Amazing roads China | 4,000m altitude winding road in Xinjiang....

𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘢 | 4,000𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘥

𝘪𝘯 𝘟𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘜𝘺𝘨𝘩𝘶𝘳 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯

盘龙古道 or the ancient Palong road winds for about 75km through colored mountains and plains on the eastern Pamir Plateau in the west of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR, #Xinjiang). The Pamir Mountains stretch from Xinjiang well into Tajikistan, Aghanistan and Pakistan.

The ancient Palong road has been a vital crossing through the Pamir Mountains during the ancient Silk Road era.

The new road, opened in 2019 wanders through the high plateau in the county connecting isolated herdsman villages in Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County for a better access to public facilities such as healthcare, education and commerce.

Under Kashgar prefecture, Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County is the only Tajik autonomous county in China with about 80% of its 40,000 population being the ethnic minority 'Tajiks of Xinjiang', also called Mountain Tajiks or Chinese Tajiks living scattered on the mountainous plateau with altitudes from 3,000 to 7000 meters. The Chinese Tajiks are one of 56 ethnic minorities in China with the majority speaking their own language Sarikoli (and a small minority speaking Wakhi). The county seat is the town of Tashkurgan with a population of about 10,000. A new airport has been opened in July this year in the town to enhance connectivity of the county to other parts of China and neighboring countries.

Tashkurgan County with a size of approximately 25,000km2 (little smaller than Albania) borders with #Tajikistan, #Afghanistan, #Pakistan and #India with important border crossings. And the road has become a popular tourist destination since its opening in 2019.

#china #china2022 #xinjiang #chinanature #chineseculture #chinesesociety #povertyalleviation #connectivity #infrastructure #5iz #5izchina

Video sources : china.travels, naturesms IG

Picture sources : inf.news, english.ts.cn, xinhua