Monday, May 01, 2006

China's Muslims


road to hotan
Originally uploaded by themexican.
On the road to Hotan, a city near the headstream of the Hotan River located in the southeast Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China. Photo from Flickr




This is from factmonster.com

(Hotan) is the center of an area growing cotton, corn, wheat, rice, and fruit. Silk and cotton textiles and carpets are manufactured, and jewelry is made from the great quantity of jade in the area. Hotan is connected by road with Kashi (Kashgar) and Ürümqi (Urumchi).

On the southern part of the Silk Road, Hotan was an early center for the spread of Buddhism from India into China. It fell to the Arabs in the 8th cent., and grew wealthy on the proceeds of the caravan trade that traveled the route between China and the West. Its prosperity ended with the conquest of Hotan by Jenghiz Khan. After many political changes the region became (1878) permanently part of China.

No comments: