Bedel Pass ( Kyrgyz: , ; Uyghur: ; ) is a mountain pass in the Tian Shan Mountains range between

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

. It has an elevation of . The pass linked China to Barskon, a settlement on the southern shore of lake

Issyk-kul Issyk-Kul () or Ysyk-Köl (, ; ) is an endorheic saline lake in the western Tianshan Mountains in eastern Kyrgyzstan, just south of a dividing range separating Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. It is the eighth-deepest lake in the world, the eleve ...

History

Historically, the Bedel Pass served as a

Silk Road The Silk Road was a network of Asian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over , it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between the ...

trade route between China and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. On the Chinese side, the Bedel Beacon Tower () is located on the foothills along the path. It was built during the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

as part of the Han Great Wall. The beacon was reused and renovated during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the pass was the main trade route linking

Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, Ch ...

and Western Turks in Central Asia. A number of scholars argue that Chinese explorer

Xuanzang Xuanzang (; ; 6 April 6025 February 664), born Chen Hui or Chen Yi (), also known by his Sanskrit Dharma name Mokṣadeva, was a 7th-century Chinese Bhikkhu, Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making ...

who inspired the Chinese classic ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

'' used this pass in the 7th century on his journey to India. The name Xuanzang used for the passage was "", it was said to be northwest of "Kingdom of Baluka", modern day city of Aksu. However, others argue that was Muzart Pass. The pass was surveyed in 1881 by both Chinese and Russian counterparts as part of ''Protocol of Chuguchak of 1864'' demarcating the border in the region between the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. During the Urkun incident of 1916, over 100,000 Kyrgyz reportedly died fleeing from Tsarist forces they attempted to reach China through the Bedel Pass. Kumtor Gold Mine is located down the road on the Kyrgyz side. Along the path on the Chinese side is also the ruins of a KMT era sentry post which is a local cultural heritage site.

Historical maps

Historical maps of the region including Bedel Pass: File:A-k`o-su NK-44 (1950) - panoramio.jpg, Map including Bedel Pass (labeled as Pereval Bedel', United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) File:Operational Navigation Chart F-6, 6th edition.jpg, File:Txu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566 f-6c.jpg,

References

Mountain passes of China Mountain passes of Xinjiang Mountain passes of Kyrgyzstan China–Kyrgyzstan border crossings Sites along the Silk Road {{Xinjiang-geo-stub

History

Historical maps

See also

References