Upal Explained

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.

Karakoram Highway

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

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.

Monday Bazaar

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]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.ab-road.net/asia/china/kashgar/tour/search/AC730226/ A Traditional Bazaar and Karakul Lake in Heaven
  2. "KARAKORAM HWY - Kashgar to Karakul Lake" in the guidebook Lonely Planet - China (2005).