Tashkurgan, border village China & Pakistan

Tashkurgan Fort,

Tashkurgan

The ruins of a huge mudbrick fort still stand on the edge of town, and although this one is estimated to be about 600 years old, local lore says Tashkurgan has been a citadel for over 2300 years. The Greek philosopher-scientist Ptolemy (90 to 168 AD) mentioned Tashkurgan in his Guide to Geography as a stop on the road to China. The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Hsuan Tsang wrote about its fortress in the 7th century, when it was the furthest frontier outpost of the Tang dynasty.