Keriya / Yutian Keriya / Yutian Uyghur: كېرىيە
Chinese: 于田
Keriya / Yutian is a bustling little town with a great deal of deveopment underway. Visit the mosque with its intricate brickwork and wander the winding Uyghur neighborhoods along the river. Eat at a restaurant while watching the noodles pulled by hand at the next table. The town has an ancient history, as it was noted in the Han dynasty history as the kingdom of Jumi (拘彌) in the second century BCE.
View the huge statue of an elderly Uyghur electrician who is the only person to share a monument with Mao Zedong in all of China. For a study in contrasts, first wander around the new 'Keriya International On-Foot Street' shopping mall and then cross the street to explore the traditional Uyghur bazaar.
Population: 220,000 in Keriya / Yutian County (2002)
Area code: 0996
On 20 March 2008, a 7.2 magnitude quake hit southern Keriya / Yutian County. For the latest news updates, see the end of this section. Though certainly a tragedy for those affected, there has been no report of any impact from the earthquake on foreign tourists or any tourist sights in Xinjiang. The damage was confined to remote villages in the Kunlun Mountains south of Hotan and Keriya / Yutian.
Large versions, up to 600 pixels high or wide, of the images at this site can be seen by clicking on the thumbnails. Larger versions of the author's photographs, up to 2000 pixels high or wide, and additional images of Keriya / Yutian can be found at Central Asia Traveler's Flickr site.
ORIENTATION AND MAPS 
Keriya / Yutian is in the Keriya River oasis along the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert north of the Kunlun Mountains in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. It is located at 36°51'23.08" N, 81°39'54.55" E. To the left is a satellite image of the town, and to the right is a satellite image of the oasis.
The population of Keriya / Yutian county is 2.3 million. It is a sparsely population region, including the Taklamakan Desert to the north, the Keriya / Yutian oasis, and the Kunlun Mountains to the south, to the border of Tibet.
More than 90 percent of the population is ethnic Uyghur, the native population of the region. All of Xinjiang, though only more recently the southern rim, has been subject to a central government policy of Han Chinese migration, which has reduced the percentage of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang as a whole from more than 90 percent at the 1949 revolution to less than 50 percent today. The vast majority of the Uyghur population is Muslim. (Uyghur is also spelled Uighur, Uygur and Uigur.) The Uyghur people speak Uyghur, a Turkic language, and are ethnic Turkic 'cousins' to the Kyrgyz, the Kazakhs, the Uzbeks, and the Turkmen. The first three of these make up some of the population of Xinjiang, mainly in the north and west, and all four make up a majority of the population of the neighboring countries, the formerly-Soviet republics of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
The town of Keriya / Yutian is north of the large Kunlun Mountain range. The highest peak in the Kunlun range itself, south of Keriya / Yutian, is the Kunlun Goddess or Liushi Shan, the 112th highest peak in the world and the 14th highest in Asiat At 7,167 m, it is still one of the '7000s' prized by mountaineers. It was first summitted in 1949.
The town is 180 km east of Hotan and 117 km west of Niya / Minfeng. (Niya / Minfeng is near the southern terminus of the Tarim Highway across the center of the Taklamakan Desert.) 
A road south leads to villages in the foothills of the Kunlun Mountains. A road north follows the Keriya River, where there are some small settlements even far into the Taklamakan Desert.
"Yutian County enjoys temperate belt inland arid desert climate mainly characterized by moderate weather, rich light and heat resources ，long frost-free period and big temperature difference, being beneficial to growth of agricultural crops and accumulation of sugar in fruits. The fruits here have high coloring, high yield 
and quality. Yutian County now has forestry and fruits area of 220000 mu ， of which apricot has 100000 mu, pomegranate 20000 mu, grape 40000 mu, and others 30000 mu. Annual output of various fruits is 50967 tons ， including apricot of 19854 tons, grape of 26559 tons, pomegranate of 689 tons, walnut of 320 tons and others of 3547 tons."
Keriya is also spelled Keriye, Kerya or Keria. In recent years, the government assigned the town the name Yutian, which is the ancient Chinese name for the kingdom of Khotan. Since Xinjiang is a Uyghur Autonomous Region, both the Uyghur and Chinese language officially have official status and both place names are official.
