Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County 塔什库尔干塔吉克自治县 (Chinese) تاشقۇرغان تاجیك ئاپتونوم ناھىيىسى (Uyghur) توشقۈرغون تۇجىك ئوفتۇنۇم نويا (Sarikoli)
Autonomous county
Taxkorgan County (red) in Kashgar Prefecture (yellow) and Xinjiang
Tashkurgan Location of county seat in Xinjiang
Coordinates: 37°46′20″N 75°13′48″E / 37.7721°N 75.2299°E / 37.7721; 75.2299
Country	China
Autonomous region	Xinjiang
Prefecture	Kashgar
County seat	Tashkurgan
Township-level divisions	12[1]
Area [1]
• Total	25,000 km2 (10,000 sq mi)
Elevation	3,094 m (10,151 ft)
Population [2]
• Total	37,843
• Density	1.5/km2 (3.9/sq mi)
Ethnic groups
• Major ethnic groups	Mountain Tajiks (China)[1][3]
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Postal code	845250
Area code	998
Website	www.tskeg.gov.cn (in Chinese)

Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County
A sign welcoming motorists to Tashkurgan (Taxkorgan) Tajik Autonomous County
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	塔什库尔干塔吉克自治县
Traditional Chinese	塔什庫爾干塔吉克自治縣
Hanyu Pinyin	Tǎshíkù'ěrgān Tǎjíkè Zìzhìxiàn
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Tǎshíkù'ěrgān Tǎjíkè Zìzhìxiàn Gwoyeu Romatzyh Taashyrkuh'eelgan Taajyikeh Tzyhjyhshiann Wade–Giles Tʻa3-shih2-kʻu4-êrh3-kan1 Tʻa3-chi2-kʻo4 Tzŭ4-chih4-hsien4 Yale Romanization Tǎshŕkùěrgān Tǎjíkè Dz̀jr̀syàn IPA [tʰà.ʂɻ̩̌.kʰû.àɚ.kán tʰà.tɕǐ.kʰɤ̂ tsɹ̩̂.ʈʂɻ̩̂.ɕjɛ̂n]
Uyghur name
Uyghur	تاشقۇرغان تاجىك ئاپتونوم ناھىيىسى‎
Transcriptions Latin Yëziqi Tashqurghan Tajik Aptonom Nahiyisi Yengi Yeziⱪ Taxk̡urƣan Tajik Aptonom Nah̡iyisi Siril Yëziqi Tашқурған таҗик аптоном наһийиси
Sarikoli name
Sarikoli	توشقۈرغون تۇجىك ئوفتۇنۇم نويا Toxkhürghon Tujik Oftunum Noya[a] [tɔʃqyrʁɔn tuʤik ɔftunum nɔja]

Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County^[5][6][7] (often shortened to Taxkorgan County and also spelled Tashkurgan) is an autonomous county of Kashgar Prefecture, in western Xinjiang, China. The county seat is Tashkurgan. The county is the only Tajik autonomous county in China.^[1]

History

During the Han dynasty, the town of Tashkurgan was known as Puli (Chinese: 蒲犁; pinyin: Púlí);^[8] 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 Republic of China and People's Republic of China.

On September 17, 1954, Taxkorgan was made an autonomous region (Chinese: 自治区). In February 1955, it was made an autonomous county (Chinese: 自治县).^[9]

In 1955, Bulungkol was transferred to Akto County from Taxkorgan County.^[10]

In August 2013, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences announced that they excavated a cluster of Zoroastrian tombs in Taxkorgan.^[11]

In May 2017, the county was hit with a magnitude 5.5 earthquake that killed eight and injured 29.^[12]

Geography

Taxkorgan 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 Taxkorgan 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,^{[citation needed]} the total area is about 25,000 square kilometres (9,700 sq mi),^[1] with an average altitude above 4,000 metres (13,000 ft).^[1] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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 Taxkorgan River and the Tiznap River.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} There are several hot springs and resources of gold, iron, and copper.^{[citation needed]}

Climate

Taxkorgan 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

Administrative divisions

The county administers 2 towns, 9 townships and 1 ethnic township, which then administer 50 village-level divisions.^[1]

• Mazar sheep 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)

Demographics

As of 2018, Taxkorgan County had a population of 40,999,^[15] up slightly from the 40,381 reported in 2015,^[16] and the 37,843 counted in the 2010 Chinese Census.^[2]

Ethnic composition

Mountain Tajiks make up a supermajority of the county's population, with recent figures indicating they make up somewhere from 80.9% of the population,^[1] to 82.24%.^[15] Other prominent ethnic groups include the Han Chinese, the Kyrgyz, and Uyghurs.^[15][16]

In 1999, 6.28% of the population of Taxkorgan (Tashiku'ergan) County was Han Chinese and 5.08% of the population was Uyghur.^[17]

In 1995, the total population of Taxkorgan was 27,800, among them 84% Tajiks of Xinjiang, who speak the Sarikoli language, 4% Han and 12% other nationalities.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[9] In 2011, the county was considered relatively poor. 90% of the residents were engaged in animal husbandry.^[18]

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.^[1] These figures increased 6.7% and 10.2%, respectively, from 2017.^[1]

In 2019, the county government reported that the county has 17 impoverished villages, and 893 households with 3682 people in poverty.^[1]

Transportation

The county is served by Karakoram Highway, which runs through Tashkurgan.^[19] As of September 2016, China has begun building an elevated road^{[further explanation needed]} which is expected to be completed in a few years.^{[citation needed]} Taxkorgan Airport is now under construction and will be in service in 2022.^[20]