Location: Tashkurgan, Xinjiang, China (37� 46' 18? N, 75� 13' 43? E)
Date: 27 July 2007, 7.50am
Camera: Canon 400D with Canon 70-200/f4L USM
Tashkurgan is a small town on the Karakorum Highway that runs between China and Pakistan. It is at a high altitude of 3,200m and is a recommended overnight stop for travellers from China to Pakistan so as to have a a better chance of crossing the snow-prone Khunjerab Pass (border between China and Pakistan, the highest border of the world,) in daylight. The Pass is closed during winter as the roads will be blocked by snow. Tashkurgan was a vital stop on the old Silk Road as caravans from all directions converged here- it is said to mark the mid-way point between China and Europe. The majority population here are Tajiks and most of them still lives a nomadic-like lifestyle. In the summer, they tend their animals in the hills and return back to town/base when it is too cold in the winter. Many of them still lives in tents and it is a fabulous sight to see smoke billowing form their tents when they starts heating and cooking early in the mornings.
