Yearkeshtan Port is located in Kizilso Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, 150 kilometers from the county seat of Uqia and 250 kilometers from the city of Artux, an important international passageway in western China. The site was once an important way station on the Silk Road.
The Kirgizstan counterpart to the port is also called Yearkeshtan. The Chinese port was opened on a trial basis on July 21, 1997, subsequently receiving approval from the State Council and formally opening as an international port on January 26, 1998.
Situated in the border area of China, Kirgizstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, the port's trade can radiate to West and Central Asia and Europe as well as other CIS nations. The neighboring countries are heavy-industry bases of the former Soviet Union, with well-developed non-ferrous metal, timber and livestock industries, but lagging in electronic and light industries.
In 2002, 8,071passengers, 7,066 vehicles and 76,000 tons of cargo passed through the port.
(China.org.cn December 15, 2004)
