China: Amannisa Khan Mazar (Queen Amanisahan of Yarkand’s tomb), on the grounds of the Altyn Masjid (Altyn Mosque), Yarkand, Xinjiang Province

Āmānnisā Khan Nāfisi, also known as Amanni Shahan (Uyghur: ئاماننىسا خان‎; Chinese: 阿蔓尼莎汗; pinyin: Āmànníshā Hàn, 1526-1560) was a concubine of Abdurashit Khan or Abdurashid Khan of the Yerqiang (Yarkand) kingdom.

Amannisa Khan is credited with collecting and thereby preserving the Twelve Muqam, which is today considered a musical style of the Uyghur people of northwest China. The Muqam of Xinjiang has been designated by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

The important oasis of Yarkand (Shache) was once the seat of an ancient Buddhist Kingdom and an important caravanserai on the Southern Silk Road. Today it is a predominantly Uighur city with a population of 375,000 producing cotton, wheat, corn and fruit (notably pomegranates, pears and grapes) as well as oil and natural gas.

In times past Yarkand was of particular importance as the northern terminus for the strategically significant trade route to Leh, capital of Ladakh in Indian-administered Kashmir, across the Karakoram Pass (5,575m., 18,286 ft).

Copyright:

CPA Media Co. Ltd.

Photographer:

David Henley

Credit:

Pictures From Asia