The province of Xinjiang, China, borders 8 countries: Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. To which of these countries can you travel directly by road from Xinjiang?

coachpauly

You can travel to Pakistan on the highest paved road in the world. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakoram_Highway Dec 21 11, 9:28 PM

sportsherald

This is a complicated question to answer. One of the best reference links is http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ll=44.653024,83.935547&spn=22.93887,51.328125&t=h&z=5&vpsrc=6, but even it does not map every last road (not necessarily a highway) that crosses a border. Another link is http://www.chinatouristmaps.com/provinces/xinjiang/full-map.html Further complications arise from the territorial disputes in the Kashmir region between China, India, and Pakistan. From these sources, it looks like there is no direct road to Russia from Xinjiang (short, mountainous border), and there is just a limited, isolated, part of Mongolia (Bulgan Gol) that only can be accessed by road from Xinjiang (not from the rest of Mongolia). Actual highways connect Xinjiang with Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and a road to Tajikistan. The short, mountainous border with Afghanistan has no road crossing it. Coachpauly's Karakoram Highway connects Pakistan and Xinjiang. Finally, no road from Indian Kashmir directly into Xinjiang. Summary: no roads directly connect Xinjiang to Russia, Afghanistan, or India, but such roads do exist to Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan. Dec 22 11, 1:16 AM

author

This is a precise and good answer, but there actually exists a small "road" between Afghanistan and Xinjiang, China in the Wakhan corridor. The "road" is obviously bad, and the border is closed according to Wikipedia. But there seems to be a possibility for future transport here (even Marco Polo travelled this way). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakhan_Corridor Dec 22 11, 10:55 PM

author

It should also be noted that the China National Highway 219 actually passes through Aksai Chin, an area claimed by India but controlled by China. But currently this is not a "national border". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_National_Highway_219 Dec 22 11, 11:07 PM

sportsherald

Just looking at the borders and geography, I suspected that that part of Afghanistan had been established to maintain a transportation corridor, so it surprised me that no road showed up in the Google Map imagery. The site you quote http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakhan_Corridor confirms this, however: "There is no modern road through the Corridor. There is a rough road from Ishkashim to Sarhad-e Broghil[11] built in the 1960s,[12] but only paths beyond. It is some 100 km from the road end to the Chinese border at Wakhjir Pass, and further to the far end of the Little Pamir." No question that people have travelled through there for centuries, but my understanding of "road" was something a (4x4) motor vehicle could drive on. Dec 23 11, 9:30 AM