KHOTAN (known in Chinese as Hetian ) is one of the remotest places in China, and yet for centuries it was famed throughout the country for its jade , carpets and silk . Even today the highlight of a visit to Khotan is seeing the factories where these materials are worked or produced, in much the same way as they always have been. Bleak and dusty, the town is not to everyone's taste, but unless you are heading right off the beaten track it's the most authentic Uigur town you are likely to see, and certainly worth a visit. As a bonus, people here are very hospitable and don't seem to have heard of the concept of foreigners paying more for anything.

 

The small town centre comprises a couple of blocks to the south and west of the junction between Nuerwake Lu (running east-west) and Gulibake Lu (north-south). The bus station is about 1km to the north of here. There are few attractions in the town itself, but you could drop in on the small museum (irregular hours; ¥5), which contains a collection of items recovered from the surrounding desert, including fragments of silk, coffee pots, wooden utensils and two mummified bodies. The museum is located on Tanai Lu, just south of where it intersects with Nuerwake Lu (west of Gulibake Lu). Immediately to the south of the museum is the jade factory where you can see craftsmen bent over small lathes. The results of their labour are on sale in the shop above, with prices between ¥30 and ¥30,000, and in shops all over the town. The bigggest concentration of stalls selling jade is at the east end of Nuerwake Lu.

About 4km to the east of town, following Nuerwake Lu, is the White Jade River from which, historically, so much jade has been recovered, and which still yields the odd stone for casual searchers. The river flows through a wide, stony plain; it's easy to get down here and forage, but you'll need to find one of the locals - who come here with garden forks to rake the stones - to show you what you are looking for, or you may end up with a pocketful of pretty but worthless quartz.

The town carpet factory stands just across the river and to the left; you might try dropping in for a visit, particularly if you are interested in making a purchase. Prices here, and in the shop in town, are very cheap. The atmosphere in the factory workshop is friendly, with the workers, mostly young women, exchanging banter as they weave with incredible dexterity. They encourage visitors to take pictures, and ask to be sent copies.

Yet the most interesting thing to do in Khotan is take a short excursion north of the city to discover some of the secrets of modern silk production . You can do this through a travel service, or independently if you wish. Take bus #1 from Gulibake Lu, five minutes' walk north of Nuerwake Lu and to the east, where the road is bisected by a small park, right to its last stop. Walk back just a few hundred metres towards town and you'll come to the front entrance of the head office of the silk factory . The security man there should understand what you want. If you come during the week (avoid the long lunch break, 1-3pm), the chances are that you will be supplied with an English-speaking factory employee to show you round for free. You can see the whole process: the initial unpicking of the cocoons, the twisting together of the strands to form a thread (ten strands for each silk thread), the winding of the thread onto reels, and finally the weaving and dying. The women here have it hard compared to their sisters in the carpet factory: the noise in the workshops is immense, and they stand all day long.

If you are keen to see the nurturing of the silk worms themselves - only possible in the summer months - you'll need to explore some of the nearby country lanes in the vicinity of the factory. From the factory, walk a few hundred metres farther on towards the city, until you come to an area of green trees and vine trellises. If you are able to explain your purpose to people (a drawing of a silk worm might do the trick), they will take you to see their silk worms munching away on rattan trays of fresh, cleaned mulberry leaves in cool, dark sheds. Eventually each worm should spin itself a cocoon of pure silk; each cocoon comprises a single strand of about a kilometre in length. The farmers sell the cocoons to the factory for ¥10 per kilo. The hatching and rearing of silk worms is unreliable work, and for most farmers it's a sideline.

You can see more hard labour going on at the fascinating bazaar , which takes place every Friday and Sunday. There's not much to buy here except silk and spices, but it's well worth wandering around to watch the innumerable blacksmiths, tinsmiths, goldsmiths and carpenters hard at work among the stalls. The bazaar stretches across the whole of the northeast part of town, and the easiest way to reach it is to head east along Nuerwake Lu, past the turn off with Guibake Lu, then take the first left.

Finally, thirty kilometres to the south of town, there is one sight for Silk Road specialists, the ruined city of Melikawat , by the banks of the White Jade River. Today little remains except a few crumbling walls in the desert. This city, formerly an important regional capital on the Silk Road, was abandoned well over a thousand years ago. For a visit to Melikawat, contact a travel service.