Sitting along the southwestern edge of the Taklamakan Desert, Khotan was the largest settlement in southwestern Xinjiang. It was a predominantly Buddhist region prior to Islamic conquest in 1006. It was a dramatic shift for the region. Many people living in Khotan converted to Islam, making it the predominant religion today. The Uighur language also eventually replaced the Khotanese language. Most of the documents about Khotan come from outside of the city. Khotan sits at the confluence of two rivers, creating a damp environment in which paper and wood documents do not survive, unlike arid Dunhuang or Turfan.
For eight hundred years Buddhism was the predominant religion. Buddhist texts were studied, translated, and copied in Khotan. The Shanpula graveyard contains artifacts and remains that are thousands of years old. The site has produced evidence of trade with people living in the West. There are artistic motifs and artwork of people with western facial features. Goods from other societies have also been found at the graveyard site. We can also determine cultural shifts from the graveyard.
The impressive Buddhist ruin of Rawak is located near Khotan. It dates back to the early sixth century and is still a popular monument to visit. When Aurel Stein visited in 1901 there were massive amounts of sand covering the site that had to be removed before it was mapped. Rawak is larger than any other Buddhist monument along the southern route of the Silk Road. The size of the monument is an indication of how wealthy the oasis community of Khotan was.
Khotan is also famous for its jade. When Aurel Stein visited at the beginning of the twentieth century people were still panning for jade in the rivers surrounding the city. The color of the jade differs depending on which river it is found in. When Stein visited, he found a wood slip with the earliest evidence of indigenous Khotanese language.
Hansen, Valerie. The Silk Road: A New History with Documents (Oxford, 2016), pp. 336-389.