The Wada he photographed makes me want to eat it.

China's "national jade" is famous in ancient and modern times and is abundant here;

A piece of Adelai silk has been flowing here for thousands of years;

Gulaymu carpet The legend spreads across time and space to this day;

The fragrance of melons and fruits spreads throughout the Silk Road -

Hotan.

"Hometown of Jade", "Silk Capital of the Western Regions", "Hometown of Carpets"... Hotan's various reputations have long been known at home and abroad, but it has its own "desert impression" It is always daunting; but the author of this article traveled to the Hotan area and crossed the hinterland of the desert. In his eyes, Hotan is as warm as jade, as majestic as a Chinese blanket, and as poetic as silk. Moreover, it is really "delicious" and too delicious. "Sweet" - this kind of Wada makes me want to eat it after looking at it.

Written and photographed by Xiao Feixue

Do you think there is only a vast desert here? The Hotan area is located in the southernmost tip of Xinjiang, China. To the south is the Karakoram and Kunlun Mountains on the edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The Karakoram and Yulong Kashi rivers originating from the mountains converge to form the Hotan River, which is the largest inland river in China - One of the four major sources of the Tarim River.

This river not only brought the ancient and modern famous Hetian jade from the Kunlun Mountains, but also brought large oases along its coast, making it the backbone of southern Xinjiang’s agriculture and creating a splendid civilization.

Hotan is roughly composed of the Kunlun Mountains in the south, the oasis plain in the middle, and the Taklimakan Desert in the north. It has been rated as one of "China's top ten adventure tourism destinations." From ancient times to the present, explorers have only seen the tip of the iceberg in the Kunlun Mountains and the Taklimakan Desert, while the wider virgin land still lies deeper.

At the foot of the "ancestor of mountains"

The basic terrain of Xinjiang is three mountains sandwiched by two basins. Hotan, located at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains, is often overlooked by the world for its "height". In fact, it also has High mountains, but everyone knows that the highest peak in Hotan, Mushi Mountain, is 6,638 meters above sea level.

The northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains is a shallow hilly and low mountainous area, and the Hotan-Kunlun Sky Road travels in this shallow mountainous area. Here, there is a completely different scene from the traditional southern Xinjiang. If you don’t explain it, you will think that you are galloping on the grasslands of northern Xinjiang. The Banlange Grassland in Cele County is one of the representatives.

There are always towering snow-capped mountains within sight. The visual height difference of nearly 3,000 meters and the contrast of one strong and one soft line make Kunlun Mountain, the "ancestor of mountains", look particularly tall and majestic.

In ancient times, Kunlun Mountain could only be viewed from a distance, but not up close; today, you can drive on the Kunlun Sky Road, winding through the shallow mountainous areas of Kunlun Mountain, with a maximum altitude of more than 3,200 meters, high and low, Winding and twisting, you can see the majesty of Kunlun Mountain up close, and it is worthy of the reputation of "Heavenly Road".

"Time and space" floating on the oasis

The melted snow in the Kunlun Mountains merges into rivers, rushing to the depths of the Tarim Basin, forming oases of different sizes, and the counties of Hotan The city is built on these oases.

The Hotan area alone produced ancient kingdoms such as Khotan, Pishan, Xiye, Ronglu, Huhan, and Qule. These ancient cities on the Silk Road are scattered like stars, with legends flowing for thousands of years. They have now disappeared in the long river of history. However, handmade Adelai silk, carpets, mulberry paper and other crafts are still passed down to this day, and they have become Hotan's famous specialties.

In Hotan, various fruit trees have even become a landscape that people yearn for. The Grape Corridor in Hotan Bagqi Town can be called the "Grape Miracle". Only when you see it with your own eyes will you know how shocking it is. The local working people are really smart. In order to save farmland, they planted different varieties of grapes on both sides of the road and built a grape corridor that stretches for more than 1,500 kilometers. These grape corridors also play an important role in preventing wind and sand, so they are constantly promoted.