The population in the town is overwhelmingly Uyghur. But Han Chinese have been moving in quickly, motivated by the government's Go West
program, offering housing, education and other subsidies.
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Click the image for a JPG map. Click here for a high-resolution PDF image of this map. |
Keriya / Yutian town is the county seat of Keriya / Yutian County, one of seven counties in Hotan Prefecture in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
To the right is a street map, developed by the author, of central Keriya كېرىيە / Yutian 于田, Xinjiang, China. It shows the bus station, the main mosque, several hotels and restaurants, the main bazaar, a bank, the China Post office, an Internet cafe, a large grocery store, a PSB office, the Kurban Tulum and Mao Ze Dong monument, a Uyghur neighborhood, and Highway 315.
To the left is a satellite image of the town center that matches the street map.
There are no major tourist sights in the town itself, though there are interesting places to see if one's travel plans bring one to town for part or all of a day. The local people have not been jaded by foreign travelers as few tourists stop here and the ones who do rarely wander past the main drag, which is Highway 315 as it roars through town.
One feature of Keriya / Yutian is not a sight but a sound. In the center there are large loudspeakers mounted in several places in the center which blare loud music or inspirational Chinese speeches for much of the day.
For the expeditionminded, several large ancient Silk Road cities were discovered buried in the sands far north of town, Karadong (180 km north of Keriya / Yutian and 20 km north of Tunguzbasti) and Dandan Oilik (west of Karadong between the Keriya and Hotan Rivers). Local guides showed these sites to Swedish explorer Sven Hedin in 1900. These were important trading centers as well as centers of Buddhist study and contemplation.
For the average traveler, there is not much to see at these sites, and getting permission to visit, usually from the Cultural Relics Bureau in Hotan, is expensive. Also, all the frescoes and other found items of cultural value have either been removed from the site or reburied under tons of rubble to protect them from the weather and from vandals. 
Karadong (喀拉墩 kā lā dūn, sometimes called Keriya 克里雅 kè lǐyǎ) is a site with a large fort and caravansarai along with other dwellings and agricultural areas. It was likely founded in the first century BCE, in the earliest days of the Silk Road, replacing a site further north. Some of the earliest Buddhist frescoes in Xinjiang have been found here, dating from the third century CE, showing pure Indian influence, without later influences found here and elsewhere in Xinjiang of the Gandhara style (from the Kushan Empire) or Iran.
The Karadong site was abandoned, due to climate change in the region along with perhaps one of the Keriya River's dramatic shifts and / or human deforestation, during the fourth century CE.
Dandan Oilik founding date is unclear but likely was late in the Han dynasty or after, with its golden age in the fourth and fifth centuries CE. The site is mainly known for its large number of temples and monasteries. Dandan Oilik means 'ivory houses' in Uyghur; the Chinese name is 丹丹无里克 (dān dān wú lǐ kè). "As some documents tell us, Dandan Oilik had been a prosperous city up to the middle of the 8th century [CE] but began to be hard pressed as a consequence of Tibetan invasions into the Tarim Basin from 758 [CE] onwards. ... The last dated document from Dandan is from the year 790. One year later [Tibetan victories put] an end to a thousand years of Chinese presence in Turkestan. ... [Due to] shifting sands ..., political 
unrest, and a declining population, ... the last agriculturalists left the oasis and the formerly fertile land was to lay waste from that time on." ("The Southern Silk Road," Christoph Baumer, p. 78)
A joint Sino-French archaeological team has excavated between 1993 and 2005 at these sites along and near the Keriya River and also found even earlier sites further north in the desert along the former route of the Keriya River. One of these earlier sites, 40 km north of Karadong, is the Iron Age site of Djoumboulak Koum / Yuan Sha.
Like all the rivers of the Taklamakan Desert, the Keriya River has been steadily retreating for more than 2,000 years. In the early days of the Silk Road, the river reached the Tarim River on the other side of the desert. A path along the river was one of several optional routes on the Silk Road.
Several tour companies offer three to six day treks across the Taklamakan, where the group drives to the hamlet of Tunguzbasti ('invading boar'), 220 km north of Keriya / Yutian, then hikes through the desert for several days with a camel caravan, visiting Mazar Tagh (and sometimes also ancient Karadong), where they are met by vehicles and continue north to Aksu. One of these itineraries is described at Taklamakan Desert Crossing 14 days. 
