中国国境で暮らす ― タジク人、キルギス人、パキスタン人とともに
I’m still traveling in Shing Jang, China. And right now, I made it so far to the west that behind these mountains is already Pakistan and Afghanistan. And Shinjang is a province with many different ethnicities. In the last video, I already visited the Weaguers and the Kazaks. But today I’m going to travel so far to such a remote place in the country to visit the lost nomads of China, the Kiris and the Tajik. Thank you. I got this massive tour bus all myself today because uh I basically the only way to get to Tashkan is to book a tour there with a driver and a guide, but there’s no one else who booked it. So now I have this all for myself. [Applause] [Music] [Applause] We just entered through a checkpoint over there with our permits. That permit is necessary for foreigners and for Chinese nationals because this area is a bit of a sensitive zone because right behind this mountain over there is Kashmir. And a few months ago I was on the other side there and of course like this is a bit of an area there that is sandwiched between all these geopolitical powers. So you have Pakistan there, you have India here and then here is China. And there’s something that is very interesting is that maps they can look different depending on where you are in which part of the world. So if you look at a map that is made by the west so like for example Google maps then you can see here that the areas here they are disputed. But then if you go to a maps from here like by maps it doesn’t show that it just shows that the area over there behind these mountains that that is China. [Music] The Kiris are traditionally known for hering yaks, but here it has also become a popular tourist attraction. We’re now on our way to Tashkuren, which is a place where a majority Tajik people live. And we just passed the checkpoint and the first place that you stop after that checkpoint is Basha Lake, which is actually a bit touristic. This part of the province has a lot of glacier lakes and they are the most pretty at this time of the year because in the winter they’re completely frozen. So that’s why it attracts a lot of tourists. [Music] Now cold as expected. So here we have a kis people. So normally they live here. The kirus people they have the yurts among the kis and tajik and kazak because if they’re the real nomad people they have the white yurts. The white yurts are very common among them you know. So only in summer time. So uh winter time they have a proper houses for example like mud mud and stone wood houses and also it has been for couple years that our Chinese government they are build such a nice proper house for the those nomad people here and also the most of the kgis and tajik kazak people at least they have more than two three different houses. The yurts are very common in summertime. It’s easy to build up. Some argue that China is erasing nomatic traditions. But every story has two sides. By requiring all children, including those from nomatic groups like the Kirgis, to attend school, the government is ensuring access to education, even as it changes traditional ways of life. It’s a complex trade-off. This time of the year, the Kiris stay in this village. But as soon as it becomes warmer again, they move to the mountains. And for that, they need a yurt. This is kgis yak milk tea. Let’s try this. Tastes a bit salty. How do you say thank you in Kygish? Also Rahmed. Yes. Is there a difference in customs between people, Kyish people here and Kyish people that live in Kyrgystan? People here they said it’s different. But uh they have a guest come they never provide alcohol. So they’re guests. Okay. But in Kyrgyzstan it’s different. So they just provide alcohol. Kyis people are distinct depending on where they come from. Kyis may speak a different dialect, use local loan words and have variations in clothing, food and your design. The roots are the same. The daily life differs. So we have one last checkpoint. Then after we just the guide now went with my passport there to check. This is already the third time that I could checked ever since I arrived here. All good. Yes. Great. [Music] So here we have mainly Tajik people. Also we have some ugur and Chinese people. They live together as well. Mainly Tajik. 50,000 Tajiks live together. Yeah. So they are very friendly with Chinese people. Here we have one uh stone castle which is built by stone. So that’s why the Tajik people they name it like a Tashkan the castle which built by stone. The Tajik language belong to the Persian language system. Tajik they understand we people but we can understand the Tajik. [Music] It says also that Tashken is autonomous. Yeah. What what makes it autonomous exactly? Kind of uh the center for the one uh ethnic group. H So they have like their own uh their own government then as well or a minister or something or what what is the autonomy then that they have? Uh actually here all over here in Shinjang it’s controlled by uh Beijing because here belong to China. