Things to do in Southern Silk Road
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A
Marco's Dream Cafe
This Malaysian-run restaurant serves a nice range of Western dishes including salads, shepherd's pie and pepper steak. A roast dinner is prepared on Sunday. The friendly owners speak English and can provide travel advice.
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B
Uighur Night Market
On the street south of the square; a good place to grab a kebab.
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C
Sunday Market
Hotan's most popular attraction is its weekly Sunday market . The colourful market swamps the northeast part of town and reaches fever pitch between noon and 2pm Xīnjiāng time. The most interesting parts to head for are the gillam (carpet) bazaar, which also has a selection of atlas silks, the doppi (skullcap) bazaar and the livestock bazaar.
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Silk Workshop
Past the carpet factory, southeast of Hotan, is the small town of Jíyàxiāng (吉亚乡), a traditional centre for silk production. You can look around the fascinating workshop (sīchóuchǎng; atlas karakhana in Uighur) to see how the silk is spun, dyed and woven using traditional methods. A return trip by taxi to the workshop, taking in the carpet factory, costs Y60.
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Melikawat Ruins
The deserts around Hotan are peppered with the faint remains of abandoned cities. The most interesting are those of Melikawat, 25km south of town, a Tang-dynasty settlement with wind-eroded walls, the remains of pottery kilns, Buddhist stupas and scattered potsherds. Some scholars believe Melikawat was a capital city of the Yutian state (206 BC–AD907), an Indo-European civilisation that thrived during the height of the Silk Road epoch. A taxi should cost about Y100 to Melikawat.
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Imam Asim
About 10km beyond Jíyàxiāng lie an interesting cemetery and the Imam Asim(Tomb of Four Imams), reached by a paved road. It's a popular pilgrimage site, particularly during the month of May. The cemetery lies on the edge of the Taklamakan Desert, so coming out here is a good opportunity to enjoy the desert scenery and slide down the sand dunes. The best day to visit is Thursday, when a festive market springs up by the roadside, about 2km before the tomb.
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D
Hotan Cultural Museum
West of town is the regional Hotan Cultural Museum. The main attractions are two 1500-year-old Indo-European mummies from the ancient city ruins around Hotan. Take buses 2 or 6 from the town centre to get here.
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E
Chinese Night Market
This tiny market is just next to the PSB.
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Carpet Factory
On the eastern bank of the Jade Dragon Kashgar River is this small factory . Even with up to 10 weavers, 1 sq metre of wool carpet takes 20 days to complete. To get here, take bus 10 outside the bus station and get off at the last stop.
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