Khotan

Khotan (和田; Hétián; also known as Kotan or Hotan), is a town on the southern (Jade) Branch of the Silk Road in Xinjiang Province in China. Khotan was once center of a Buddhist empire. The old capital, Yoktan, is about 10 km west of the current city.

While the main Silk Road route from here goes west to Kashgar and onward to Central Asia, an important branch cuts off here over a pass to Leh in the north of India. That pass is thought to be the route by which Marco Polo reached China.

By plane
Khotan Airport is south of the city. Flights are available from Urumqi on a number of carriers, providing competition. There is also a daily flight from Kashgar.

The airport can be accessed by taxi (despite the meters, fares to/from the airport are shared among passengers and negotiated, typically ¥20-30 a person) or by bus #9. The bus stop is across the highway from the airport. As of mid-2017 there were no restaurants or stores in the airport either airside or outside security, only water dispensers. However, there is a small convenience store across the highway, over the canal. Sometimes there is a food cart outside the airport.

By train
There are daily trains from Kashgar and Ürümqi.



By bus
The Long-Distance Bus Station is north of the city center on the main highway.
 * Kashgar - takes 7-10 hours (express buses are faster)
 * Yarkand - takes about 6 hours
 * Korla - takes about 15 hours
 * Kuqa - takes from 9 to 10 hours. Departures at 12:00 and 15:30 Beijing time.
 * Turpan - takes about 20 hours
 * Urumqi - 6 24-hour buses leave daily (¥260), 1 18-hour bus (¥310) and 2 fast luxury buses (less than 18 hours, most expensive bus option).
 * Yecheng - takes about 8 hours
 * Yining - takes about 40 hours (shorter as soon as buses start using the new Hotan - Aksu highway)
 * Qiemo - takes 11 hours -- daily morning bus leaves from East Bus Station, not Main Bus Station

By car
There is a road west to Kashgar, about 500 km, or east via Dunhuang and on toward Central China (very distant). There is also the paved cross-desert highway (which passes by the desert viewing area just north of town) to Kuqa.

Get around
Bus 101 (there are different variants of this bus, so ensure it goes where you plan to) passes in front of the Main bus station and goes to the Sunday bazaar and the Sunday animal bazaar (a couple of stops after "New Hotan..." monument roundabout. CN¥1. Buses have a late-night surcharge but otherwise cost CN¥1.

Hiring a taxi to show you the sights outside of town, especially given many travel agencies have closed, is a good way to get around. It will cost in the hundreds of yuan depending on the number and distance of destinations, many of which are geographically close but may not be well known or quick to access, given the long lineups for checkpoints. Finding a taxi driver that speaks Chinese (if you speak it) and knows his/her way around can be a challenge but they do exist. It wouldn't hurt to ask your hotel staff to write down the names of your major destinations in Uyghur (a good idea in any case, even if your driver speaks Chinese) but even more experienced drivers may not know many of the destinations due to the sharp fall-off in tourists in the 2010s.

Buy
The area has been famous for jade for centuries. Khotan jade is first mentioned in written history about 200 BCE. There are mines, but much of the stone is found in riverbeds. This is one of the few areas with black jade and white jade. Be prepared to bargain hard. The city is also known as a traditional centre of Uyghur carpet weaving, so be sure to check out some locally-produced carpets while you're here.

The bazaar area is full of carpet and clothing shops, which are also available at the bazaar and the merchants are often eager to clarify the origins and materials (e.g. which are Central Asian, which are machine-made either in Xinjiang or elsewhere, and which are handmade/of what). Clothing is available in the market, including traditional Uyghur designs (often at fixed posted prices for machine-made dresses, etc.) This isn't a tourist market in Eastern China so while bargaining is helpful for more expensive items (like carpets or more expensive cloth), it may not be needed for many of the cheaper and more common items like basic scarves or clothing items, for which there may be a variety of options at initially reasonable prices from the more reputable vendors.

Eat

 * The Night Market is a massive indoor food hall, about a 20-minute walk south of the central square. At the eastern entrance there are the usual Chinese dishes and sweets, but going inside many more Uyghur options are available for food and desert. Somewhat higher prices than the atmospheric night market in Kashgar but typically still quite modest. Options for everyone and the ability to mix and match.
 * The Night Market is a massive indoor food hall, about a 20-minute walk south of the central square. At the eastern entrance there are the usual Chinese dishes and sweets, but going inside many more Uyghur options are available for food and desert. Somewhat higher prices than the atmospheric night market in Kashgar but typically still quite modest. Options for everyone and the ability to mix and match.

Drink

 * Fresh-ground espresso (often at reasonable prices) is surprisingly common at numerous bakeries, juice joints and cafés. While an actual "espresso" often isn't on the menu (usually milk drinks or americanos are), ask for an americano with less water and more coffee.
 * Beer is often available from shops but not restaurants. After making sure it is OK with staff, you can often BYOB. Homemade beer is available at a stall in the night market and from vendors selling bottles.
 * There is a bar/café outside the eastern entrance to the night market.

Sleep
There are plenty of cheap places, but foreigners are often not allowed to stay there but are referred to the more expensive foreigner places. The hotels accepting foreigners in the Main Station road seem to take advantage of lack of competition and no regulation and raise prices. With such a few number of places accepting foreigners bargaining hard gets a minimal discount from posted tariffs, if any. It would not be a bad idea to go to a mid-range hotel and at least get what you pay for.
 * Yudu Hotel is across from the main square. Beds are hard, windows have no screens, the lobby is smoky and staff respond to most requests with futility. However, there doesn't appear to be systemic milking of foreigners. There is a seemingly nicer Super 8 the alleyway behind the Yudu, but it didn't have a license for foreigners as of mid-2017.
 * Yudu Hotel is across from the main square. Beds are hard, windows have no screens, the lobby is smoky and staff respond to most requests with futility. However, there doesn't appear to be systemic milking of foreigners. There is a seemingly nicer Super 8 the alleyway behind the Yudu, but it didn't have a license for foreigners as of mid-2017.
 * Yudu Hotel is across from the main square. Beds are hard, windows have no screens, the lobby is smoky and staff respond to most requests with futility. However, there doesn't appear to be systemic milking of foreigners. There is a seemingly nicer Super 8 the alleyway behind the Yudu, but it didn't have a license for foreigners as of mid-2017.

Go next
If you decide to go by car west out of Khotan to Kashgar stop in Yengisar and visit the knife factories. Knives are handmade and you can bargain with the owner for some very nice pieces. (As of 2012, it is not possible to ship knives out of China via the China Post, all packages are inspected thoroughly and even boring things like scissors and even some calculators cannot be shipped).

If you stop in Yarkand you can find handmade pocket knives as opposed to the sheathed knives of Yengisar.