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So is like it’s like the kind of uh representative thing that some things are controlled by the Tajik people here. Which kind of things are controlled then? I don’t know but uh the Tajik I think they know this. Its autonomous status means some local policies can reflect minority culture and language. However, major decisions still follow national laws. When asked about the slightest political question like the meaning of Tashkuran’s autonomy, the guide’s immediate uncomfort makes him at a loss of words. [Music] When I arrived in Tashken, I got invited by a Tajik family in their house and they recently had celebrated a fitter. So their house was filled with treats. The decoration in here is very beautiful. Yes, very nice. Is this always all presented like this? Uh when they have a guest like this then they all have like this you know. Are they they are Shia or Sunny Muslim? Yeah, Shia. There’s a lot to try indeed. I don’t know where to start first. Very good. Is this the same as this is a different thing on the date, right? So this is the local date from Kashkar. Uh, we got some nice yogurt with some sugar on top. This is from the eagle bone kaj food. So, uh, from the one eagle wing, he can only met one. It’s very rare to find. Let me see if I can play this. You have to [Music] You have to do this. Maybe. I can’t do this. So much smoother. So second one is the eagle dance. For the Tajiks of Tashkan, the eagle is a symbol of freedom and strength. In this traditional dance, performers mimic the eagle’s flight, honoring the bond between the people and the high mountain landscapes they call home. [Music] This is a Tajik folk song called Why Are the Pretty Flowers So Red? It’s about love, pain, and longing. In Tajik culture, nature often reflects emotion. Flowers, especially red ones, symbolize deep feelings, showing the deep relation Tajiks have to their environment. Heat. Heat. If they invite you, you can just dance with them together. Oh, really? Okay. Time for a group dance now. [Music] Louder. [Music] coming. What did it say? To stay here, please. Just stay a bit more. Yeah, I still love my tea. Yeah. And how many people do they live here? So, five, six together. 56. This is the place where they live in the winter time. Okay. I love the amount of detail. [Music] So when it’s summer, they put up this yurt and they live in here. Hello. Wow, it’s very warm in here. Oh, they even have TV in here. Beautiful. Yes. How far is the border from here? Actually, uh Pakistani Pakistan and Tajikistan and Kyrgystan is also close here or not? Kyan is from here. From Kashkar is like 200 km into Tajakistan. Tajikistan is close by just right there from here like a 30 k 30 30 km to the bud and in 60 km. Um, do they also have family that lives there or all all in Dashkaran? They are all in Tashkaran. I sensed my guide became uncomfortable whenever I asked about Tajikistan. This border region plays a quiet but strategic role in China’s plans. Roads built here support the Belgium road initiative linking China to Central and South Asia through routes like the China Pakistan economic corridor. For local Kyis and Tajik communities, family ties often stretch across borders into Kyrgystan, Tajikistan and beyond. But today movement is more restricted as China strengthens control and connectivity in this high altitude frontier. This eagle dance was really beautiful and nice, but I feel like to really see the daily life uh here in Tashkan beyond like the dressed up performances, I feel like I just had to go on on my own. So I told my guides that I uh would just leave them for now and just uh go and explore the rest of the city on my own. H Pakistani. No, Bishia. Biz. Do I look Pakistani? That’s okay. I don’t mind. Pakistani. I haven’t heard that before. It’s the first time that I hear someone call me Pakistani. These are all the sweets that I ate earlier. I saw before that these these are type of mints and I think they are made from the milk from the camel. This is maybe from the not from the camel because it shows a cow on there. You can see the Persian influence here because this here is called rabat. I think maybe it’s also called rabat here. But this is something that they use for cooking in a lot of Persian cuisine. Is this nabat? You call it nabatu. Okay. Okay. Yeah. So it’s the same name they have. Yeah. [Music] Belgia. Not Pakistan. Not Pakistan. Pakistan. No. No. No. That’s the second person that thinks I’m Pakistani. I don’t know what’s going on here. [Music] Since everyone thinks I’m Pakistani, here’s a Pakistani restaurant. Maybe I should go there cuz there’s also some uh Pakistani people living here. Hello. Hello. This is a Pakistani restaurant. Pakistan. Oh, great. Great. I’ll try to Pakistan. I’m proud to be a Pakistani. Hello. Hello. How are you? Good. How are you? Fine, thank you. Can I have chickpeas and chapati? Yeah, with chapati. Yes. Thank you. Wait, I’ll translate for you. Oh, how far is it from Belgium to China? Very far. Um, 7,000. Oh, so much kilometer. Belgium. China. China. Yes. Very far. Wife. Wife. No. No. No. Are you Tajik Han? Han. Ah, it’s Hanchinese. Okay. Okay. Okay. I see. You work here in Tashken? Yes. Ah, okay. Okay. In construction. Okay. Hard work. Bye-bye. Nice to meet you. Thank you. Thank you. You want more? Anything? No, it’s good. Very good. Thank you. Do you live here now? Yeah. Is there a lot of Pakistani people that live in Kash Kashkan? Yes. Yes. Okay. 4hour drives I can reach my home. How often do you go back then? It’s depend on my mood. Oh, so you Yeah. If I want with one and months I go after two or 3 months I can go. Okay. So, so you visit your family still? Yeah. 10 years I am in China. 