(This is not a recommendation, just one of several found via a web search.)
Other tour companies will take the visitor to Tunguzbasti Village, as described below under Natural Scenery along the River.
Keriya /Yutian offers an interesting view of dramatic changes taking place from a Uyghur town to a Han Chinese town. Building of roads, monuments, shops and large apartment blocks is taking place all around 
town.
Real estate offices show scale models of the apartments and apartment buildings being built across the street and down the road for Han Chinese immigrants to choose. The central government offers housing and other subsidies for Han Chinese immigrants to settle here and elsewhere in Xinjiang. But nothing is changing in the Uyghur neighborhoods, except the sections that are demolished to make way for the new building.
The map of the town on a billboard in the center and the apartment complex models indicate that the entire front area of the Uyghur neighborhood near the mosque is slated for demolition to make way for new building.
There is a mildly interesting new Greek-style colonnade in a plaza almost in front of the main mosque. It seems a bit out of place but it seems likely to be part of a planned future round central plaza, from satellite images and a large billboard in the center of town showing the development plans for the town. 
If so, this plan would include demolition of the buildings and streets in the main entry into the Uyghur neighborhood. In front of the colonnade, in the traffic circle, is a large plain boulder, for no readily apparent reason.
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Kurban Tulum Monument Photo: © Michael Manning, The Opposite Side of China |
In a traffic circle on the main street is a large monumental statue commemorating Chairman Mao's famous meeting with Kurban Tulum. This statue is similar to but slightly smaller than the statue of the same meeting in Hotan.
For more details on the history of this meeting -- and its fame in story and song in revolutionary China -- see our page on Kurban Tulum.
Briefly, Kurban Tulum, whom the Chinese call Uncle Kurban (库尔班大叔 kù ěr bān dà shū), was an elderly Uyghur electrician from Xinjiang. Some versions of the story place him starting from the better-known Kashgar or Hotan, but he was actually from the Keriya area.
As the story goes, he was so grateful when the People's Liberation Army conquered Xinjiang from the oppressive warlords and corrupt Kuomintang politicians that he rode his donkey (or donkey cart) for several months all the way more than 1,500 km from here to Urumqi to present Chairman Mao with the gift of a melon. He seemed prepared to continue on by donkey to Beijing. But the government representatives in Urumqi, sensing a public relations bonanza, contacted the central government., which arranged for Tulum to fly to Beijing. There he met Mao Zedong. The Chinese government uses this story as an object lesson for how grateful the Uyghur people should be for its policies in Xinjiang.
The main Uyghur bazaar lies off Yu Cheng street across from the south entrance to the Keriya International On-Foot Street. Visiting one and then the other can be an interesting experience in contrasts. Fruit vendors dominate the front of the bazaar, with vegetable vendors further back. Except for these produce stands, all of the buildings in the bazaar have been replaced with concrete buildings completely covered in Chinese white tile. The author does not know what day of the week is the main bazaar day in Keriya / Yutian, but it is not Monday.
The large gateway into the main mosque has attractive brickwork designs. The mosque prayer building has decoratively painted columns and ceiling.
The Uyghur town is really worth a good wander here - with winding, hilly roads, with friendly people. Look for the lovely painted wooden balconies that you will only find in southern Xinjiang. Keep an eye out for some brightly decorated courtyard doors of Uyghur homes.
Below are several images from the Uyghur neighborhood near the mosque and from the mosque compound itself.
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Anti-Goiter PostersMuch of southern Xinjiang has been known since ancient times for goiters, growths usually in the neck, that are a consequence of an iodine-deficient diet. Marco Polo commented on the prevalence of goiters in this region, though he mentioned it in his writing about Yarkand, further west. The government has been making strides to combat iodine deficiency, since this deficiency also causes developmental problems in children. A billboard with posters in the town center shows photos of a number of people with goiters and likely is part of the educational component of that program.
This listing and the following one are quoted from a Hotan tourism guide, though these nearer to Keriya / Yutian than Hotan. This 'Darya boyi' refers to either Tunguzbasti / Tongguzbasti village, 38º21'24"N, 81º52'28"E, or a site or a stretch of land near this town along the Keriya River.
