The oasis town of Hotan or Hetian ( formerly: ; also spelled Khotan) is the capital of Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. It was previously known in Chinese as 于窴 pinyin: Yutian. With a population of 114,000 (2006), Hotan lies 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 importan… (More on Hotan)