Dostyk (, ''Dostyq'') or Druzhba () is a small town in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Jetisu Region Jetisu Region (, ; ), formerly spelled Zhetysu Region, is one of the Regions of Kazakhstan. Its administrative center is Taldykorgan. Total area of the region is 118,500 km². Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev Kassym-Jomart Kemeluly ...

, on the border with

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' ...

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 ...

. It is a

port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border control, border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not impo ...

(by highway and railroad) from

. The rail portion serves as an important link in the Eurasian Land Bridge. It is situated in the

Dzungarian Gate The Dzungarian Gate, also known as the Altai Gap, is a geographically and historically significant mountain pass between Central Asia and China. It has been described as the "one and only gateway in the mountain-wall which stretches from China t ...

, a historically significant mountain pass.

Railways

The agreement between the Soviet Union and the

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...

to connect Kazakhstan with Western China by rail was achieved in 1954. On the Soviet side, the railway reached the border town of Druzhba (Dostyk) (whose names, both Russian and Kazakh, mean 'friendship' in each respective language) in 1959. On the Chinese side, however, the westward construction of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway was stopped once it reached Urumqi in 1962. Due to the

Sino-Soviet Split The Sino-Soviet split was the gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) during the Cold War. This was primarily caused by divergences that arose from their ...

, the border town remained a sleepy backwater for some 30 years, until the railway link was finally completed on September 12, 1990. The

on the Chinese side is Alashankou. There is a

bogie exchange A bogie ( ) (or truck in North American English) comprises two or more wheelsets (two wheels on an axle), in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transport. A bogie may remain normally ...

depot to facilitate the through movement of freight and passengers railcars.

Uniform gauge

The railway networks of the two countries use different gauges (China, like most of Europe, uses the

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

of , but Kazakhstan uses the broader gauge of ), so there are breaks of gauge. It is proposed to build a standard gauge Trans–Asian railway link between Europe and China to bypass these two breaks of gauge. This project was signed in 2004. The other end of this proposed uniform gauge line is at

Gorgan Gorgan (; ) is a city in the Central District (Gorgan County), Central District of Gorgan County, Golestan province, Golestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It lies approximately to the nor ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

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References

External links

Tageo.com
{{Jetisu Region Populated places in Jetisu Region China–Kazakhstan border crossings

Railways

Uniform gauge

See also

References

External links