This area is deep in the desert, where the Keriya River widens into a delta as is disappears into the sand. The river reaches here only early in the summer. Several travel tours of southern Xinjiang include a trip to this village. The independent traveler could probably arrange for a taxi from Keriya / Yutian to bring you here, but the road is likely not good and a 4WD vehicle may be required.
"In Uygur it is called 'Darya boyi' which means 'along the river'. This place is located in the middle of the Taklimakan desert, about 220 kms north of Keriya county where there is also a village with the same name. From Hotan it's about 420 kms. If you leave Keriya county and go along the Keriya river to the north, you will enter a vast sea of sanddunes which rise and fall swiftly. The view from the desert is amazing and takes your breath. After 100 kms you can see some oasis and a whole belt of poplar trees which are called 'toghrak.' They spread out over a vast area. The poplar belt is more than 200 kms long from the south to the north and several kilometers wide. In fall the leaves turn into a beautiful red and yellow and that will surely stir up your interest. On the way you can also see some wild animals."
"The mystical spring which comes out of a mountain is called by local people 'tears coming out of crying eyes.' It is located at the edge of the Kizil village which belongs to the Chakar / Qiaha (恰哈乡) township, Chira (چىرا) / Cele (策勒县) county. It's 20 kms away from Qakar. The cool spring lays in the middle of the boundless semidesert. The water flows unceasingly throughout the whole year. Traditions tell that the water of the cool spring was the tears of a holy man called 'Imam Mahdi Ahir Zaman'. The red mountain slope behind it means the red color of the holy man's face. If people wash their face in the spring water, their eyes become bright and their face pretty. Under the mountain slope there are two poplar trees leaning on each other. They are so tall that they almost reach the clouds. The cool spring water irrigates the surrounding land so that flowers and grass can grow. All the visitors appreciate and like to enter this wonderful place."
This section provides some practical information for the visitor regarding banks, Internet cafes, post office.
No good new for travelers. The only bank in town is the Agricultural Bank of China. Although it has an ATM, neither it nor any Agricultural Bank of China ATMs, accept foreign ATM cards. Further, the bank does not give advances on foreign credit cards nor does it exchange foreign currency. Nor does the bank in Niya / Minfeng, Cherchen / Qiemo, or Charklik / Ruoqiang, nor, in fact, anywhere between Hotan, Korla, Dunhuang and Golmud. So be sure to bring with you all the renminbi you are likely to need for your trip through the area.
An Internet cafe is located on Highway 315 nearly across from the bus station, between Hao Hua Fu Hotel and the Buhalqam Restaurant.
The China Post office is on a corner of Yu Cheng street between the bazaar and the mosque. It is not likely that this office accepts packages for international destinations.
The Public Security Bureau (PSB = local police) office is shown on the street map of Keriya / Yutian, on a street leading from Highway 315 to Yu Cheng.
There is a tiny medical clinic with a limited pharmacy between the Internet cafe and the Buhalqam Restaurant. The clinic is easily recognizable by its white cross inside a red outline.
Posted prices are from 11/2006. As with everywhere in China, be sure to negotiate the hotel price. Because Keriya / Yutian is remote and near a desert, there may be some limits or schedules for water or hot water availability in your room; inquire at check-in. You can always get a thermos of boiling water for your room upon request.
浙江 Zhè Jiāng 大酒店 Da Jiǔ Diàn (high-end hotel)
According to the locals, this is the fanciest place in town, if you really want to splurge. It is associated with the new high-end Zhe Jiang Hotel in the center of Hotan. Posted prices: Deluxe suite Y698, Suite Y598, Triple room Y498, Single room Y398, Standard room Y288.
好华福 Hao Hua Fu 宾馆 Binguan (guest house)
A pleasant place with good basic rooms. Listed prices: Y128 for a Common room (two beds with ensuite bathroom), Deluxe suite Y388, Suite Y388, Single room Y240, Triple room Y158. The hotel rules in the folder in the room make interesting reading.
