Hotan Prefecture | |
|---|---|
 In front of the Hotan Mosque inHotan City | |
 Hotan prefecture (red) (includingKunyu) in Xinjiang (orange) | |
| Country | People's Republic of China |
| Region | Xinjiang |
| Seat | Hotan[1] |
| Government | |
| • CPC Secretary (地委书记) | Yang Fasen (杨发森[2]) |
| Area | |
• Total | 248,059.54 km2 (95,776.32 sq mi) |
| Population (2020 Census)[4] | |
• Total | 2,441,231 |
| • Density | 9.841311/km2 (25.48888/sq mi) |
| Ethnic groups | |
| • Major ethnic groups | Uyghur,Han Chinese[5][6][7][8]: 178 |
| GDP[9] | |
| • Total | CN¥ 46.7 billion US$ 7.1 billion |
| • Per capita | CN¥ 18,235 US$ 2,827 |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (China Standard) |
| ISO 3166 code | CN-XJ-32 |
| Website | xjht |
| Hotan Prefecture | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uyghur name | |||||||||||||||
| Uyghur | خوتەن ۋىلايىتى | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 和田地区 | ||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 和田地區 | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Hotan Prefecture[10] (see also§ Etymology) is located in theTarim Basin region of southwesternXinjiang, China, bordering theTibet Autonomous Region to the south andUnion Territory of Ladakh andGilgit-Baltistan to the west. The vast majority of theAksai Chin region which is disputed between China andIndia is administered as part of Hotan Prefecture. The seat of Hotan Prefecture isHotan and its largest county by population isKarakax County. The vast majority of the residents of the prefecture are MuslimUyghurs and live aroundoases situated between the desolateTaklamakan Desert andKunlun Mountains.
The region was the center of the ancient Iranian Saka BuddhistKingdom of Khotan. Later, the region was part of theKara-Khanid Khanate, followed by theQara Khitai,Chagatai Khanate,Moghulistan and theDzungar Khanate, which was conquered by theQing dynasty of China. Hotan became part ofXinjiang under Qing rule.[11] In the 1930s, the Khotan Emirate declared independence from China.[citation needed] ThePeople's Liberation Army entered Hotan in 1949.
The prefecture is known for its jade, silk and carpets.
Hotan Prefecture is named for its seat,Hotan (or Khotan). The area was originally known asGodana in ancientSanskrit cosmological texts.[12] The Chinese transcribed the name as于窴, pronouncedGudana inMiddle Chinese (Yutian in modernStandard Chinese); the pronunciation eventually morphed intoKhotan. In the 7th century, the Chinese Buddhist monk and scholarXuanzang attempted to remedy this lexical change. Xuanzang, who was well-versed in Sanskrit, proposed that the traditional name was in factKustana (गौस्तन) and asserted it meant "breast of the Earth". However, this was likely borrowed from theTibetan 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.[13][14]
The official Uyghur-Latin transliteration, and therefore English spelling, of the modern city's name is "Hotan" according to theRegister of Chinese Geographic Places.[15] TheHanyu pinyin romanizationHetian has also been used on some maps.
The Hotan Prefecture region played a major part in theDungan Revolt (1862–1877).[11]
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 22 December 1949,PLA forces reached Hotan. In 1950, the area was redesignated as Hotan District (和闐專區).[16]
In 1959, the Chinese character name of Hotan was changed from '和阗' to the homophonous '和田'.[1][16]
In 1962, events of theSino-Indian War occurred in parts ofAksai Chin administered as part of Hotan Prefecture.
In 1971, Hotan was changed from a district (专区) to a prefecture (地区).[16]
Between June 1991 and March 1992, there were six attacks with firearms on Han Chinese residents in Hotan Prefecture.[17]
According to a reporter for theWen Wei Po inÜrümqi, 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.[18][19]
In 2016,Kunyu was established within the boundaries of Hotan Prefecture.
In 2020 during theCOVID-19 pandemic in mainland China, 171 Uyghur workers from Hotan Prefecture were sent toChangsha,Hunan.[20]
The vast majority of the residents live around oases situated between the desolate Taklamakan Desert and Kunlun Mountains. To the north, the prefecture bordersAksu Prefecture, to the eastBayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, to the westKashgar Prefecture, and to the south,Tibet and the areas disputed betweenChina,India andPakistan.Aksai Chin includes the southernmost point administered as part of Xinjiang. Most of the prefecture has acold desert climate.
