During the Han dynasty, Taxkorgan was known as Puli ; during the Tang dynasty, it was a protectorate of the Parthians, during the Yuan dynasty it was part of the Chaghatai empire. Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County was created in 1954 and is part of the district of Kashgar. On September 17, 1954, Taxkorgan was made an autonomous region. On February 1955, it was made an autonomous county. In August 2013, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences announced that they excavated a cluster of Zoroastrian tombs in Taxkorgan. In May 2017, the county was hit with a magnitude 5.5 earthquake that killed eight and injured 23.
Geography
Taxkorgan County is located in the eastern part of the Pamir Plateau, where the Kunlun, Karakoram, Hindukush and Tian Shan mountains come together, at the borders with Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. The county seat is Taxkorgan Town. The territorial expansion of the county is from north to south and from east to west, the total area is about, at an average altitude above. The county includes a significant part of the Trans-Karakoram Tract, disputed by India and Pakistan in the ongoing Kashmir conflict; while Pakistan and China settled the border issue in 1963, India continues to claim it as part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Muztagh Ata, at, and the Kongur Tagh, at, are the main peaks in the county, while the two main rivers are the Taxkorgan River and the Tiznap River. By including the Trans-Karakoram Tract, the county also borders several eight-thousanders, including K2, at the second-highest mountain in the world. There are several hot springs and resources of gold, iron, and copper.
Climate
Taxkorgan has a cold desert climate, influenced by the high elevation, with long, very cold winters, and warm summers. Monthly daily average temperatures range from in January to in July, while the annual mean is. An average of only of precipitation falls per year
Administrative divisions
Demographics
, Mountain Tajiks made up 80.9% of the residents of the county. As of 2015, 32,867 of the 40,381 residents of the county were Mountain Tajiks, 2,911 were Han Chinese, 2320 were Kyrgyz, and 2,179 were Uyghur. As of 1999, 6.28% of the population of Taxkorgan County was Han Chinese and 5.08% of the population was Uyghur. The total population of Taxkorgan is 27,800, among them 84% Tajiks of Xinjiang who speak the Sarikoli language, 4% Han and 12% other nationalities.
Economy
Animal husbandry is the primary economic mode with agriculture. The well-known Dunbashi fat-tailed sheep are raised in the county as well as domestic yaks. Agricultural products include highland barley, wheat, and others. Mineral resources include iron, sulfur, and asbestos. In 2011, the county was considered relatively poor. 90% of the residents were engaged in animal husbandry.
Transportation
The county is served by Karakoram Highway, which runs through Taxkorgan Town. Taxkorgan is the westernmost town in China. It is also the last/first town for visitors going/coming in/out of China and Pakistan through the Khunjerab Pass. There are public buses plying between Kashgar and Tashkorgan. As of September 2016, China has begun building an elevated road which is expected to be completed in a few years.
Museum
In Taxkorgan Town there is a museum that houses a few local artefacts, a photographic display and, in the basement, two mummies – one of a young woman about 18, and another of a baby about three months old which, however, was not hers. They are labelled as dating from the Bronze Age to the Warring States period. The mummies were discovered in the nearby Xiabandi Valley on the old caravan route to Yarkand. The valley has now been flooded for a hydro-electric project.