交通jiāo tōng (traffic) 招待所 zhāo dài suǒ (hostel)
This is dingy lodging, with a spittoon provided in the hall for every room, but costs much than the Hao Hua Fu. The author didn't get the prices, so if you do stay there, please let me know what you paid. As usual in Chinese towns, the Jiao Tong is located near the bus station, in this case, a few doors to the east.
The Boling Hotel is another lodging option, located on Yu Cheng Street across the street from the Agricultural Bank of China. It is likely slightly better quality than the Hao Hua Fu Hotel because it has a set of jade counter in the lobby as well as a nicer lobby generally.
Buhalqam Restaurant Small Uyghur restaurant. Shown with the red sign in the picture to the left. Modest prices. Very good food and very friendly. Located right across from the bus station on Highway 315. One of several similar restaurants in this area.
See noodles pulled by hand at the next table, if you arrive at the right time. At night this restaurant and others nearby are set up for grilling kebabs - kewap in Uyghur.
Manzilgah Tiz Tamakhanisi Restaurant Uyghur restaurant (tamakhanisi)
man zi ga kuai can ting 满籽尕快餐厅
Cuisine or main dishes: Uyghur
Price range: 3-6
The red sign for this restaurant has a hawk and some camels.
雪峰 Xue Feng 商行 Shang Hang (supermarket)
Many aisles to feed your packaged snack food needs.
Bazaar and Uyghur Food Stalls For fresh food, the main Bazaar lies off Yu Cheng street across from the south entrance to the Keriya International On-Foot Street.
Many Uyghur food stalls are located just east of the main gateway of the mosque.
The image to the left is a combination of the three posters in the bus station, from November 2006, with the major destination names added in English. Unfortunately, this poster doesn't give the schedule but rather only the distance and prices. But at least it informs the traveler of destinations for which tickets can be purchased here. There are different prices for the same destination based on the type of bus. Inconveniently for the traveler unfamiliar with the area, destinations are listed in order of distance rather than their location along a route.
You can try one of two ways to get to your destination:
(1)
Buy a ticket at the ticket counter for a scheduled bus starting or making a stop in Keriya / Yutian. Let the ticket agent know your destination and the time of day you want to go.
(2)
By far the majority of buses that go through town don't start or end in Keriya / Yutian, nor do they stop here if a passenger isn't getting off. Most of these buses are on the long-distance routes to or from Korla or Urumqi in the north across the Taklamakan Desert. A large number of these buses come through town heading eastbound in the evening to spend the cooler night crossing the desert, and a similarly large number roar through in the morning heading westbound. But some also come through at different times of day.
If you can't get a ticket for your destination in your timeframe, check with one of these many buses on the main road. It is probably easier to check with one that makes a stop in front of the bus station to let someone off, but you can try waving your arms to stop one that otherwise hadn't planned to.
Be prepared to call out your destination if the driver opens his door. If the driver has space, he'll probably let you on, and is likely to charge you the going rate to your destination, though it's a good idea to know the going price in advance. You'll also likely get to your destination a lot faster than if you went via the local bus, because the express buses drive a lot faster and make few if any stops. They are also more likely to be air conditioned. On the other hand, you are less likely to have farm animals as travel companions on the bus.
Most foreign travelers from here are likely headed nearby to Hotan, Niya / Minfeng or Cherchen / Qiemo. But apparently you can also catch a bus from here west to Kashgar (700 km) or east then north to Korla or Urumqi.
The bus fare from Keriya / Yutian should be Y22 or Y40 for the 180 km to Hotan. The posted information in the bus station doesn't list how many buses there are to Hotan or when they depart, so if you as a traveler find out the schedule of buses, please contact us so we can add the information to this page. In addition to the scheduled buses, a number of long-distance sleeper buses roar through town between Urumqi and Korla in the north to Hotan in the west, especially in the morning going, west after the desert crossing.
Niya / MinfengGoing from Niya / Minfeng to Keriya / Yutian, four daily buses, 117 km, Y14-18, earliest 08:00, 1.5 hours. So there should also be four going the other way.
All the big cross-desert buses pass through Niya / Minfeng. Highway 315 is the main street of town, and they have to come to a near stop when the highway makes a 90 degree turn around the Chairman Mao monument in the center of town.
