Upal | |
Coordinates: | 39.3°N 107°W |
Pushpin Map: | China Xinjiang Southern |
Pushpin Label: | Upal |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | People's Republic of China |
Subdivision Type1: | Autonomous region |
Subdivision Name1: | Xinjiang |
Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture |
Subdivision Name2: | Kashgar |
Subdivision Type3: | County |
Subdivision Name3: | Shufu |
Upal (Chinese: s=乌帕尔镇; Uighur; Uyghur: ئوپال) is a town in Shufu County in Western Xinjiang, China.
Upal is on the Karakoram Highway, which follows the old Silk Road route from China to Pakistan. Travelling from China, it is about 50 km southwest of Kashgar or about 180 km north of Tashkurgan (which is about 120 km over the Khunjerab Pass from Sust in Pakistan).
Mahmud al-Kashgari died in 1102 at the age of 97 in Upal. There is now a mausoleum erected on his gravesite. He is remembered as a prominent Turkic language scholar.
A bazaar is held every Monday. Being that this village is along the Karakoram Highway, it is frequently visited not only by local people but also by the tourists on their way back from Karakul Lake, a popular sightseeing site in Kashgar.[1]
This simplistic, but colorful bazaar is held along the national highway, especially under the large tents in the back of the houses on the western side (the left side as you go back to Kashgar) of the highway. The animals market is located in the southernmost part of the market.[2]