 2001 CIA map.jpg, Map of Tajikistan showing the border with China and road through Uzbel/Kyzyl-Dzhiik Pass (2001)
Image:Ti-map.gif, Historical map of Tajikistan showing the border with China
See also
*
Chalachigu Valley
Chalachigu Valley or Karachukur Valley is a valley in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. It borders Afghanistan to the west, Tajikistan to the north and Pakistan to the south. It borders Taghdumbash Pamir to ...
*
List of extreme points of China
*
Extreme points of Tajikistan This is a list of the extreme points of Tajikistan.
Cardinal directions
The northernmost region is Sughd Region. The easternmost region is Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region. The country shares a border (Tajikistan–Uzbekistan border) with Uzbek ...
*
Karakoram Highway
The Karakoram Highway ( ur, , translit=śāhirāh qarāquram; known by its initials KKH, also known as N-35 or National Highway 35 ( ur, ) or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway) is a national highway which extends from Hasan Abdal in ...
*
Beyik Pass
*
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 o ...
*
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 main ...
*
Mintaka Pass
*
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 ...
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:China-Tajikistan border
border
Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political bo ...
Borders of China
Borders of Tajikistan
International borders