Going from Cherchen / Qiemo, three nights a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday), a sleeper bus goes to Keriya / Yutian. Keriya / Yutian, 429 km, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 20:00 (19:00 in winter) for Y49 upper / Y53.5 lower. It likely takes about 8 hours.
Probably, therefore, there are also three buses a week from Keriya / Yutian to Cherchen / Qiemo (429 km), likely on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The departure time is likely the same, as would be the fare and travel time.
This provides an alternative for those heading east who don't want to spend their daytime hours on a bus from Hotan to Cherchen / Qiemo, or if one has missed (or couldn't get tickets for) the morning bus. The traveler can come from Hotan to Keriya / Yutian, explore the town for the day, and catch the sleeper bus, arriving in Cherchen / Qiemo in the morning. If the traveler has the time, s/he should spend a day enjoying the many sights in <a href="../cq/cherchen-qiemo.html">Cherchen / Qiemo</a>, especially the fourteen 2,600-old-mummies in their tomb. But if not, one can then catch the 10:00 daily bus heading east to Charklik / Ruoqiang.
(Note: Be cautious about making tight connections with local buses. A local bus from Hotan to Keriya / Yutian probably takes 4-5 hours, stopping at every hamlet along the way, while the express bus takes 3 hours.)
From Cherchen / Qiemo, a daily, luxury, mid-sized seat bus leaves for Hotan at 10:00. It stops in Niya / Minfeng at 13:00 (53Y, 315 km), Keriya / Yutian at 18:00 (70Y, 429 km), and Hotan / Hetian at 21:00 (97Y, 605 km).
From Hotan, the daily, luxury seat bus for Cherchen / Qiemo leaves at 09:30. It stops in Keriya / Yutian at about 12:30 (180 km) 12:30, in Niya / Minfeng at about 17:30 (294 km), and on to Cherchen / Qiemo at 20:30 (608 km).
On the left is a truck in central Keriya / Yutian transporting ten donkeys.
This package of rice, on the right, at the Keriya / Yutian bazaar, caught the author's eye. What could be the meaning of the image of the goose chasing the toddler and apparently trying to pull off his pants? The message, it turns out, is that this rice is so good, even your poop is tasty.
It was reported in 2005 by People's Daily that "Chinese archaeologists have discovered a temple, dating back more than 1,500 years, in the southern rim of the Taklimakan Desert in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. About seven kilometers from the Damiko / Damagou Township of Chira / Cele County, the Tuopulukedun Temple is 2.25 meters long and two meters wide, with walls about 1.3 meters high. The temple is wood-and-mud structured and has fine frescos of Mahayana scriptures on the four walls. A Buddha statue, about 0.65 meters tall, stands in the central part of the temple. In the middle of the northern parts stand other Buddha statues, wide-shouldered and thin-waisted. The Tuopulukedun Temple is so far the smallest ancient temple that has been discovered in the world, said Wu Xinhua, head of the Xinjiang Archaeological Team of the Archaeology Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences." The author does not know if this temple can be visited, but saw another article indicating that a museum building was being built over or around the site to protect it and allow visitors.
http://www.spacemart.com/reports/Ancient_City_Reveals_Life_In_Desert_2200_Years_Ago.html
Ancient City Reveals Life In Desert 2200 Years Ago
(youmulakekum - Yuan Sha)
Though not on most itineraries for Xinjiang travel, the towns of the southeastern rim of the Taklamakan, have much to offer the traveler. A major draw is the native ethnic Uyghur people. While their percentage of the population has fallen to less than half in much of Xinjiang due to a government policy of Han Chinese migration, more than 90 percent of the residents along the southern rim are still Uyghur.
Other sights in this area include 2,600-year-old mummies, museums, nature reserves, handmade silk and carpet workshops, jade mines, oil field, rock carvings, shrines, mosques, bazaars and twisty old towns to explore, as well as desert sand dunes and the extensive Chinese desert-taming systems trying to keep them at bay.
Our guides for each town include extensive information on sightseeing, transportation, dining and lodging, as well as many photos and map.
