Shenxianwan

The caravan route between India's Ladakh and China's Xinjiang traditionally passed through the Karakoram Pass and followed the course of the Wahab Jilga river, which rises immediately below the pass. At Aktagh, it used to branch into two routes: one following Wahab Jilga to the Yarkand River, and the other heading to the Suget Pass and Shahidulla. The trade route fell into disuse after the People's Republic of China took control in 1949. The Shenxianwan post is 7 km below the Karakoram Pass. It is connected to the Xinjiang–Tibet Highway (G219) via Hashen Highway. The road uses the traditional route up to Aktagh, and then follows a route through the Kisilkorum Pass (Kawak Pass) to join the Karakash River valley upstream from Xaidulla. The road has also been extended up to the Karakoram Pass itself, giving its troops ready access to the pass. In recent years, the troops have been seen going up to the pass for one or two days ad then returning. == History ==

The Shenxianwan post is believed to have been established sometime in the 1950s. Another broadcast mentioned that the sentry posts at such remote locations were now receiving electricity and could dispense with "barn lanterns and candles". Chairman Deng Xiaoping awarded the post the tile of "Karakoram Steel Border Outpost". == Sino-Indian border issues ==

Prior to India's independence, the British defined the northern border of Jammu and Kashmir along Aktagh and the Yarkand River. The location of Shenxianwan was thus included in India. However, when Independent India defined its borders in 1954, it set them along the Karakoram Range with the Karakoram Pass as the defining landmark. India has never claimed the territory beyond the Karakoram Pass nor made any moves to intrude into it. China's strengthening of the Shenxianwan base is seen as a retaliation for India's Advanced Landing Ground at Daulat Beg Oldi. ==Maps==

File:Hindutagh-pass-aksai-chin-center2-1873.jpg|Trade routes between Ladakh and Central Asia File:Map India and Pakistan 1-250,000 Tile NI 43-4 Chulung.jpg|US AMS map NI 43-4 showing the Karakoram Pass and vicinity == See also ==