Chalachigu Valley

Chalachigu Valley
Location Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang, China
Geography
Coordinates 37°9′N 74°42′E / 37.150°N 74.700°E / 37.150; 74.700Coordinates: 37°9′N 74°42′E / 37.150°N 74.700°E / 37.150; 74.700
Watercourses Chalachigu River

Chalachigu Valley is the valley in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, Xinjiang, China. It borders Afghanistan and is surrounded by Tajikistan to the north and Pakistan to the south.[1] It borders Taghdumbash Pamir to the east, Gojal to the south, and Little Pamir to the north and west.

The valley is part of the Taxkorgan Nature Reserve.[2] The protected Marco Polo sheep is only found around this area.[1] The Chalachigu River (Chinese: 喀拉其库尔河) flows through the valley and is a tributary of Tashkurgan River.[3] The region is often referred by Chinese as the Chinese portion Wakhan Corridor.[4] There is an ethnic Kyrgyz village call Bayik (Chinese: 排依克村 or Chinese: 阿特加依里村)[5][6]

The entire Chalachigu Valley is closed to visitors; however, local residents and herders from the area are permitted to access.[7]

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:

Of the above passes, it is believed that the famous Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang traveled through Wakhjir Pass on his return trip back to China around 649 AD.[8] Some Chinese historians argue that he also used Beyik Pass on his way to India.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 USFWS (1990-10-05). "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Proposed Threatened Status for Argali" (PDF). Federal Register. USDOI. Retrieved 2017-02-05. consisting of fewer than 150 animals, was confined to the western part of the Chalachigu Valley, a finger of land extending between Afghanistan on the north and Pakistan to the south.
  2. ↑ "Taxkorgan Nature Reserve". icimod.org. International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development. Retrieved 2017-02-05. Basically flat and in places more than 5km wide, the Taxkorgan Valley (the Taghdumbash Pamir on old maps) was part of the ancient Silk Route known viable population of Marco Polo sheep in China was confined to the western part of Chalachigu Valley
  3. ↑ Green, Michael J. B. (1993). "Nature reserves of the Himalaya and the mountains of Central Asia". Oxford University Press. p. 121. ISBN 0195629221. Retrieved 2017-02-05. The western part is drained by the Chalachigu River, a branch of the Taxkorgan River which meets the Yarkant River north of the reserve.
  4. ↑ "新疆边境行：记者抵达瓦罕走廊中方最西端(图)" [Xinjiang Border Tour: Reporter arrived at the Chinese westernmost point of Wakhan Corridor]. Sina News (in Chinese). Global Times. 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2017-02-05.
  5. ↑ 杨雪梅 (2016-09-09). "穿越瓦罕走廊（且行且思）" [Through the Wakhan Corridor]. people.gov.cn (in Chinese). People's Daily. Retrieved 2017-02-05. 这里是瓦罕走廊第一村——排依克村
  6. ↑ 赵戈 (2016-06-13). "瓦罕走廊转场日记". xj.xinhuanet.com (in Chinese). Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved 2017-02-05. 瓦罕走廊中国境内唯一的村庄--阿特加依里村
  7. ↑ 环球时报 (2009-05-07). "记者组在瓦罕走廊感受中国边防". china.huanqiu.com (in Chinese). Global Times. Retrieved 2017-02-04. 由于瓦罕走廊没有开放旅游，普通游客走到这里便无法继续前行。...据他介绍，该派出所海拔3900米，辖区内户籍75户，约300人，到七八月夏季牧场开放时，山下牧民会到高海拔地区放牧，走廊人口将达到1800人左右。
  8. ↑ Stein, M. Aurel (1903-06-30). "Exploration in Chinese Turkestan". United States Congressional Serial Set. No. 748. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. p. 752. Retrieved 2017-02-03.
  9. ↑ 于淑娟 (2014-12-24). "访谈︱侯杨方：追寻玄奘，在帕米尔复原丝绸之路". The Paper (thepaper.cn) (in Chinese). Retrieved 2017-02-02. 玄奘从这里东南行经过排依克山口到达羯盘陀国...他经过的这个山口就是符合以上这些条件的唯一路径
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.