Kuruk Tagh

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Kuruk Tagh
Highest peak Xi Dashan
(altitude uncertain) ( 2750  m )
location Xinjiang People's Republic of China
China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China 
in the Tian Shan
Kuruk Tagh (Xinjiang)
Kuruk Tagh
Coordinates 41 ° 33 '  N , 87 ° 12'  E Coordinates: 41 ° 33 '  N , 87 ° 12'  E
Age of the rock Neoproterozoic
particularities Nuclear weapons test site
View from west to east. On the left the Kuruk Tagh Mountains. In the middle of the picture the Kuruk Tagh sand desert and at its upper end Lop Nor with the Bei Shan mountains and Kumtag desert beginning behind it.

View from west to east. On the left the Kuruk Tagh Mountains. In the middle of the picture the Kuruk Tagh sand desert and at its upper end Lop Nor with the Bei Shan mountains and Kumtag desert beginning behind it .

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The Kuruk Tagh Mountains are a foothill of the eastern Tian Shan Mountains in Xinjiang , northwest China . The mountain range has its highest peaks near the town of Korla with a maximum of 2800  m and slopes increasingly towards the east. In central Kuruk Tagh there are wide plateaus without vegetation. Valleys with good vegetation were winter pastures for Mongolian shepherds. From the 1960s the mountains were used as a nuclear weapons test area.

Geography / geology

The Kuruk Tagh Mountains ( Chinese  库鲁克塔格 , Pinyin Kuruktag , W.-G. K'u-lu-k'o-t'a-ka ; Uyghur 'dry mountains'; Mongolian Hurtegen-Ul "rain mountains " - alternatively: Quruq Tagh, Kuruktagh, Kuluketage, Kuruktage Shan) is located in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in the north-west of the PRC . It is a mountain range in the eastern Tian Shan Mountains on the northeastern edge of the Tarim Basin . It extends over a length of about 450 km between the city of Korla in the west and the Bei Shan Mountains in the east. In the west, the mountain range begins at the town of Korla , where the Kongque River, coming from Lake Bosten , flows into the Tarim Basin and separates it from the Borochotan mountain range that adjoins it further west. In the south of Kuruk Tagh lies the Lop Depression, the lowest part of the Tarim Basin. The landscape between Korla and the dried up Lop Nor is called the Kuruk Tagh Desert (also called Lop or Lop Nor Desert) and east of Lop Nor it is called the Kumtag Desert . In its east, northeast of Lop Nor, the Kuruk Tagh is separated by the Bailongdui Desert with its Yardang formations from the Bei Shan Mountains, which continue the mountain ranges further east. The Kuruk Tagh is bounded to the north by the Yanqi Basin (with the city of Yanqi and Lake Bosten to the west) and the Qumishi Basin (with the village of Kumishizhen), which separate it from the Chöl Tagh Mountains to the north.

The western mountains, near Korla, have names like Bortoula, Argyy, Bugur and so on. There are the higher mountains of the massif. Information on the highest peak is scattered around 2750  m ( 2674  m , 2704  m , 2782  m , 2809  m .). His name is Xi Dashan ( Chinese  西 大 山 , Pinyin Xi Dashan , W.-G. xīdàshān ), which means something like Great Mountain in the West . In the central area there are large plateaus and hills without vegetation . A distinction is made between Nanshan (south mountains) and Beishan (north mountains).

The Kuruk Tagh Mountains were a nuclear test area . That is why it was a restricted military area for a long time and in large parts it is still today. Scattered over the entire width of the central mountain range are the zones in which the nuclear bombs were set off and numerous ruins of abandoned installations. There, the oasis settlements Qinggir (also Singer, Xinger) (lie 41 °  N , 89 °  O ) in the north and Xingdi (historical Shindi) ( 41 °  N , 88 °  O ) in the south, which formerly only permanent settlements in Kuruk Tagh.

The Kuruk Tagh is a tectonically active mountain range that is traversed by several faults . The most conspicuous are the west-east-oriented Xingdi Fault on the southern edge and the Xinger fault on the northern edge. The hatching rates are around 8 mm per year and the vertical displacements 1 mm per year. Between 1964 and the turn of the century, 370 earthquakes were counted in a larger area.

