Introducing Yarkand & Hotan
These and other towns southeast of Kashgar were stops on a Silk Road branch along the south side of the Taklamakan Desert, and from time to time were also mini kingdoms. Yarkand, four hours from Kashgar, has a small indoor Sunday bazaar.
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The craftspeople of Hotan were celebrated throughout Asia for their rugs, silk and carved jade, and to some extent they still are. The 4th-century Chinese pilgrim Fa Hsien described Hotan as a highly developed centre of Buddhism, with no fewer than 14 large monasteries. Hotan, 12 hours from Kashgar by bus, has a Sunday market to rival Kashgar’s; smaller but without the tourists.
Last updated: Jun 3, 2009
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