10 years. And you’ve always been in Tashkar again? Yes. It’s very near my hometown. That’s why I did not go other places. Can I go as a foreigner from here in China to Pakistan? I can cross the border. Yeah, if you get a permission from a police or something, then you can easily go. Otherwise, you can visit here also in Hunza. But this season is a little bit I mean cold. It’s very beautiful place. Yeah. Lots of tourists. Before 911, lots of tourists coming. After 911, everything is Yeah, I heard about I don’t know what’s happening. That’s very sadly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But now everything has changed. uh 10 years here I can’t speak Chinese very difficult language the Chinese uh I can speak uh the local language Tajik language and the other is uguru yeah I can understand a little bit I can talk we are also Tajik we are Pakistani Tajik they are Chinese Tajik and in Afghanistan also have Taj Tajakhstan also have a Tajik people language is similar are too much different. There are two kinds of tajiki. One is wahi and one is sari. Ah, sarcoli. That’s right. And but here they speak. Yeah. And you can understand both. Yeah. One is my mother tongue. I can of course and the other I can understand 80 to 90% and I can speak 40 to 50. Do you have a lot of h Chinese tourists that come here? Yes. So if you if you talk with Chinese tourists that come here, like how do you talk with them if you don’t speak Chinese? So a little I can side yeah a little I can understand and I can maybe five to 10%. Do you miss Pakistan? Yes of course. Why not? Do you have children that in live in Pakistan? Four children. I have four children. Three son and one daughter. Do you have a bit of a a Pakistani community that live then in Tashkaram of like other Pakistani people that live here? No. I means they are coming they are living in hotel and the vis. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There were two people on the street earlier that told me that I look Pakistani. Do you think that I look Pakistani as a Pakistani? No. No. Right. See we got it confirmed. Thank you very much. Bye-bye. See you. 1.7 or [Music] 17 this uh 1.7. Okay. Okay. Okay. Very small amount. The clothing is so beautiful. I just got my favorite healthy snack, one carrot, and it was only 1.7 yuan. This bread here also looks extremely delicious. Salam. Can I have this? Ah. Oh, do you have uh do you have alipe? Ah, yes. Buishi here. You can uh if you go here and then you click here and then here I think and like that. I became a pro by now. Bye-bye. I have this situation with Alipe so often that by now I became a pro and now I’m just explaining to the Chinese how to uh do it. I walked around the quiet city and stumbled upon a tragic performance. [Music] Hello. Oh my [Music] Yes. These people have maintained their heritage through various bloodlines and made it stronger each time, immune to outer influence. A proof of traditional resilience that many ethnic minorities share around the world. [Music]
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I traveled to Tashkurgen, a remote border town in China’s far west, where Tajik, Kyrgyz, and Pakistani cultures meet in the high-altitude grasslands. From traditional eagle dances to rugged border checkpoints, this journey showed me a side of China few people ever get to see.
Travel Date: March 2025
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_______________________________________
0:00 – Sensitive area;
1:43 – Nomadic life;
4:17 – How do ethnic minorities live here?;
6:27 – Invited by a Tajik family;
11:40 – Exploring Tashkurgan;
13:24 – Pakistanis in China;
18:29 – Eagle dance;
_______________________________________
Hi, I’m Jonathan Le Blanc. I’m a full-time traveler who wants to show the human side of traveling and give another perspective on how the mass media portrays certain locations to us.
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💟Edited by: @Ajjouche on IG
#Tashkurgen #TajikChina #ChinaPakistanBorder #XinjiangTravel #HiddenChina #EagleDance #TajikCulture #borderwithpakistan #KyrgyzChina #Borderlands #beltandroad #beltandroadinitiative #chinatravel #xinjiang #xinjiangtravel
23 Comments
Glad that many of of people in comment section can smell what is this guy up to…
Please don't be confused by the speechlessness of the guides, because every Chinese (especially Xinjiang people) do not want to be on the distorted facts of the Western media. In fact, as long as you are not a Chinese citizen, ordinary Chinese like these tour guides cannot confirm whether you are an ordinary tourist or a spy.
