Nephrite found as boulders and pebbles in the rivers and mountains of the Kunlun near Hotan, prized in China above all for white “mutton-fat” jade. It has been worked in China since the Neolithic and the Shang dynasty and remains highly valued.

How did silk reach Khotan?

According to a legend recorded by Xuanzang, a Chinese princess married to the king of Khotan hid silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds in her headdress, since their export was forbidden. A painted wooden panel found by Aurel Stein at Dandan Oilik appears to illustrate the story.

Historic city · Cultural centre · Xinjiang

Hotan

和田 (Hétián)

Khotan, the oasis of jade, silk and carpets

Hotan (Khotan) is a county-level city and the seat of Hotan Prefecture on the southern edge of the Taklimakan Desert, at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains. The ancient Buddhist kingdom of Khotan was a major power of the southern Silk Road, and the oasis has been famous for more than three thousand years for its nephrite jade, and later for silk, carpets and mulberry-bark paper.

ProvinceXinjiang

Key facts

Province: Xinjiang
Administrative level: County-level city (seat of Hotan Prefecture)
Area of Hotan Prefecture: about 248,000 km²[1]
Population of Hotan Prefecture: 2.50 million(as of 2020 census)[2]

Overview

Hotan lies between the White Jade (Yurungkash) and Black Jade (Karakash) rivers, which carry boulders of nephrite out of the Kunlun. Jade from here reached the Shang court at Anyang, and the jade trade remains central to the city's economy and identity.

The oasis is overwhelmingly Uyghur and agricultural, growing walnuts, pomegranates, jujubes and mulberries. Its traditional crafts — atlas silk, carpets and paper — are still practised in the villages around the city.

Names and nicknames

于阗 (Yútián)
The name of the kingdom in Chinese sources from the Han to the Song.
玉都 (yù dū)
“jade capital”
For the white and green nephrite washed down by its rivers.

History

The kingdom of Khotan, whose people spoke Khotanese, an Iranian language, was one of the first centres of Buddhism in the Tarim Basin and a transmitter of Buddhist texts to China. The Chinese pilgrims Faxian (c. 401) and Xuanzang (644) described its monasteries. Xuanzang recorded the legend that a Chinese princess smuggled silkworm eggs to Khotan in her headdress. The Tang included Khotan in its Four Garrisons of Anxi. In the early eleventh century the Kara-Khanids conquered the kingdom, and the oasis became Muslim. Archaeologists from Aurel Stein onwards have excavated its desert sites, including Dandan Oilik, Rawak and, in Minfeng county, Niya.

c. 1200 BCE
Khotan jade at Anyang
Jades in the tomb of Fu Hao at the Shang capital include nephrite that has been attributed to Khotan sources.
c. 401
Faxian visits Khotan
The pilgrim described a great Buddhist procession and many monasteries.
644
Xuanzang in Khotan
The pilgrim stayed on his return journey and recorded local legends, including the arrival of silk.
early 11th century
Kara-Khanid conquest
The Buddhist kingdom fell after a long war, and Islam spread in the oasis.
1900–1901
Aurel Stein's excavations
Stein's work at Dandan Oilik and Niya began modern archaeology in the region.
2022
Hotan–Ruoqiang railway
Completed the rail loop around the Taklimakan Desert.

Landmarks

Museum
Hotan Museum
和田博物馆 (Hétián Bówùguǎn)
Finds from the Buddhist period, mummies and Khotanese documents.
Street or quarter
Jiya atlas silk village
吉亚乡 (Jíyà Xiāng)
Village where families dye and weave atlas silk by hand.
Nature
Yurungkash River
玉龙喀什河 (Yùlóngkāshí Hé)
The White Jade River, whose gravel beds have been searched for jade for millennia.
Historic site
Rawak Stupa
热瓦克佛寺遗址 (Rèwǎkè Fósì Yízhǐ)
Ruins of a large stupa and courtyard in the dunes north of the city.

Neighbourhoods

Hotan bazaar
和田大巴扎 (Hétián Dàbāzhā)
The central market, where jade, carpets and produce are traded.
Karakash
墨玉县 (Mòyù Xiàn)
The neighbouring county on the Black Jade River, known for mulberry-bark paper.

Food

Thin-skinned dumplings
薄皮包子 (báopí bāozi)
Steamed dumplings with lamb and onion in a nearly translucent wrapper.
Hotan walnuts
和田核桃 (Hétián hétao)
Thin-shelled walnuts from ancient orchards of the oasis.

Culture

Hotan is a centre of Uyghur crafts. Atlas silk, with its blurred ikat patterns, is woven on hand looms; Khotan carpets have a distinct palette and pomegranate motifs; and mulberry-bark paper is made by pounding bark into pulp and drying it on screens. The jade bazaar and the riverbed jade-seekers are part of daily life.

Getting around

Hotan station is on the railway from Kashgar, which continues east around the desert to Ruoqiang and Korla.
Hotan Kunlun Airport has flights to Urumqi and other cities; the Tarim Desert Highway links Hotan with the northern oases across the Taklimakan.

Day trips

Niya site
尼雅遗址 (Níyǎ Yízhǐ)
Desert ruins of the ancient oasis state of Jingjue in Minfeng county, a protected archaeological site.
Pishan
皮山 (Píshān)
Oasis county to the west known for pomegranates.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

Hotan Prefecture Administrative Office — Hotan Prefecture Administrative Office (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Seventh National Population Census communiqués — National Bureau of Statistics of China (retrieved 27 September 2026)
Hotan — Encyclopaedia Britannica (retrieved 27 September 2026)

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