Hotan Prefecture (see also § Etymology) is located in the Tarim Basin region of southwestern Xinjiang, China, bordering the Tibet Autonomous Region to the south and Union Territory of Ladakh and Gilgit-Baltistan to the west. The vast majority of the Aksai Chin region which is disputed between China and India is administered as part of Hotan Prefecture. The seat of Hotan Prefecture is Hotan and its largest county by population is Karakax County. The vast majority of the residents of the prefecture are Muslim Uyghurs and live around oases situated between the desolate Taklamakan Desert and Kunlun Mountains.

The region was the center of the ancient Iranian Saka Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan. Later, the region was part of the Kara-Khanid Khanate, followed by the Qara Khitai, Chagatai Khanate, Moghulistan and the Dzungar Khanate, which was conquered by the Qing dynasty of China. Hotan became part of Xinjiang under Qing rule. In the 1930s, the Khotan Emirate declared independence from China. The People's Liberation Army entered Hotan in 1949.

The prefecture is known for its jade, silk and carpets.

Etymology

Hotan Prefecture is named for its seat, Hotan (or Khotan). The area was originally known as Godana in ancient Sanskrit cosmological texts. The Chinese transcribed the name as 于窴, pronounced Gudana in Middle Chinese (Yutian in modern Standard Chinese); the pronunciation eventually morphed into Khotan. In the 7th century, the Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar Xuanzang attempted to remedy this lexical change. Xuanzang, who was well-versed in Sanskrit, proposed that the traditional name was in fact Kustana (गौस्तन) and asserted it meant "breast of the earth". However, this was likely borrowed from the Tibetan name for the region, Gosthana, which means "land of cows". It is therefore most likely that the original name of Hotan was Sanskritic in origin, a consequence of ancient Indian settlement in the area.

The official Uyghur-Latin transliteration, and therefore English spelling, of the modern city's name is "Hotan" according to the Register of Chinese Geographic Places. The Hanyu pinyin romanization Hetian has also been used on some maps.

History

The Hotan Prefecture region played a major part in the Dungan Revolt (1862–1877).

Tunganistan was an independent administered region in the southern part of Xinjiang from 1934 to 1937. The territory included the oases of the southern Tarim Basin; the centre of the region was Khotan.

On December 22, 1949, PLA forces reached Hotan. In 1950, the area was redesignated as Hotan District (和闐專區).

In 1959, the Chinese character name of Hotan was changed from '和阗' to the homophonous '和田'.

In 1962, events of the Sino-Indian War occurred in parts of Aksai Chin administered as part of Hotan Prefecture.

In 1971, Hotan was changed from a district (专区) to a prefecture (地区).

Between June 1991 and March 1992, there were six attacks with firearms on Han Chinese residents in Hotan Prefecture.

According to a reporter for the Wen Wei Po in Ürümqi, between January and August 2005, authorities had disbanded six "illegal underground" religious schools in Hotan Prefecture and confiscated more than one hundred unauthorized religious books and periodicals as well as 972 audio and video tapes.

In 2016, Kunyu was established within the boundaries of Hotan Prefecture.

In 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, 171 Uyghur workers from Hotan Prefecture were sent to Changsha, Hunan.

Geography

The vast majority of the residents live around oases situated between the desolate Taklamakan Desert and Kunlun Mountains. To the north, the prefecture borders Aksu Prefecture, to the east Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, to the west Kashgar Prefecture, and to the south, Tibet and the areas disputed between China, India and Pakistan. Aksai Chin includes the southernmost point administered as part of Xinjiang. Most of the prefecture has a cold desert climate.

Administrative divisions

The Hotan Prefecture is divided into one county-level city and seven counties and surrounds Kunyu:

(Outdated map: Kunyu was established within the boundaries of Hotan Prefecture in 2016)
#	Name	Uyghur (UEY)	Uyghur Latin (ULY)	Chinese (S)	Hanyu Pinyin	Population (2020)	Area (km)	Density (/km)
1	Hotan (Hetian)	خوتەن شەھىرى	Hoten Shehiri	和田市	Hétián Shì	501,028	466	1074.15
2	Hotan County (Hetian)	خوتەن ناھىيىسى	Hoten Nahiyisi	和田县	Hétián Xiàn	324,603	41,080	7.90
3	Karakax County (Moyu)	قاراقاش ناھىيىسى	Qaraqash Nahiyisi	墨玉县	Mòyù Xiàn	571,648	25,608	22.32
4	Pishan County (Guma)	گۇما ناھىيىسى	Guma Nahiyisi	皮山县	Píshān Xiàn	281,573	39,463	7.14
5	Lop County (Luopu)	لوپ ناھىيىسى	Lop Nahiyisi	洛浦县	Luòpǔ Xiàn	286,900	14,114	20.33
6	Qira County (Chira, Cele)	چىرا ناھىيىسى	Chira Nahiyisi	策勒县	Cèlè Xiàn	157,792	31,592	4.99
7	Keriya County (Yutian)	كېرىيە ناھىيىسى	Kériye Nahiyisi	于田县	Yútián Xiàn	257,038	39,033	6.59
8	Niya County (Minfeng)	نىيە ناھىيىسى	Niye Nahiyisi	民丰县	Mínfēng Xiàn	42,649	56,703	0.75

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2000	1,681,310	—
2010	2,014,362	+1.82%
2015	2,324,287	+2.90%

According to the analysis of Adrian Zenz, the population growth of Hotan declined significantly between 2015 and 2018.

As of 2015, 2,248,113 (96.7%) of the 2,324,287 residents of the prefecture were Uyghur, 71,233 were Han Chinese (3.1%) and 4,941 were from other ethnic groups.

In 2014, according to a local government employee in the township of Langru in Hotan County, "Islamic beliefs are very strong" in the prefecture.

As of the 2000s, the population of Hotan Prefecture was more than 95% Uyghur.

As of 1999, 96.9% of the population of Hotan (Hetian) Prefecture was Uyghur and 3.1% of the population was Han Chinese.

Residents of Hotan Prefecture commonly speak Uyghur and often do not speak Mandarin Chinese.

Notable persons

• Ismail Amat, former Chairman (Governor) of Xinjiang
• Islam Akhun, con-man
• Juma Tayir, imam of the Id Kah Mosque, murdered by ETIM terrorists
• Kurban Tulum, Member of the Fourth National People's Congress, a symbol of unity between Han people and the Uyghurs
• Ablajan Awut Ayup, a pop singer, songwriter and dancer
• Abdul Haq al-Turkistani, militant

Historical maps

Historical English-language maps including modern-day Hotan Prefecture area:

• 
  Map including ILCHÍ (1865)
• 
  Map of the expeditions of Sven Hedin (1906-8) including the southern part of the modern Hotan Prefecture (RGS, early 20th century)
• 
  Map including Hotan (labeled as Khotan) (1917)
• 
  Map including most of northern Hotan Prefecture area (USATC, 1971)
• 
  From the Operational Navigation Chart; map including Hotan Prefecture area (DMA, 1980)
• 
  Map including Hotan Prefecture area (northwest) (DMA, 1984)
• 
  Map including Hotan Prefecture area (northeast) (DMA, 1990)
• 
  Map including Hotan Prefecture area (southwest) with Aksai Chin (DMA, 1995)