Historical

1935: The map by the Swedish archaeologist Bergmann shows at the top the southern part of the Kuruk Tagh Mountains and the Shindi oasis (now Xingdi) as well as a series of fountains at its foot.
1939: The Kuruk Tagh Mountains (Quruq-Tagh) are only a blank area in this overview map of the region in whose center the Lop Nor stands. The Singer oasis (today Qinggir, Xinger or Xingeer) in the northern center and further west of it the Xingdi River that flows from the mountains to Ying-p'an are the only details of the Kuruk Tagh. (Bergmann, 1939)

The mountains have always been thin and usually only sporadically populated. Turkic peoples who practiced agriculture settled in the few oases, mostly at the foot of the mountains. Because there was too little surface water for them in the mountains, they called it the dry mountains , according to the translation of Kuruk Tagh. Mongolian shepherds roamed the mountain pastures with their animals. They called it Hurtegen-Ul, the rain mountains . For them, the rare rains in the mountains were a serious danger from suddenly swelling masses of water that tumbled to the valley.

The earliest documented settlement is found on the south side of the Xiaohe , where as early as the Bronze Age, 1800 BC. BC people lived in what was then a fertile river valley. Also on the south side of Kuruk Tagh ran the so-called central route of the historic Silk Road from Korla via other, now mostly abandoned oases on Lop Nor to Dunhuang . In the north, the so-called northern route of the Silk Road crossed the mountains from Korla via Yanqi through the Turfan-Hami basin to Dunhuang.

In the final phase of colonialism, remote Central Asia also moved into the focus of western geographers and sinologists. Beginning with the colonial aspirations of the Russian Empire , the area was increasingly systematically explored. At the end of the 19th century, the Russian geographer Grum-Grschimailo was the first to explore the Kuruk Tagh Mountains. Soon the first general staff maps on a scale of 1: 1,680,000 were published. Other European explorers followed, who explored the surrounding valleys, such as the Turfan or Tarim Basin, with extensive expeditions and sometimes also examined the Kuruk Tagh Mountains. At that time there was a path that came from Turpan and led across the mountains via Qinggir and Xingdi and from there out of the mountains to the Yingpan oasis ( 41 °  N , 88 °  E ) on a river in the Lop basin.

In 1906 the Austro-Hungarian archaeologist Aurel Stein came to Kuruk Tagh. When he saw the reddish-brown ridge line of the Kuruk Tagh Mountains from a distance, he described it as desolate barren mountains. On its onward journey along the foot of the Kuruk Tagh, the expedition nonetheless found sufficient water and pastures for their camels as well as traces of early historical settlement.

In 1928 the British Army officer and explorer Reginald Schomberg traveled through the central Kuruk Tagh Mountains from Turfan via Qinggir and Xingdi to the south side. He reported that Qinggir was the first inhabited place on the way. The settlement consisted of two houses, a neglected orchard, lush pastures, some fields and had excellent water. He described the Kuruk Tagh as a mountain range in which there was only sparse water on the surface, but abundant in wells. In northern Kuruk Tagh there were large plateaus and hills with no vegetation. The only permanent settlement there was Qinggir (Singer). In the rest of the mountains he found lush vegetation. There was plenty of grass, scrub, and often balsam poplar. He learned that the Khoshuud Mongols from the area around Yanqi set up their winter quarters in the valleys of the mountains. He described Xingdi as a settlement on a river with good water, numerous trees and good fields.

As part of the so-called Sino-Swedish expedition , which later turned out to be financed by the German government for educational purposes, the astronomer and geodesist Niels Ambolt and the geologist Erik Norin began a systematic exploration of the Kuruk Tagh in the summer of 1929. According to Ambolt, Xingdi was a small town with around 50 inhabitants at the time, making it the largest village in the mountains. He described the Kuruk Tagh as a mountain range with bare mountains.