The Hotan Prefecture is divided into onecounty-level city and sevencounties and surroundsKunyu:[21][2]
 ←1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | |||||||||
| # | Name | Uyghur (UEY) | Uyghur Latin (ULY) | Chinese (S) | Hanyu Pinyin | Population(2020) | Area (km2) | Density (/km2) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hotan[10] (Hetian) | خوتەن شەھىرى | Hoten Shehiri | 和田市 | Hétián Shì | 501,028 | 466 | 1074.15 | |
| 2 | Hotan County[10] (Hetian) | خوتەن ناھىيىسى | Hoten Nahiyisi | 和田县 | Hétián Xiàn | 324,603 | 41,080[b] | 7.90 | |
| 3 | Karakax County[10] (Moyu) | قاراقاش ناھىيىسى | Qaraqash Nahiyisi | 墨玉县 | Mòyù Xiàn | 571,648 | 25,608 | 22.32 | |
| 4 | Pishan County[10] (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[10]) | كېرىيە ناھىيىسى | Kériye Nahiyisi | 于田县 | Yútián Xiàn | 257,038 | 39,033 | 6.59 | |
| 8 | Niya County (Minfeng[10]) | نىيە ناھىيىسى | Niye Nahiyisi | 民丰县 | Mínfēng Xiàn | 42,649 | 56,703 | 0.75 | |
| 9 | He'an County[22] | قىزىليۇلغۇن ناھىيىسى | Qizilyulghun Nahiyisi | 和安县 | Hé'ān Xiàn | ||||
| 10 | Hekang County[22] | سەيدۇللا ناھىيىسى | Seydulla Nahiyisi | 和康县 | Hékāng Xiàn | ||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1,681,310 | — |
| 2010 | 2,014,362 | +1.82% |
| 2015 | 2,324,287 | +2.90% |
| [5][23] | ||
As of 2015, 2,248,113 (96.7%) of the 2,324,287 residents of the prefecture wereUyghur, 71,233 wereHan Chinese (3.1%) and 4,941 were from other ethnic groups.[23]
In 2014, according to a local government employee in the township ofLangru inHotan County, "Islamic beliefs are very strong" in the prefecture.[7]
As of the 2000s, the population of Hotan Prefecture was more than 95%Uyghur.[5][6][7][8]: 178
As of 1999, 96.9% of the population of Hotan (Hetian) Prefecture was Uyghur and 3.1% of the population was Han Chinese.[24]
Residents of Hotan Prefecture commonly speakUyghur and often do not speakMandarin Chinese.[8]: 181 [25][26][27]: 241 [better source needed]
Historical English-language maps including modern-day Hotan Prefecture area:
_p61_PLATE19._SINKIANG_(14597194848).jpg)
![Map including most of northern Hotan Prefecture area (USATC, 1971)[c]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTxu-oclc-6654394-nj-44-3rd-ed.jpg)
![From the Operational Navigation Chart; map including Hotan Prefecture area (DMA, 1980)[d]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aOperational_Navigation_Chart_G-7%2c_6th_edition.jpg)
![Map including Hotan Prefecture area (northwest) (DMA, 1984)[e]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTxu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566_g-7a.jpg)
![Map including Hotan Prefecture area (northeast) (DMA, 1990)[f]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTxu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566_g-7b.jpg)
![Map including Hotan Prefecture area (southwest) with Aksai Chin (DMA, 1995)[g]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTxu-pclmaps-oclc-22834566_g-7d.jpg)
和田 1市名。{...}和田地区行署驻此。{...}清设和阗直隶州，1913年改和阗县，1959年改和田县。
和田地区辖和田市、和田县、皮山县、墨玉县、洛浦县、策勒县、于田县、民丰县7县1市，91个乡镇，13个街道办事处，98个社区，1384个行政村，还有生产建设兵团十四师及所属奴尔牧场、47团场、皮山农场及224团场。历任中共和田地委书记22位，专员14位，现任地委书记杨发森、行署专员艾则孜•木沙。
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|url= (help)2000年第五次人口普查，和田地区常住总人口1681310人。{...}2000年末，和田地区常住总人口168.15万，其中非农业人口23.67万人，占总人口的14.08%；维吾尔族162.56万人，占总人口的96.67%。{...}2003年，和田地区总面积248945.29平方千米，{...}2010年第六次人口普查，和田地区常住总人口2014362人，
维吾尔族占96.9％，汉族占2.9％。
Government employees at the local level frequently regret the difficulties caused by these requirements, an employee at Langru's Economy Management Office told RFA, adding, "But we have no choice, since these are the rules of our county." Hotan prefecture, in which the county lies, "is a very special region in the [Xinjiang] Autonomous Region," he said. "Most of our population here are Uyghurs, and their Islamic beliefs are very strong."
While much of Xinjiang is being overpopulated by Han migration from eastern China that has more than quadrupled the desert region's population in a mere half-century, Hotan has been protected from the influx by its remote location at the southern base of the Taklimakan. It remains more than 95 percent Uyghur.{...}Even after eight years in the city, he spoke only Uyghur. His few Han clients were forced to communicate in their limited Uyghur, he explained, as he himself had never learned Chinese. In Hotan, there was no need for it.
1949年12月22日中国人民解放军十五团抵达和阗 ，和阗解放。1950年改称和阗专区，1959年改和阗为和田，1971年改专区为地区，1979年建立和田行政公署。
據悉，今年以來，該地區已查獲地下非法教經點6個，查收非法宗教書刊100餘本、音像製品972盒和帶有違法的各類物品1,874件。
The article also reports that since January, Hetian authorities have disbanded six "illegal underground" religious schools and confiscated unauthorized religious books, periodicals, and audio and video tapes.
Recent reports by the official Xinjiang Daily and Chinanews.com said that from Feb. 22–23, "400 youths were transferred to the provinces of Hunan, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi." Of those, 114 from Awat (in Chinese, Awati) county, in the XUAR's Aksu (Akesu) prefecture, were sent to Jiangxi's Jiujiang city on Feb. 23, 100 from Aksu city were sent to Jiujiang on Feb. 22, and 171 from Hotan (Hetian) prefecture were sent to Changsha city in Hunan province, the reports said, without providing a date for the last transfer.
统计用区划代码 名称 653201000000 和田市 653221000000 和田县 653222000000 墨玉县 653223000000 皮山县 653224000000 洛浦县 653225000000 策勒县 653226000000 于田县 653227000000 民丰县
Travelling east from Khotan{...}Many Uighurs speak no Chinese at all, and most hotels are even less likely to have English speakers than those elsewhere in China.
Far fewer people understood Mandarin in Hotan than anywhere else I'd been in Xinjiang. It made getting around difficult, as not only did the taxi drivers fail to understand what I was saying, but they couldn't read an address either. Most ignored or didn't know the Chinese names given to the streets anyway.
和田地区{...}安全 因为与当地人语言交流可能有障碍，注意礼貌和当地习俗是非常必要，以免发生不必要的争执。
37°07′N79°55′E / 37.11°N 79.91°E /37.11; 79.91
