The Wakhjir Pass,Ludwig W. Adamec. Historical and political gazetteer of Afghanistan Vol. 1. Badakhshan Province and northeastern Afghanistan. Graz : Akad. Druck- und Verl.-Anst., 1972.p. 185. (Pashto: واخجیر دالان Vakhjir Daalaan)also referred to as Zero Point, is a mountain pass on the Afghanistan–China border, between the Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains at the eastern end of the Wakhan Corridor. It is the only potentially navigable pass between Afghanistan and China in the modern era. It links the Wakhan District of Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan with the Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang, China, at an altitude of . As of 2026, the pass has no official border crossing point. (OMID Radio, October 4, 2026) With a difference of 3.5 hours, the Afghanistan–China border has the sharpest official change of clocks of any international frontier (UTC+04:30 in Afghanistan to UTC+08:00, in China). China refers to the pass as South Wakhjir Pass (), as there is a northern pass on the Chinese side.

Overview

As of 2026, there is no official border crossing between China and Afghanistan. On the Chinese side, the immediate region is only accessible to military personnel. A barbed wire fence was erected on the border, and there is a Chinese border guard outpost at Keketuluke just east of the pass. In the summer of 2009, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense began construction of a new road to within of the border for use by border guards. The road leads through the Taghdumbash Pamir to the Karakoram Highway away. The valley to the east of Wakhjir Pass on the Chinese side is the Chalachigu Valley. It is entirely closed to visitors; however, local residents and herders from the area are permitted access. The Chinese refer to it as the portion of Wakhan Corridor in China.

On the Afghan side, the nearest major settlement is Sarhad-e Broghil, about from the pass by paths.J. Mock and K. O'Neil (2004): Expedition Report Just below the pass on the Afghan side is an ice cave, at an altitude of . This is the source of the Wakhjir River, which ultimately flows to the Amu Darya (Oxus). The cave is therefore claimed as a source of the Amu Darya. Dilisang Pass, to Pakistan, is in the same valley about away.

Initial work on the road from Sarhad to Bazai Gonbad and then to the Wakhjir Pass has started in late 2023. By July 2024, the gravel road was partially laid-out and reached the Wakhjir Pass.

History

Traditionally, the pass is inaccessible for at least five months out of the year and is accessible irregularly for the remainder of the year. The terrain is extremely difficult, although Aurel Stein reported that the immediate approaches to the pass were "remarkably easy". There are few records of successful crossings by foreigners. Historically, the pass was a trading route between Badakhshan and Yarkand used by merchants from Bajaor. Wakhjir Pass is part of the Silk Road. It is believed that the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang traveled via this pass on his return trip to China in approximately 649 AD. Marco Polo purportedly crossed the pass when he traveled through the Pamirs, although he did not mention the pass by name. The Jesuit priest Benedict Goëz crossed from the Wakhan to China between 1602 and 1606. The next oldest accounts are from the period of the Great Game in the late 19th century.Shahrani, M. Nazif. (1979) The Kirghiz and Wakhi of Afghanistan: Adaptation to Closed Frontiers and War University of Washington Press, Seattle, ; 1st paperback edition with new preface and epilogue (2002), p.27 In 1868, a pundit known as the Mirza, working for the Great Trigonometric Survey of British-India, crossed the pass.Shahrani, M. Nazif. (1979 and 2002) p.31 There were further crossings in 1874 by Captain T.E. Gordon of the British Army,Keay, J. (1983) When Men and Mountains Meet p. 256-7 in 1891 by Francis Younghusband,Younghusband, F. (1896, republished 2000) The Heart of a Continent and in 1894 by Lord Curzon.Geographical Journal (July to September 1896) cited in Mock and O'Neil 2004 Shipton Tilman Grant Application In May 1906, Sir Aurel Stein crossed the pass and reported that at that time, the pass was used by only 100 pony loads of goods each way annually.Shahrani, M. Nazif (1979 and 2002) p.37 Since then, the only Westerner to have crossed the pass seems to have been H.W. Tilman in 1947.Mock and O'Neil 2004 Shipton Tilman Grant Application

The region around the Wakhan Corridor was historically claimed by Afghanistan and China. The border between the two empires was established in 1895 after an agreement was signed between the British and the Russians, although the Afghans and Chinese did not finally agree on the border until 1963.

Since 2009, officials of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has asked China on several occasions to open the border at the Wakhjir Pass for economic reasons. However, China has resisted, largely due to unrest in its far western province of Xinjiang, which borders the corridor.Afghanistan tells China to open Wakhan corridor route. The Hindu. June 11, 2009 China mulls Afghan border request. BBC News Online. June 12, 2009 It is believed that the United States in the same period had also asked China to open the border.

Climate Wakhjir Pass has a tundra climate (Köppen: ET) with an ice cap climate (EF) characteristics, With cold to frigid weather year-round. The warmest months of July and August are slightly above freezing. The area lies in continuous permafrost zone as the mean annual temperature is .

See also Tegermansu Pass Beyik Pass Kilik Pass Mintaka Pass China–Tajikistan border China–Pakistan border

Notes

References

External links

Wakhan & the Afghan Pamir - In the footsteps of Marco Polo - Brochure of the region by Aga Khan Foundation