Hotan delivers much of what you'd expect a Silk Road oasis town to deliver: jade, silk, carpets, lively markets, colorful bazaars and ancient desert ruins. It's also a long way from anywhere else you're likely to want to be: Kashgar is almost 2000 km away as the bus rolls, and Xinjiang's capital of Urumqi is on the other side of the Talkamakan Desert and the Tian Shan mountain range.

If you're looking to really get away from it all, Hotan's hard to beat; on the other hand, if your idea of "getting away from it all" involves luxury accomodations and five-star restaurants, this might be the last place you want to find yourself. Along with the expected goods, you'll find plenty of surprises if you give Hotan half a chance—grape arbors bordering rugged desert, chance finds at the traditional Sunday Market, a pair of Indo-European mummies at the Hotan Cultural Museum, and the outlying ruins of the ancient cities of Yotkan and Melikawat where you just might find a shard of ancient pottery in the shifting desert sands.

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Hotan on the China Travel Blog

History

The Hotan area has produced nephrite jade for an astonishing 5,000-some years, and evidence of a succession of settlements in the area continue to yield valuable archaeological finds, often well preserved thanks to the dry desert climate. By the third millenium BC, Chinese traders were in frequent contact with the area's inhabitants, many of whom were Caucasoid in appearance, having migrated eastward over the centuries; today, you'll still see local faces more European or Persian in appearance than Chinese. 

Hotan's famous jade, much of it pulled from the Jade Dragon River where you can still find the odd chunk or two, enriched its leaders, who expanded their base of wealth through trade and the development of a silk industry that endures to this day. The Southern Silk Road, cutting south around the deadly Taklamakan Desert, kept Hotan connected to distant centers of civilization, from Rome to Xi'an and beyond, and allowed a succession of local kingdoms to flourish. Even as Chinese power extended west, the remote trading center retained a high degree of autonomy. 

Among the more notable of those kingdoms was the Kingdom of Khotan (known to the Chinese as Yutian), which was one of the earliest Buddhist states, allegedly having been founded in the third century BC by a son of the great Indian ruler Ashoka. By this time, Khotan had obtained the secret of silk-making from the Chinese, and its mulberry groves and silkworms gained in fame along with carpets and jade.

By the 11th century, Islam had displaced Buddhism, and when Marco Polo came through in the 1270s, he remarked in his journal that the entire area was "Mohammedan." Though the region continued to remain largely under the sway of China, it has always retained a reputation for independence, participating in a number of revolts against various dynasties throughout the years, the most notable being the Dungan uprising against the Qing (1864-1875).

Today, the city of over 100,000 is a mixture of Muslim Uighur, Han Chinese and various ethnic minorities.

Climate

Hot and dry in the summer, Hotan is most pleasant between May and October every year. Winters are bearable, though the difference in temperature between a sunny day and the dark desert night can come as a real shock. Even in summer, it's best to be prepared for cool nights. Annual average temperature is 12º C (54º F).

Hotan offers a handful of affordable and servicable hotels. The Jiaotong Binguan is just east of the bus station. It's worth a try for cheap rooms, though you'll likely have to haggle to get a real deal and the rooms are certainly nothing special. The Hetian Binguan and Yurong Binguan are both centrally located on the north-south Tanaiyi Lu just above Tuanjie Square and east of the Old City Walls. They're both fair value for adequate accomodation; the real value is in their location, right in the heart of Hotan within easy walking distance of Uighur restaurants, markets and a handful of top attractions.

Located in the northeastern corer of Hotan alongside national Highway 315 (also called Taibei Lu as it runs through town), the Hotan Bazaar (bazha in Mandarin) is the place to be for a healthy dose of localy commerce and culture. Along with famous local specialties like Hotan jade, carpets Atlas (idili) silk and locally produced melons, grapes and fruits, shoppers and gawkers are likely to find a little bit of everything, from local handicrafts to electronics and clothing from around China and beyond. Weekends often feature song and dance performances and good food is always on hand. Friday and Sunday are the major bazaar days.

On bazaar off days, you can still find plenty of good shopping. Hotan boasts a wonderful Carpet Factory, where you can see great deals taking shape before your very eyes as cheerful weaver work away; the Silk Factory is also open to visitors and you should be able to work a tour out with and English-speaking guide who can show you the silk-making process from cocoons to looms. You can also witness silk production and pick up some excellent deals in the nearby town of Jiyaxiang, which specializes in atlas silk.

Jade turns up all over town, but the best place to comparison shop is in the west of Hotan, just south of the Old City Walls along Beijing Xi Lu.

For more mundane needs, there's a large department store in the center of town just across from the Bank of China on Nuerwake Lu.