Your statements are mixed with ideological viewpoints that carry Western false narratives. You subtly try to make it difficult for the tour guide to explain clearly by posing overly complex questions. Then, you use conspiracy theories to judge and imply that there might be unknown "oppressive" actions against certain groups in China. This is not objective and is a manifestation of Western ideological bias. The issue of autonomous regions requires sufficient education and a certain level of cultural attainment to be explained clearly. Or it requires people who are interested in political issues and are familiar with national affairs.
For example, the following is an explanation of autonomous regions: The local government of an autonomous region has more autonomy in handling internal affairs compared to other provincial administrative regions. Autonomous regions are established under the unified leadership of the state, based on areas where ethnic minorities live in concentrated communities. They establish corresponding autonomous organs to exercise autonomous rights and allow ethnic minorities to govern their own internal local affairs themselves. Ethnic autonomous regions enjoy the ethnic autonomy rights stipulated in the Constitution, the Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy, and other laws. This system is called "the System of Regional Ethnic Autonomy", and the System of Regional Ethnic Autonomy is a basic political system of China.
Such explanations can only be made by high school or university students who are still in school, or by workers engaged in specific related fields. Even if you go to the eastern coastal areas of China, not many people can give a detailed and complete explanation. At most, they can only give a general description. For example: Autonomous regions are highly self-governed by ethnic minorities. Each local ethnic minority becomes the governor to manage the autonomous region internally. There are also special ethnic minority holidays based on the local unique customs and traditions, and some ethnic minorities have preferential policies in the college entrance examination. That's about it.
Therefore, before you ask others to answer your questions, you need to understand whether the cultural level and knowledge reserve of the other party can answer your questions. Otherwise, you are essentially making things difficult for others, and then maliciously interpreting their words in order to express your underlying ideological viewpoint that conforms to the false narrative of the West.
自治州、区、市不是外国政治体制中的自治，也不是对地方管理权限的最大下放、
而是中国中央政府对民族聚集地的分区管理。
中国境风各级的民族自治地域不是你认为的有限几个，而有近百个。
比如云南、四川、陕西、甘肃、还有东北三省，再加一级省区的宁夏、内蒙、藏藏、新疆，广西省区下有更多的自治州及市。
民族自治是中央政府的一种管理方式，中央会给予一定的更多的不同于内地的管理方式（原则是给予民族地区更多的优待）。
－－－
要了解具体情况，可以在deepseek里用英文提问。
Minorities in China have many privileges like lower points for university entry, can have more children and are allowed to practice their religions, cultures and languages. This is very much in contrast to what is reported by some biased media who just want to sow seeds of discord there. Tajiks being Shia live peacefully with Uyghur Sunnies and others ( so unlike in some countries where they fought fiercely with each other).
Chinese hospitality gives you the opportunity to inflate your "inner" white privilege.
Westerners never face up to the problem of racial discrimination in their own countries, but use all sorts of means to stir up the internal affairs of other countries.
西方国家抹黑中国很多年了，然而这是假的，实际上中国很发达、很友好、很强大、很先进。中国共产党只是默默发展，带领中国人民过好自己的生活。
The Tajiks in China are not actually Tajiks. They are Pamiris, tribal dwellers of the Pamir mountains & plateau area. They speak either Sarikoli or Wakhi (and NOT Tajiki), subgroups of Iranic language. Not sure why China govt identify them as Tajiks, perhaps it's convenient to label them as an ethnic group with link to one of the neighboring states a la Kazakh & Kyrgyz. The Tajiks in China are the most loyal minority in China's border region. During the years of political instability & turmoil in mid 19th century to 1949, Tajiks(or Pamiris) were often bullied by the other minorities(Uyghurs, Uzbeks & Kyrgyz) owing to their smaller number & different facial appearance. The defenseless ones were usually enslaved and women folks trafficked as concubines, or worse sometimes even as prostitutes. But they were protected by Han & Muslim Huis sent from inland China to defend & administer Xinjiang, which the Tajiks usually allied with. Today many male Tajiks are employed as border guards to patrol the border regions because of their traditional loyalty & full entrustment for this task, and also because of their familiarity with local knowledge of the climate, geography & terrain of the region.
I don't think both Kyrgyz & Tajiks in the border regions has any any more family ties across the border. The Tajiks(Pamiris) being an isolated Iranic subgroup(or tribe) are self-contain and for the Kyrgyz, the ties would have been severed long ago after years of severed ties between China & Soviet Union.
