Hotan (Uyghur: خوتەن, also spelled Khotan, Hetian) is an oasis town in Khotan Prefecture . It’s also named Yutian in ancient times, means a place, which produces jade and stone in Tibetan language. Located in the south of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in western China, this ancient city has a rich history and was long famous for its silk, jade, and pottery products.
The town lies just west of the Yurungkash River or White Jade River, which provide the water needed to survive on the southwestern edge of the vast Taklamakan desert.
The oasis of Hotan was long famous for its work in jade. It was an important center on the southern caravan route and for many centuries the chief trade link between China and India. The Chinese captured Hotan in ad 70 and it became a center of Buddhist learning under the Kushāna Empire, which dominated the area from central Asia to northern India. Muslim Arabs conquered Hotan in the 8th century, and Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire, conquered it in the 13th century.
Today this remote town is divided into one city and 7 counties. It occupies an area of 248946 square kilometers and has a population of about 1,770,000(2004), which nearly 96% of them are Uyger people.
Hotan is recently famous for the discovery of caucasoid mummies, which are evidence of long term inhabitation of the area by the Tocharians. The desert atmosphere has preserved perishable items such as wood and fabric, attracting archaeologists. The area is rich in archaeological sites that are buried beneath the desert sand.
  
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