Mingtie gaidaban

In Kirgiz, "the pass of a thousand rams". On the Pamir Plateau, the pass between China and Kashmir crosses the Karakoram mountains, with an altitude of 4703 meters (4709 meters in a word). The road from Xinjiang, China to Pakistan passes through. For a long period of history, this pass with an altitude of more than 4000 meters has been the main traffic route connecting the East and West Silk Road on the Pamirs plateau.

Mingtie gaidaban

In Kirgiz, "the pass of a thousand rams". On the Pamir Plateau, the pass between China and Kashmir crosses the Karakoram mountains, with an altitude of 4703 meters (4709 meters in a word). The road from Xinjiang, China to Pakistan passes through.

geographical position

Mingtie gaidaban and its adjacent Kilik pass (altitude 4827 M / 15837 ft; latitude 37 ° 05 'n; longitude 74 ° 41' e) are two main mountain passes from north to upper Hunza Valley in Pakistan. The Hansa Valley is a valley in northern Pakistan near Gilgit. These two Daban are the shortest and fastest way from Indian subcontinent to Tarim Basin. From Tashkurgan, you can reach mingtiegai River 70 km south, and you can reach mingtiegai Daban 80 km west along mingtiegai River Valley.

Historical development

The Ming tiegaidaban has been the most important traditional channel between the western regions of China and the Indian subcontinent since ancient times. But in recent hundreds of years, due to the development and invasion of glaciers, more and more caravans have chosen a wider area and can enter krikdaban, which is free of glaciers in Afghanistan. The newly built Karakoram mountain highway between China and Pakistan enters Pakistan at hongqilafdaban (altitude 4934 m; latitude 36 ° 51 'n; longitude 75 ° 32' e) in the south.

Xuanzang's entry road

Mingtiegai pass is located between China and Pakistan. More than 4700 meters above sea level, the climate is very cold.

More than 1300 years ago, in order to obtain the true meaning of Buddhism, Xuanzang, an eminent monk of Tang Dynasty, started his journey from Chang'an to the West with the determination and perseverance of never going to India and never looking east. Seventeen years later, he returned from India with a large number of Buddhist scriptures. Xuanzang returned through the Pamirs Plateau, but many studies only suggest that he passed through the wahan passage in Afghanistan, and did not confirm where he entered China today.

Until 1998, Professor Feng Qiyong, who was 76 years old at that time, based on a careful analysis of various literature and research papers, thought that the Tiegai pass in Ming Dynasty was the most likely way for Xuanzang to return. He personally went to the mingtiegai pass in Shanghai to carry out field investigation. After a comparative study of the relics, landscapes and historical documents of the Han and Tang Dynasties, it is finally confirmed that when Xuanzang returned to the East, he passed through the wahan passage and then through the Ming tiegaidaban to enter today's China. This is the first confirmation of this important site by Xuanzang in 1355 years after he returned to China. Based on this, he wrote an important paper on the history of Xuanzang's research and the study of Chinese historical geography, a research on the ancient road of Xuanzang's returning to China from the East -- an investigation of mingtiegai mountain pass on the Pamirs plateau.

This time, the team of "Xuanzang road" investigation team and 83 year old Feng Qiyong went to the plateau again. With the assistance of the local military region, CCTV and Kashgar municipal government will erect a monument at the mingtiegai pass. On the front of the stone tablet is engraved Feng Qiyong's handwritten "Xuanzang's ancient road of returning to the east from scriptures", and on the back there is a long article introducing the history and discovery process of the ancient road. Above 4000 meters above sea level, this is the first monument for Xuanzang.

Address: 70 km south from Tashkurgan, you can reach mingtiegai River, 80 km west along mingtiegai River Valley, you can reach Daban.

Longitude: 74.859948

Latitude: 37.009295

Ticket information: No

Chinese PinYin : Ming Tie Gai Da Ban