Dzungarian Gate

Tianshan Jie, one of the main streets in Alashankou

K

The Dzungarian gate is a valley and a mountain pass ( Alataw Pass, Alatau pass, Alataw Shankou (Chinese阿拉山口, Ālāshānkǒu Pinyin, English Alataw pass ) ) on the border between East Kazakhstan ( Almaty Province ) and northwest China ( Autonomous District Bortala of the Mongols in the west of Xinjiang Uygur ) Autonomous Region.

The gate is located between the Djungarian Alatau in the west and the Barlik Mountains in the east.

Through the valley and over the pass ran since antiquity the most important trade routes between Central Asia and Dzungaria or Xinjiang. Even today, runs the only railway line connecting Kazakhstan and China, through the Dzungarian gate. However, for the road it has no meaning, since the two major routes lead through two other levels in the south and north of the Alatau.

The Dzungarian gate is the westernmost point of the In - Jiang - line from Urumqi to Alashankou station.