Amannisa Khan was born around 1526 near the banks of the Tizinafu River, an are then inhabited by the Dolan people and what is now modern day Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County. When she was thirteen years old, Abdurashid Khan, the rule of the Yarkent Khanate, burst into her father’s home demanding to hear a song. In response, Amannisa dedicated a ghazal, or poem originating from Arabic poetry. The Khan was so impressed he immediately paid her bride price. After marriage, she became Queen of the Yarkent Khanate spending much of her time creating musical works and Muqams, a melody type used in Xinjiang. She is credited for collecting and preserving the 12 Muqam, musical modes and sets of melodic formulas used to guide improvisation and composition. She is mentioned only once in writing, in a manuscript entitled 1854 History of Musicians. In the late 20th century, her popularity increased and she was promoted as a cultural hero by the government of China. In 1983, a play was written about her by the first Communist party leader of Xinjiang and in the 90s, a mausoleum was build at her place of birth to honor her contributions to Uyghur culture.