Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County (abbreviated as Taxkorgan County) is located in the southwestern part of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on the eastern edge of the Pamir Plateau, known as the "Ancestor of All Mountains, Source of All Waters, and Roof of the World." In the Tajik language, Taxkorgan means "crown" or "the one who wears a crown," while in the Uyghur language, it means "Stone City." It is also honored as the "Pearl of the Crown." "Pamir" means "Roof of the World" in the Tajik language. In ancient China, it was called Buzhou Mountain or Congling. The ancient Silk Road passed through this region. The Pamir Plateau is the convergence point of two major mountain ranges on Earth (the Alps-Himalayas Range and the Pamir-Chukotka Range), as well as the meeting place of the major mountain systems in southern and central Asia, including the Himalayas, Karakoram, Kunlun, Tianshan, and Hindu Kush. With undulating mountains, continuous ridges, and towering snow-capped peaks reaching into the sky, it is known as the Roof of the Asian Continent. On this rooftop of the world lives a uniquely charming ethnic group—the Tajik people. The Tajiks belong to the Europoid race, practice Islam, and were early followers of Buddhism and Zoroastrianism. They are hardworking, brave, kind, and simple.
Taxkorgan County’s Pamir Tourism Area boasts rich and unique tourism resources, with distinctive natural landscapes and diverse climates and ecosystems. Developing high-mountain and plateau tourism is one of the key projects of Taxkorgan County. The county has also proposed a tourism development approach that includes "viewing the unique scenery of the plateau, eating green plateau food, drinking plateau mineral water, soaking in plateau hot springs, and experiencing the simple local customs." On July 20, 2015, the Pamir Tourism Area was rated by the National Tourism Administration as an "International Plateau-style Tourism Destination of China." Here, you can find Muztagh Ata Peak, which stands at an elevation of 7,546 meters. Majestic and covered with snow all year round, it is known as the "Father of Ice Mountains." At its foot lies the Muztagh Ata Glacier Park, filled with glaciers, ice towers, ice serpents, and countless frozen phenomena, along with peculiar mountains, strange rocks, rare flowers, and exotic plants. The Tagharma Wetland nurtures vast herds of livestock, with grasslands dotting the snow-capped valleys. The Taxkorgan River meanders through the Golden Grassland Wetland at the foot of Muztagh Ata Peak. The ancient Silk Road has shaped this remote and magical land. Here, you can not only see ancient cultural ruins dating back 10,000 to 5,000 years but also cultural relics from the 8th to 5th centuries BC, such as the Xiangbaobao Ancient Tomb Complex, the Taxkorgan Stone City, the Wakhan Corridor, the Princess Fortress, the Qishiman Zoroastrian Site, the Tagharma Wetland, the Pamir Grand Canyon, and the Khunjerab Pass. These all fully demonstrate the profound historical and cultural heritage of Taxkorgan County, a place where ancient Eastern and Western cultures converge, while also preserving the complete and unique traditions of the Tajik ethnic group.
When visiting the Pamir Tourism Area, you have many travel routes to choose from and explore, allowing you to fully enjoy the uniquely Pamir-style cultural landscapes. Three premium travel routes all start from Taxkorgan County town, passing by the Ethnic Culture Center, Museum, Urban Tourism Planning Exhibition Hall, Stone City, and Golden Grassland. The Stone City ruins were the largest relay station on the Silk Road passing through Congling (the Pamir Plateau). If you take the southern route, you can experience the unique charm of the Wakhan Corridor, the "City of the Heavenly Son of Han"—Princess Fortress, the Xuanzang Return Memorial, and the Khunjerab Pass, ultimately reaching Gilgit in Pakistan. If you choose the eastern or northern routes, you can also visit the Intangible Cultural Heritage Industrial Park, which showcases the unique spirit and culture of the Tajik people. Tajik polo is one of the oldest sports in the world, with a history of 2,500 years. Clapping tambourines, playing eagle flutes, dancing the eagle dance, and singing ancient Tajik folk songs are all part of the Tajik people’s own forms of entertainment. There are also festivals such as the Water Diversion Festival and the Sowing Festival, which you can witness here. However, the two routes are not entirely the same—the eastern route ends in Shache, while the northern route ends in Kashgar. By choosing the eastern route, you can also visit the beautiful Mayuan Township, known as the "Highland Apricot Blossom Village," and Datong, the "Hometown of Jade." Choosing the northern route allows you to stroll through the Tagharma Wetland, soak in the Tagharma Hot Springs, challenge Muztagh Ata Peak in the Muztagh Ata Glacier Park, and listen to the legends surrounding it.
Besides these three main routes, there are four special travel options in the Pamir area: you can choose a self-driving tour across the Pamirs, a jade-collecting journey, a photography tour if you’re a photography enthusiast, or even go rafting on the Taxkorgan River. No matter which route you choose, you can experience the unique charm of the highland scenery in the Pamir Tourism Area and feel the warmth of the Pamir people. Entering Taxkorgan will make you lose all sense of time. Here, you can enjoy the spectacle of multiple sunrises and sunsets in a single day, hear the beautiful legends of the Tajiks about the ice mountains, learn about the unique customs and traditions of the Tajik people, and discover the heritage of the mysterious and legendary descendants of the "Heavenly Sun God" and the "Sons of the Sun."
Recently, a strategic alliance tourism promotion event for the Pamir Tourism Area, titled the "Hundred Travel Agencies" Alliance, will be held in Shenzhen. The event will last for several months, during which over a hundred media outlets—including television, print, and online platforms—from Shenzhen, the Pearl River Delta region, and even nationwide, will participate in promotional coverage, creating an all-round publicity campaign that will reach over 100 million people in Shenzhen, the Pearl River Delta, Hong Kong, Macao, and across the country. During the event, representatives from over a hundred travel agencies in Shenzhen, the Pearl River Delta, Hong Kong, Macao, and other regions will sign a series of strategic cooperation agreements with the Taxkorgan Pamir Tourism Area. This is expected to spark a wave of interest among tourists from Shenzhen, the Pearl River Delta, Hong Kong, Macao, and across the nation in visiting the Taxkorgan Pamir Tourism Area for cultural-ecological tours, folk-custom tours, and specialty experience tours.
