matched the descriptions left by those travellers: discussing Qiepantuo, Xuanzang recorded (in Samuel Beal's translation), "This country is about 200 li in circuit; the capital rests on a great rocky crag of the mountain, and is backed by the river Śitâ. It is about 20 li in circuit." Xuanzang's discussion of Qiepantuo in book twelve of Great Tang Records on the Western Regions recounts a tale which might explain the name of Princess Castle, a tourist attraction near Tashkurgan: A Han Chinese princess on her way to marry a Persian king is placed on a high rock for safety during local unrest. She becomes pregnant from a mysterious stranger, ultimately giving birth to a powerful king and founding the royal line ruling at the time of Xuanzang's visit. Stein records a version of this, current at the time of his visit, in which the princess is the daughter of the Persian king Naushīrvān. The Princess Castle is believed to be located south of the town near Chalachigu Valley. Aurel Stein argued that, judging from the topography and remains found around Tashkurgan, the fort and associated settlements had clearly been central to the broader Sarikol area, controlling routes from the Oxus to the oases of southern Turkestan. Xuanzang describes a substantial Buddhist site with tall towers, leading Stein to speculate as to whether the pilgrimage site dedicated to Shāh Auliya, several hundred yards to the northeast of the town site, and in use at the time of his visit, might have seen continuous but changing local use as a holy site down the centuries. The region became under Qing dynasty rule when Chinese claimed suzerainty over the region. Post-1900s During the Ili Rebellion from 1944 to 1949, Uyghur forces slaughtered the livestock of the Tajiks as they advanced south. In 1959, Tashkurgan Commune () was established. In 1984, Tashkurgan Commune became Tashkurgan Town. A number of residential communities have been added to and removed from Tashkurgan for census purposes. In 2010-11, the residential communities of Bulakegale () and Xudong () were added to the town and Kuonabazha () and Yingshahai'er () were removed. In 2016-7, the residential community Xingfu () was added to the town. In 2017-8, the residential community Hongqi () was added to the town. In 2018-9, the residential community Shajilin () was added to the town. Museum In Tashkurgan there is a museum that houses a few local