All Topics  
Torugart Pass

 
Torugart Pass

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Torugart Pass
 
 
  Topics Torugart Pass Topic Home

Torugart Pass (elevation 3,752 m / 12,310 ft.) is a pass
Mountain pass

In a range of hills, or especially of mountain range, a pass is a saddle point in between two areas of higher elevation. If following the lowest possible route through a mountain range, a pass is locally the highest point on that route....
 in the Tian Shan
Tian Shan

The Tian Shan , also commonly spelled Tien Shan, is a mountain range located in Central Asia. The Chinese name for Tian Shan or Tien Shan, may in turn go back to a Xiongnu name, qilian reported by the Shiji as the last place where they met and had their baby as in of the Yuezhi, which has been argued to refer to the Tian Shan...
 mountain range on the border between the Naryn Province
Naryn Province

Naryn Province is the largest province of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Naryn. The main highway runs from the Chinese border at Torugart Pass north to Balykchy on lake Issyk Kul....
 of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a country in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, it is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and People's Republic of China to the east....
 and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region
Xinjiang

Xinjiang is an autonomous region of China of the People's Republic of China. It is a large, sparsely populated area, spanning over 1.6 million sq....
 of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
.

The scenic Lake Chatyr-Kul
Chatyr-Kul

Chatyr-Kul is an endorheic alpine lake and Ramsar site in the Tian Shan mountains in Naryn Province, Kyrgyzstan; it lies in the lower part of Chatyr-Kul Depression near the Torugart Pass border crossing into China....
 lies near the pass on the Kyrgyz side. The road to Naryn
Naryn

Naryn is the provincial administrative center of the Naryn Province in central Kyrgyzstan, with a population of 52,300 . It is situated on both banks of the Naryn River, , which cuts a picturesque gorge through the town....
 and then to Balykshy and Bishkek
Bishkek

Bishkek is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative center of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan....
 (400km) is narrow and in winter often impassable due to heavy snow and frequent avalanche
Avalanche

An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, from either natural triggers or human activity. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the descending snow....
s. On the Chinese side, the Torugart Port of Entry, where travelers must clear customs, is located 110km from the pass itself in Ulugqat County of the Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture
Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture

Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture of the People's Republic of China. It is located in the western part of Xinjiang....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Torugart Pass'
Start a new discussion about 'Torugart Pass'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Torugart Pass (elevation 3,752 m / 12,310 ft.) is a pass
Mountain pass

In a range of hills, or especially of mountain range, a pass is a saddle point in between two areas of higher elevation. If following the lowest possible route through a mountain range, a pass is locally the highest point on that route....
 in the Tian Shan
Tian Shan

The Tian Shan , also commonly spelled Tien Shan, is a mountain range located in Central Asia. The Chinese name for Tian Shan or Tien Shan, may in turn go back to a Xiongnu name, qilian reported by the Shiji as the last place where they met and had their baby as in of the Yuezhi, which has been argued to refer to the Tian Shan...
 mountain range on the border between the Naryn Province
Naryn Province

Naryn Province is the largest province of Kyrgyzstan. Its capital is Naryn. The main highway runs from the Chinese border at Torugart Pass north to Balykchy on lake Issyk Kul....
 of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a country in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, it is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and People's Republic of China to the east....
 and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region
Xinjiang

Xinjiang is an autonomous region of China of the People's Republic of China. It is a large, sparsely populated area, spanning over 1.6 million sq....
 of China
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
.

The scenic Lake Chatyr-Kul
Chatyr-Kul

Chatyr-Kul is an endorheic alpine lake and Ramsar site in the Tian Shan mountains in Naryn Province, Kyrgyzstan; it lies in the lower part of Chatyr-Kul Depression near the Torugart Pass border crossing into China....
 lies near the pass on the Kyrgyz side. The road to Naryn
Naryn

Naryn is the provincial administrative center of the Naryn Province in central Kyrgyzstan, with a population of 52,300 . It is situated on both banks of the Naryn River, , which cuts a picturesque gorge through the town....
 and then to Balykshy and Bishkek
Bishkek

Bishkek is the capital and the largest city of Kyrgyzstan.Bishkek is also the administrative center of Chuy Province which surrounds the city, even though the city itself is not part of the province but rather a province-level unit of Kyrgyzstan....
 (400km) is narrow and in winter often impassable due to heavy snow and frequent avalanche
Avalanche

An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, from either natural triggers or human activity. Typically occurring in mountainous terrain, an avalanche can mix air and water with the descending snow....
s. On the Chinese side, the Torugart Port of Entry, where travelers must clear customs, is located 110km from the pass itself in Ulugqat County of the Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture
Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture

Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture of the People's Republic of China. It is located in the western part of Xinjiang....
. The pass is located 110km from Ulugqat, 165km from Kashgar
Kashgar

Kashgar or Kashi ...
, 170km from Artux
Artux

Artux, Atush or Atushi is a county-level city in Xinjiang. The area is 15,509 km? and the total population is 200,000 . Artux is the seat of Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture....
 and 1,630km from Urumqi.

Russia and China first established a port of entry at the Torugart Pass in 1881. In 1906, Russia's Sino-Russian Transport Bank financed the construction of the road from the pass to Kashgar for 20 million rubles. In 1952, the Torugart Pass replaced the Irkeshtam
Irkeshtam

Irkeshtam is a village east of the Alay Valley in southern Osh Province, Kyrgyzstan. It is one of the two main border crossings between Kyrgyzstan and Xinjiang, China, the other being Torugart, 165km to the northeast....
 Pass, 165km southwest as the primary overland link between Xinjiang and the then-Soviet Kyrgyz Republic
Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic

The Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Kirghiz SSR, the Kyrgyz SSR, or even Kirghizia, was one of Republics of the Soviet Union that made up the Soviet Union....
. The pass was closed in 1969 due to the Sino-Soviet Split
Sino-Soviet split

Sino-Soviet split was a gradual worsening of relations between the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. There is no particular date or event which marked the onset of the split, for tensions had plagued the Sino-Soviet alliance even at its best, but there was growing divergence between the two countries sinc...
 and reopened in 1983. In 1995, the Torugart Port of Entry was relocated to a lower elevation (2,000m), closer to Kashgar
Kashgar

Kashgar or Kashi ...
 (57km).

The Chinese and Central Asian governments are planning to open the pass to nationals from third countries and considering the construction of a railway through the pass that would link Kashgar
Kashgar

Kashgar or Kashi ...
 and the Ferghana Valley.

See also

  • Geography of China
    Geography of China

    The geography of China stretches some 5,026 kilometers across the East Asian landmass bordering the East China Sea, Korea Bay, Yellow Sea, and South China Sea, between North Korea and Vietnam in a changing configuration of broad plains, expansive deserts, and lofty mountain ranges, including vast areas of inhospitable terrain....
  • Geography of Kyrgyzstan
    Geography of Kyrgyzstan

    Kyrgyzstan is a landlocked nation in Central Asia, west of the People's Republic of China. The smallest of the newly independent Central Asian states, Kyrgyzstan is about the same size as the state of Nebraska, with a total area of about 198,500 square kilometers....
  • Geostrategy in Central Asia
    Geostrategy in Central Asia

    Central Asia has long been a geostrategy location merely because of its proximity to several great powers on the Eurasian landmass. The region itself never held a dominant stationary population, nor was able to make use of natural resources until recently with the development of a natural gas pipeline in Turkmenistan and booming oil in...