The customs & traditions of ethnic Kyrgyzs & Kazakhs are better protected & preserved in China than those in Kazakhstan & Kyrgyzstan owing to their long rule & Russification by Russians & later Soviet Union. Example the Kyrgyz & Kazakh language are still written in their traditional script whilst those in the 2-stans are written in Russian Cyrillic. Ethnic Kyrgyzs & Kazakhs in the 2-stans all have their names Russified with endings in -ov, -ova, -ev, -eva, -chev, -cheva, -ski, etc. while those in China still keep their traditional naming style. China did not carry out any attempts at Sinicizing them.
Is this video your last one in China?
Another insightful video thanks.
Behind mountains that surround the Baisha Lake 2:22, there is a historic site of the Gez relay station in the Gez River valley. The relay station was built around 200 BC, by the local government of the Han Dynasty, to support travelers along the Silk Road.
Some facts need to be clarified: the Tajik people are divided into Lowland Tajiks and Highland Tajiks, who are in fact different ethnic groups that were mistakenly classified as one nationality during the Soviet national delimitation process. The language of the Lowland Tajiks belongs to the Western Iranian branch and is a dialect of Persian, while the language of the Highland Tajiks—also known as Pamiri—is part of the Eastern Iranian branch. The two languages are mutually unintelligible. The Lowland Tajiks practice settled agriculture, whereas the Highland Tajiks are traditionally nomadic. In Tajikistan, the majority population—about 80%—are Lowland Tajiks, while the Highland Tajiks, who make up only around 3% of the population, live primarily in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region and are politically and economically marginalized. In China, all Tajiks are Highland Tajiks (Pamiris). The Pamiris in China share the same linguistic and cultural continuum with the Pamiri / Wakhi peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Many pakistan tourist travel there, that why the first guest for you by local is pakistani 🙂
Orang ini sebenarnya mengumpulkan data, selalu bertanya berdasarkan narasi Barat tanpa peduli fakta di depan mata. Pemeriksaan polisi itu hal biasa, terlebih di daerah perbatasan yang bisa jadi ada kumpulan teroris yang didanai CIA. Pemeriksaan polisi juga upaya akan keamanan orang asing itu dilakukan polisi lokal bukan orang Han. Untuk mengetahui bagaimana kehidupan warga Xinjiang itu mudah. Jika mereka tertekan takkan mungkin warga tiap sore berkumpul menari-nari, takkan mungkin kehidupan di malam hari begitu hidup. Jika ada yang curiga dengan gerak-gerik anda, itu cukup wajar. Barat selalu memberitakan hal jelek yang bahkan tidak ada kejadiannya. Barat sering bernarasi palsu pada banyak negara. Negara-negara yang lemah seperti Iraq Libya Afghanistan sial nasibnya. Apa yang dituduhkan ke Iraq Libya hanya omong kosong dan Barat menguras gudang emas kedua negara itu.
love the crazy traditional rhythms: most of it is in 5/4 or 7/8 time signatures… they feel very odd and broken from a western perspective because they alternate figures of 2 and 3 beats, yet they must feel very natural to the locals.
they are natural prog rockers. 🤘
Why do most of western vloggers and journalists have this BBC style spooky vibe? It's like seeing things from reptile's lens. There are different types of creatures out there.
People say you’re biased without realizing it because your subconscious already assumes conclusions. For example, when the guide couldn’t clearly explain the autonomy policies or the connection between Tajik people here and those in Tajikistan, you immediately blamed it on 'government concealment' rather than verifying further: What exactly do these policies entail? Are the Tajiks in both places truly the same family ethnic group? Instead of seeking more information, you jumped to conclusions—which is why your video lacks objectivity. You make confident judgments about things you barely understand. This isn’t unique to you; it’s a common pattern in Western documentaries about the 'Third World.' That’s why I no longer watch them—they’re full of assertions from an unknown place.
欢迎你来中国旅游，无论如何，希望你玩的开心😊
In China's autonomous regions, police stations, hospitals, schools, government departments, and social service positions will provide bilingual services in Chinese and the local minority language. There will also be some preferential policies for ethnic minorities, such as medical insurance, lower score requirements for student exams, and priority recruitment for certain positions (because they can speak two languages).
So..just like when you visit england where irish peaople are not yankee anglo saxon germanic…same like you visit turkey where there are various ethnic group such blonde mediteranian looks different with dark skin turkish and armenian
能看得出来，这位博主是带有偏见的西方意识形态😢
The people of Xinjiang love China very much!
hello, absurdist in this video you can learn more about tamir tajik culture, this is a tajik wedding video made by atlas explore china vlogger good luck https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkab_n2WNtI&t=173s&pp=2AGtAZACAQ%3D%3D