Hetian(Hotan or Hotian)

Hotan or Hetian, or Khotan is the seat of Hotan Prefecture in southwestern Xinjiang, People's Republic of China. It was previously known in Chinese as Yutian and to 19th-century European explorers as Ilchi.
With a population of 114,000 (2006), Hotan is an oasis town lying in the Tarim Basin, just north of the Kunlun Mountains, which are crossed by the Sanju Pass, and the Hindu-tagh, and Ilchi passes. The town, located southeast of Yarkand and populated almost exclusively by Uyghurs, is a minor agricultural center. An important station on the southern branch of the historic Silk Road, Hotan has always depended on two strong rivers - the Karakash River and the Yurungkash River, the Black and White Jade rivers respectively - to provide the water needed to survive on the southwestern edge of the vast Taklamakan Desert. The Yurungkash still provides water and irrigation for the town and oasis.