Niya / Minfeng
A small town with a big reputation as the gateway to the most famous Xinjiang archaeological site of ancient Niya. Today, more famous as the southern terminus of the Tarim Highway across the heart of the Taklamakan Desert, providing access to the enormous oil reserves there. The monument with the quote from Chairman Mao is the most obvious tourist sight, and the main bazaar is on Sunday. But the visitor pleasures in town are mainly access to the daily life of the rural Uyghur people in this oasis town, wandering Uyghur neighborhoods, agricultural roads and sheep pastures. A short taxi ride can take one to sand dunes for the visitor to climb like the caravans of yore.
Restaurant and lodging details are provided, along with bus schedules north, south, east and west, and Internet access.
Ninety kilometers north of town, and five kilometers north of an isolated hamlet in the desert, is an Islamic shrine, Mazar Imam Jafar Sadiq, famed as the Mecca of Turkestan, though the site likely has Buddhist and even pre-Buddhist roots as a sacred space. Information is provided on Tazhong, the rough oil field town near the derricks and pipelines.
Cherchen / Qiemo 
At theCherchen / Qiemo page, you'll read about seeing fourteen 2,600-year-old mummies in the Zaghunluq Ancient Mummy Tomb and learning their history, visiting the Toghraklek Manor Museum with displays of 100-200 year old household and farming implements and 2,000-3,000 year old funerary offerings, walking a large central square and in rural Uyghur neighborhoods.
Nearby you can see Bronze Age rock carvings, a 60,000 hectare wild animal nature reserve, an international hunting park. You can take a two-day working jade mine tour in the Kunlun Mountains or plan an expedition to the nearly 7,000 meter Mount Ulugh Muztagh. Also, you can start from here to take an oil field tour -- because of the nearby highway spur, Tazhong is closer to Cherchen / Qiemo than to Niya / Minfeng.
The Charklik / Ruoqiang page, about this easternmost of the towns along Highway 315 along the Taklamakan, describes this small desert oasis town with its central plaza and several lodging and dining options and bus schedule. Some history of the area is included.
This page assist you to access the famous ruins of Miran or Loulan and the enormous dried lake bed of Lop Nor across Marco Polo's notorious Desert of Lop. The enormous Nature Reserves in Lop Nor and the Altun Mountains are discussed, along with the nuclear testing sites in the greater Lop Nor area.
In addition, Charklik / Ruoqiang is the back door to the roads much less traveled through Qinghai to Dunhuang, Xining, or Golmud, gateway to Lhasa. Detailed information is given on this little known route, including transport schedules and some information on the lodging and dining options.
The page on Hotan describes the vast array of delights in this largest city on the southern rim. See silk made by hand in the ancient tradition from cocoon to the colorful King of Silk as well as, on the other side of town, the entire process in a modern, mechanized factory. Watch carpets tied by hand in millennium-old patterns. Observe jade being carved into fantastic shapes, and paper being made from mulberry bark and desert plants. Wander the Sunday bazaar rivaling Kashgar for the largest in Central Asia.
Visit an excellent museum in its newer, larger site that brings together the region's 5,000 years of human history on the crossroads of Indian, Central Asian, Chinese, Russian, Middle Eastern and even Greek cultures, a corridor for and center of shamanism, Buddhism, Christianity, Manichaeism and Islam plus an entire floor more recent cultural treasures of jade, jewelry, musical instruments and Uyghur traditional medicine.
Beat the heat along more than 1,500 kilometers of shady grape corridors, or in one just outside your hotel door. Wander around neighborhoods with traditional Uyghur architecture. Watch nightly Uyghur traditional music and dancing and eat polo from a bottomless cauldron in a packed Uyghur restaurant and nibble your way along the stalls of an ancient night market.
Or dance the night away at a score of flashy night clubs, grab a burger or fried chicken at a Chinese chain, wander the endless aisles of three enormous supermarkets, pick your live seafood for dinner from two walls of tanks more than 2,500 kilometers from any ocean, or watch the world pass by from your table at a number of modern coffee bars or internet cafes.
Spend Y20 to Y2,000 per night on a range of accommodations. Visit aSunday bazaar that rivals Kashgar's for size, or head 
out on Thursday to a weekly tiny bazaar and festival in the desert at an ancient sacred site of pilgrimage. Visit one of several nearby ancient ruins from the fabled Silk Road.
If your travel planning requires information about the above towns before the web page might be available, you can contact the author at centralasiatraveler@gmail.com for an advance draft copy.
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