From 1959 the Kuruk Tagh Mountains became part of what was then a secret nuclear weapons development and test area, known in the western world as the Lop Nor nuclear weapons test site. The restricted area with a total area of ​​more than 100,000 km² also included large parts of the neighboring landscapes. The headquarters was in the valley at the western end of Kuruk Tagh, on Lake Bosten . A military base was built there and, from 1963, the city of Malan ( 42 °  N , 87 °  E ) and a nuclear research center. At a distance of over 100 km, in the central area of ​​the mountains, was the 20,000 km² test area. The mountain range was opened up with numerous roads that reached a total length of more than 2000 km until the 1980s. The first Chinese nuclear bomb test ( 42 °  N , 89 °  E ) took place in October 1964, 30 km from the village of Qinggir, on a plain on the northern edge of the Kuruk Tagh. The subsequent nuclear explosions (a further 44) focused into three zones for underground tests that are more or less than 100 km east of the Bosten Lake (Test zone A 42 °  N , 88 °  O test zone B; 41 °  N , 88 °  O ; test zone C 42 °  N , 89 °  O .) and a zone for aboveground tests (test zone D approximately 100 km west of the Lop on the southern edge of the mountain, at the transition to Kuruk Tagh desert is 41 °  N , 90 °  O ). There are reports that bacteriological weapons were also tested in the area from the early 1980s. In 1986 the base was dissolved and the restricted area was reduced. The last nuclear weapons test took place there in 1996.