There are many ancient fruit trees in Hotan that are worth seeing: the King Grape Tree, which is more than 130 years old, is no less than 500 years old, and the King Fig Tree, which is a single forest, is about 1,300 years old, and its canopy occupies nearly A football field and a king walnut tree that can harvest 5,000 to 6,000 walnuts every year.

Want to "eat" Hotan

The rich products created by the oasis have made Hotan the gourmet business card of Xinjiang. Hotan is definitely a place worth a special trip just for "eating" .

Hotan is a place full of fireworks. Its unique geographical environment determines that the flavor of Hotan must be mainly "roasted", and Hotan people have almost brought "roasting" to the extreme: Dingding famous Not to mention roasted whole lamb, baked buns, baked eggs, roasted pigeons, roasted melons... Everything can be roasted, such as red willow roasting, naan pit roasting, rack roasting, sand roasting, charcoal roasting... Grilled whole, grilled on skewers, wrapped and grilled... every ingredient is grilled clearly.

Most of the grilling methods have never been seen by outsiders, and once the ingredients leave the local soil and water, the flavor will be lost. Therefore, if you want to eat authentic Hotan cuisine, you must come in person.

To taste the most authentic delicacies, you have to go to the night market. This is the late-night dining hall of Hotan people.

It is said that there are more than 100 kinds of traditional Uyghur delicacies that can be tasted here. In addition to the well-known grilled foods, there are also rare watermelon barbecue, yogurt rice dumplings, belly pork, grilled stuffed skin, Roasted lamb’s eggs, roasted lamb’s eye, roasted eggs, roasted kava (pumpkin) and more. Here you can enjoy the most popular and earthly Hotan flavor.

If there are too many delicacies in night markets and bazaars, making it difficult for you to choose, you must try the baked buns that are on the intangible cultural heritage list. This common snack baked in a naan pit is eaten by locals almost every day. At the most famous local baked bun shop, it is said that 5,000 baked buns can be sold every day. Most of the baked buns in Xinjiang are rectangular in shape. Only the Hotan buns look round and round, with an attractive brown appearance.

Before eating, you need to use a knife to scrape off the charcoal residue on the bottom of the buns, break them open, and the hot steam will come out, and a fragrant and fragrant gravy will come out, but there is no smell. When you bite into it, the outer skin is crispy and chewy, and the mutton is fragrant but not greasy. It is really one of the most delicious foods in the world!

Ayiwang in Hotan

In Uyghur language, "Ayiwang" means "bright place".

Most of the houses in Hotan adopt the ancient "Ayi Wangsele" architectural form - bright halls that are almost completely closed from top to bottom, left and right, but leave passages for air flow.

A trellis is set up in the enclosed yard, grapes are planted, and a comfortable bed is placed under the grape trellis. This becomes the activity center for the family - eating, drinking tea, chatting about home affairs, and doing Needlework and children's play can all be done here, and the courtyard actually becomes a large living room.

This kind of construction that blurs the boundaries between indoors and outdoors is completely formed to adapt to the local climate. Hotan is arid, with little rain, strong wind and sand, and strong sunlight. Various green plants on the scaffolding in the yard can block the hot sun and windy sand, creating a cool but bright living space for the yard.

Desert Highway

Populus euphratica forest in the Taklimakan Desert

The Tarim River Basin is the largest natural distribution area of ??Populus euphratica forest in the world. Every autumn, the golden yellow of Populus euphratica leaves reaches its most saturated state. There is no need to go to any scenic spots, the desert road becomes a free and open Populus euphratica park.

Hotan has been an important town on the Silk Road since ancient times and is also the birthplace of the "Jade Road". Nowadays, two of the four desert roads that pass through the Taklimakan in Xinjiang are in the Hotan area. These desert highways not only shorten the transportation distance between various states in Xinjiang, solve the transportation problem of developing oil deep into the desert hinterland, but also provide travelers with a passage through the Taklimakan Desert, the "Sea of ??Death".

Taklimakan Desert

Desert Highway

Hotan, with its long history, beautiful scenery and delicious food, is like a fascinating book, waiting for you to read it yourself It's wonderful to drive.

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