Tashkurgan, in the far west of Xinjiang on the road towards Pakistan, takes its name from the ruin that stands on a low hill above the town: the words mean stone city or stone fortress in the Turkic languages of the region, and the site has been fortified for an unusually long time. It occupies a raised mound at the point where the valley opens onto the grassland, with the river on one side and the tracks over the passes converging on the other - a position chosen because it controls the routes rather than because it is comfortable.
History
The fortification is generally identified with the capital of one of the small kingdoms described in the Chinese records of the Han and Tang periods, a state that sat astride the roads between the Tarim basin and the passes into Central Asia and South Asia. It remained in use long after that kingdom disappeared, and the walls were still being occupied and repaired in the nineteenth century, so what survives is a palimpsest rather than a single building. The remains are of stone at the base with rammed earth above, forming an irregular enclosure with towers and a raised platform at the highest point, and there are traces of buildings inside.
The setting
The town itself is the centre of the Tajik autonomous county and is home to China's Tajik population, whose language, dress and music are distinct from the Uyghur culture of the plains. Around the town the valley floor is open grassland, dotted with animals in summer, with the snow peaks of the Pamir and the Karakoram on every side. The Karakoram Highway runs on south from here towards the Khunjerab pass and the border with Pakistan, and the drive from Kashgar to Tashkurgan and back is one of the great mountain journeys of Asia, passing Karakul lake and the sand dunes at Bulunkou on the way.
Practical notes
Tashkurgan is about 3,100 metres above sea level at the town, and the road from Kashgar takes most of a day with stops, so an overnight is sensible and gives the body time to adjust. The area lies in a border zone and foreign visitors normally need a permit arranged in advance through a licensed operator, so do not attempt it independently without checking the current rules. Bring warm clothing even in summer, since the temperature falls sharply after dark, and allow time in the town's small museum, which explains the archaeology of the stone city and the culture of the people who live around it.
