HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Kangxiwar (; ug, كەڭشىۋەر) is the location of a deserted town on the southwest side of the
Kunlun Mountains The Kunlun Mountains ( zh, s=昆仑山, t=崑崙山, p=Kūnlún Shān, ; ug, كۇئېنلۇن تاغ تىزمىسى / قۇرۇم تاغ تىزمىسى ) constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the bro ...
. It is on the bank of the Karakash River in the western
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
of the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...
. It is also the base of the route to
Hotan Hotan (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Western China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to bec ...
from the Karakash valley via the
Hindutash Hindu-tagh Pass, also known as Hindutash, is a historical mountain pass in the western Xinjiang, China. The pass cuts through the Kunlun Mountains connecting the now-deserted town of Kangxiwar in the Karakash River valley to the town of Pu ...
pass. According to Chinese sources, Kangxiwar means "place with mine" in Uyghur. During the
Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...
of 1962, Kangxiwar served as the forward headquarters for the Xinjiang Military Command. The military cemetery of those killed in the war is still located here. There is also a highway maintenance crew house at Kangxiwar at the present time.
China National Highway 219 China National Highway 219 (G219; Chinese: '' Guódào219'') is a highway which runs along the entire western and southern border of the People's Republic of China, from Kom-Kanas Mongolian ethnic township in Xinjiang to Dongxing in Guangxi. ...
(G219), the Xinjiang-Tibet Highway, runs through here. Following the G219 southeast will lead to Dahongliutan and Tianshuihai, the latter of which is in
Aksai Chin Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of ...
. China National Highway 580 is under construction connecting Kangxiwar directly with
Hotan Hotan (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Western China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to bec ...
. It is scheduled to be completed in 2022. ''Kangxiwar Daban'' or ''Koshbel Pass'' () is a mountain pass located at the elevation of downstream to the west.


History

Before modern era, the area was a thoroughfare of the caravan trade route between
Leh Leh () ( lbj, ) is the joint capital and largest city of Ladakh, a union territory of India. Leh, located in the Leh district, was also the historical capital of the Kingdom of Ladakh, the seat of which was in the Leh Palace, the former ...
and
Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Northwest 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, China." Hyd ...
. The
Hindutash Hindu-tagh Pass, also known as Hindutash, is a historical mountain pass in the western Xinjiang, China. The pass cuts through the Kunlun Mountains connecting the now-deserted town of Kangxiwar in the Karakash River valley to the town of Pu ...
Pass, a historical mountain pass through the
Kunlun Mountains The Kunlun Mountains ( zh, s=昆仑山, t=崑崙山, p=Kūnlún Shān, ; ug, كۇئېنلۇن تاغ تىزمىسى / قۇرۇم تاغ تىزمىسى ) constitute one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending for more than . In the bro ...
is just north of here. This place was previously referred to as Sumgal. Literally meaning "three fords" in
Tibetic languages The Tibetic languages form a well-defined group of languages descended from Old Tibetan (7th to 9th centuries).Tournadre, Nicolas. 2014. "The Tibetic languages and their classification." In ''Trans-Himalayan linguistics, historical and descriptiv ...
, it was a historical ford along with caravan camp. The caravan camp which had a shed was located slightly downstream to the west on the north bank of the Karakash River Another camp Ak-Koom was located slightly upstream to the east at the joining of two valleys. During the 1860s at the time of Dungan Revolt, lawlessness led to the valley being frequented by Kyrgyz robbers who would capture caravans and sell the caravaners into slavery in
Badakshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...
. A fort was set up by the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (part of the
British Indian Empire The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
) downstream near Xaidulla to help protect the caravans. By the 1930s, it was recorded by European travelers that a settlement of
Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people * Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...
nomads was located at Kangxiwar.


Sino-Indian war

During the 1962
Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...
, the PLA's Xinjiang Military Command set up the forward headquarters for its operations in the western sector (
Aksai Chin Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of ...
) at Kangxiwar. It was commanded by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Xinjiang Military Command. The 2nd Infantry Regiment of Xinjiang was stationed here and controlled the bases at
Tianwendian Tianwendian () is the name of a border outpost and a military defence area of China in the northern Aksai Chin region under its administration (as part of Xinjiang). The region is roughly equivalent to the portion of Depsang Plains under Chi ...
, Heweitan, Kongka Pass and in
Ngari Ngari Prefecture () or Ali Prefecture () is a prefecture of China's Tibet Autonomous Region covering Western Tibet, whose traditional name is Ngari Khorsum. Its administrative centre and largest settlement is the town of Shiquanhe. History Nga ...
. Certain activities were supervised directly by PLA General Staff Department. The Chinese soldiers who perished during the Indo-China war were buried at a
military cemetery A war grave is a burial place for members of the armed forces or civilians who died during military campaigns or operations. Definition The term "war grave" does not only apply to graves: ships sunk during wartime are often considered to ...
in Kangxiwar along the G219 highway. The cemetery contains the graves of over 100 PLA soldiers.


See also

*
Aksai Chin Aksai Chin is a region administered by China as part of Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and Rutog County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. It is claimed by India to be a part of its Leh District, Ladakh Union Territory. It is a part of ...
* Dahongliutan * Karakash River


Notes


References


Bibliography

* {{citation , last1=Sandhu , first1=P. J. S. , last2=Shankar , first2=Vinay , last3=Dwivedi , first3=G. G. , title=1962: A View from the Other Side of the Hill , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=boBNCgAAQBAJ , year=2015 , publisher=Vij Books India Pvt Ltd , isbn=978-93-84464-37-0 Populated places in Xinjiang Hotan Prefecture