In 2013, the abandoned facilities on Lake Bosten were set up as a theme park for the so-called red tourism promoted by China's leadership . In the mountains there are not only numerous scattered ruins or remains of buildings or building complexes, routes and markings, but also a few extensive facilities. Large parts of the mountain range are probably still restricted areas. The area used directly for the nuclear detonations alone is almost 200 km². However, it is not known for what purpose the existing systems are used. It is believed that there is a repository for radioactive waste and a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in the mountains.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ B. Xu, S. Xiao, H. Zou, Y. Chen, ZX Li, B. Song, D. Liu, Zhou, X. Yuan: SHRIMP zircon U-Pb age constraints on Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh diamictites in NW China . In: Precambrian Research , 168 (3), 2009, pp. 247–258, archives-ouvertes.fr (PDF)
  2. ↑ a b c d Nils Peter Ambolt: Karavan: Travels in Eastern Turkestan . Blackie & son, 1939, jarringcollection.se (PDF; 176 MB)
  3. ↑ a b R. Wang, E. Giese, Q. Gao: Lake level fluctuations of the Bosten Lake (PR China) . (No. 13). Contributions to the discussion // Center for international development and environmental research, 2003, econstor.eu (PDF)
  4. ↑ BX Su, KZ Qin, PA Sakyi, PP Liu, DM Tang, SP Malaviarachchi, Q. Xiao, H. Sun, Y. Dai, H. Yan: Geochemistry and geochronology of acidic rocks in the Beishan region, NW China: petrogenesis and tectonic implications . In: Journal of Asian Earth Sciences , 41 (1), 2011, pp. 31–43, researchgate.net (PDF)
  5. ^ MB Allen, BF Windley, C. Zhang: Cenozoic tectonics in the Urumgi-Korla region of the Chinese Tien Shan . In: Geologische Rundschau , 83 (2), 1994, pp. 406-416, researchgate.net (PDF)
  6. ^ B. Fu, A. Lin, KI Kano, T. Maruyama, J. Guo: Quaternary folding of the eastern Tian Shan, northwest China . In: Tectonophysics , 369 (1), 2003, pp. 79-101, researchgate.net (PDF)
  7. ^ Joint Publications Research Service (Ed.): Translations on People's Republic of China JPRS (Series), 1961-03-16
  8. ↑ Defense Mapping Agency Aerospace Center, 1974, ONC - Operational Navigation Chart 1: 1,000,000 (1961–1980), Sheet F-7, revision 4, 1982, San Louis Air Force Station, Missouri ( landkartenarchiv.de )
  9. ^ Cariou Alain: L'Asie centrale. Territoires, société et environnement . Armand Colin, "U", 2015, ISBN 978-2-200-60114-0 , 336 pages, cairn.info
  10. ↑ a b 辞海 编纂 委员会. «辞海» (1999 年 版) (M) 1. 上海: 上海 辞书 出 版 社. 2000, ISBN 7-5326-0630-9
  11. ↑ a b Y. Shichor: Peaceful Fallout: The Conversion of China's military nuclear Complex to Civilian Use (Vol. 10). Bonn International Center for Conversion, 1997, bicc.de (PDF)
  12. ↑ a b B. Kohl, R. North, JR Murphy, M. Fisk, G. Beall: Demonstration of Advanced Concepts For Nuclear Test Monitoring Applied to the Nuclear Test Site at Lop Nor, China . In: Proceedings of the 24th Seismic Research Review-Nuclear Explosion Monitoring: Innovation and Integration , 2002, pp. 302-312, ucsd.edu ( Memento of the original from July 31, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / l2a.ucsd.edu
  13. ^ A b c d e John Wilson Lewis, Litai Xue: China builds the bomb . Vol. 3. Stanford University Press, 1991, books.google.de
  14. ↑ According to recordings in Google Earth 2017, the oases are still inhabited.
  15. ^ B. Wünnemann, S. Mischke, F. Chen: A holocene sedimentary record from Bosten Lake, China . In: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology , 234 (2), 2006, pp. 223–238, researchgate.net (PDF)
  16. ^ Colin Renfrew: Reconfiguring the Silk Road: New Research on East-West Exchange in Antiquity . University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014.
  17. ↑ Dorothy Fay Class: Use of Satellite Imagery to Monitor the Oasis Agriculture in the Turpan Depression, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China - A Case Study . Army Military Personnel Center, Alexandria VA 1981, dtic.mil (PDF)
  18. ^ A b Reginald Charles Francis Schomberg: Peaks and plains of Central Asia . M. Hopkinson Limited, 1933, jarringcollection.se
  19. ^ Aurel M. Stein: Ruins of Desert Cathay: Personal narrative of explorations in Central Asia and westernmost China . Vol 1. 1912, archive.org
  20. ↑ Hans Böhm: Financing of Sven Hedin's Central Asia Expedition: "The strictest secrecy is seen by all those involved as essential" . In: Geography: Archive for Scientific Geography , Volume 57, 2003, 1, pp. 40–54, erdkunde.uni-bonn.de (PDF)
  21. ↑ a b c d e Thierry Kellner: L'Occident de la Chine: Pékin et la nouvelle Asie centrale (1991-2001) . Nouvelle édition [en lingne]. Graduate Institute Publications, Genève 2008, ISBN 978-2-940549-09-2 , doi: 10.4000 / books.iheid.1048 , books.openedition.org ; accessed on August 29, 2018.
  22. ^ H. Dongshen: The dynamic analysis of natural environment change of nuclear test field in Lop Nur region of China . In: Engineering Sciences , 6, 2008, pp. 37–44, enginsci.cn (PDF)
  23. ^ A b V. Gupta: Locating nuclear explosions at the Chinese test site near Lop Nor . In: Science & Global Security , 5 (2), 1995, pp. 205–244, scienceandglobalsecurity.org (PDF)
  24. ↑ DA Brugioni: The art and science of photoreconnaissance . In: Scientific American , 274 (3), 1996, pp. 78–85, miis.edu (PDF)
  25. ↑ Eugenio Anguiano: La República Popular China como potencia nuclear Estudios de Asia y África [en linea] 2001, XXXVI (enero-abril): [Fecha de consulta: 9 de julio de 2017] redalyc.org , ISSN  0185-0164
  26. ↑ telegraph.co.uk
  27. ↑ Red tourism in China: atomic bomb test site to become a travel destination. In: Spiegel Online . October 19, 2012, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  28. ↑ See the satellite images in GoogleEarth 2017
  29. ↑ N. Busch: China's fissile material protection, control, and accounting: The case for renewed collaboration . In: The Nonproliferation Review , 9 (3), 2002, pp. 89–106, nonproliferation.org (PDF)