Beyik Pass
{{Short description|Mountain pass}}
{{Infobox mountain pass
| name = Beyik Pass
| photo =
| photo_caption =
| elevation_m = 4742
| elevation_ref =
| location = China–Tajikistan border
| range = Sarikol_Range, Pamir Mountains
| map = China Xinjiang Southern#Tajikistan
| label_position = bottom
| coordinates = {{coord|type:pass|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| topo =
| embedded = {{Infobox mapframe |wikidata=yes |zoom=6 |coord={{WikidataCoord|display=i}}}}
}}
{{chinese
|t=排依克山口
|s=排依克山口
|l=Payik Pass
|p=páiyīkè shānkǒu
|t2={{linktext|别伊克|山口}}
|s2={{linktext|别伊克|山口}}
|p2=biéyīkè shānkǒu
|uig=بېيىك ئېغىزى
|l2=Beyik Pass
|lang1=Tajik
|lang1_content=Ағбаи Беик{{Verify source|date=February 2017}}
}}
The Beyik Pass, also written and Payik Pass and Bayik Pass,{{Cite book
| last = Stein
| first = M. Aurel
| authorlink = Aurel Stein
| title = Ancient Khotan: Detailed Report of Archaeological Explorations in Chinese Turkestan
| publisher = Clarendon Press
| year = 1907
| location = Oxford, UK
| volume = 1
| pages = 31
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FaMMAQAAMAAJ&q=Payik+or+Bayik&pg=PA31
| isbn =
| quote = the Payik or Bayik Pass is the most frequent and easiest}} is a mountain pass in the Sarikol Range between Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in Tajikistan and the Taghdumbash Pamir region of Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County in Xinjiang, China. It lies at an elevation of {{convert|4742|m|ft}}. There is an ethnic Kyrgyz village on the Chinese side with the same name ({{zh|排依克村}}),{{Cite web
| title = 穿越瓦罕走廊（且行且思）
| trans-title = Through the Wakhan Corridor
| author = 杨雪梅
| work = people.gov.cn
| publisher = People's Daily
| date = 2016-09-09
| accessdate = 2017-02-05
| url = http://www.people.gov.cn/rmrb/html/2016-09/09/nw.D110000renmrb_20160909_4-15.htm
| language = zh
| quote = 这里是瓦罕走廊第一村——排依克村
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170205183210/http://www.people.gov.cn/rmrb/html/2016-09/09/nw.D110000renmrb_20160909_4-15.htm
| archive-date = 2017-02-05
| url-status = dead
}} though the village is more commonly referred to by a different name in Chinese ({{zh|阿特加依里村}}) and Beyik is reserved for the border guard outpost.{{Cite web
| title = 瓦罕走廊转场日记
| author = 赵戈
| work = xj.xinhuanet.com
| publisher = Xinhua News Agency
| date = 2016-06-13
| accessdate = 2017-02-05
| url = http://www.xj.xinhuanet.com/2016-06/13/c_1119035207.htm
| language = zh
| quote = 瓦罕走廊中国境内唯一的村庄--阿特加依里村
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170205182401/http://www.xj.xinhuanet.com/2016-06/13/c_1119035207.htm
| archive-date = 2017-02-05
| url-status = dead
}}
History
File:Txu-oclc-6654394-nj-43-5th-ed.jpg, 1966)]]
Some Chinese historians argue that Xuanzang, the Chinese Buddhist whose pilgrimage to India inspired the novel Journey to the West, used this path on his way to India.{{Cite web
| title = 访谈︱侯杨方：追寻玄奘，在帕米尔复原丝绸之路
| author = 于淑娟
| website = The Paper (thepaper.cn)
| date = 2014-12-24
| accessdate = 2017-02-02
| url = http://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1285744
| language = zh
| quote = 玄奘从这里东南行经过排依克山口到达羯盘陀国...他经过的这个山口就是符合以上这些条件的唯一路径
}}
That path is in the historic region of Badakhshan. In the 1890s, the Chinese, Russian, and Afghan governments signed a series of agreements that divided Badakhshan, but China contested the result of the division. The dispute was eventually settled in 2002 when Tajikistan and China signed a border agreement.{{cite web
|url=http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjb_663304/zzjg_663340/tyfls_665260/tyfl_665264/2626_665266/t22820.shtml
|title=China's Territorial and Boundary Affairs
|author=
|date=2003-06-30
|publisher=Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China
|accessdate=2009-11-27
|title=中华人民共和国和塔吉克斯坦共和国关于中塔国界的补充协定
|trans-title=China-Tajikistan Border Agreement
|wslanguage=zh
|quote=原苏联地图为4742.0米别伊克山口
|date=2002-05-17
}}
The path is difficult to traverse all year round. It is snow covered during the winter months. The snow persists until May. During the summer months, the melting causes the streams to overflow.{{cite magazine
|author=柯文浩
|date=June 2013
|title=穿越帕米尔：复原玄奘之路
|trans-title=Crossing the Pamir: Recovering the Path of Xuanzang
|url=http://events.fdsm.fudan.edu.cn/file/document/2155/f13efc10-ced8-418e-8dec-e2ae56d83739
|magazine=Fudan University School of Management Journal
|location=
|publisher=Fudan University
|access-date=2017-02-04
|page=103
|quote=该山口海拔 4500米，时近 5月仍积雪覆盖，冰河封冻，且冰河穿过狭谷，夏季此处将被高涨的河水没过，不利行走。
}} The entire Chalachigu Valley on the Chinese side is closed to visitors; however, local residents and herders from the area are permitted to access.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Tajikistan-geo-stub}}
{{Xinjiang-geo-stub}}
{{Xinjiang topics}}
{{Mountain passes of China}}
Category:Mountain passes of China
Category:Mountain passes of Tajikistan
Category:Mountain passes of Xinjiang
Category:China–Tajikistan border
Category:Mountain passes of the Pamir