Brief introduction of Hotan in southern Xinjiang

Hotan is located in the southwest of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, bordering Kunlun Mountain and Xizang Autonomous Region in the south and Taklimakan Desert and Aksu in the north. It borders Bayinguoleng Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture in the east, Kashgar in the west, Karakorum Mountain in the southwest and Kashmir in the southwest. Hotan, formerly known as Khotan, is the dazzling silk capital on the Silk Road.

It stands in the south of the ancient western regions, with Kunlun Mountain in the south and desert in the north. Jade articles, BMW cars, melons and fruits from the Western Regions spread to the Central Plains, from which the silk from the Central Plains was continuously transported to the Western Regions. In the long river of history, Hotan people have created dazzling ancient civilizations. Many ancient castles, ancient battlefields, ancient beacon towers, ancient monasteries and ancient manors all shine with brilliant historical brilliance. Hotan compatriots are hospitable, good at singing and dancing, and have a variety of recreational activities with national characteristics. The main entertainment is Maixilaifu in the mountains, knocking on stones and playing piccolo. If you are lucky, you can see wonderful performances in restaurants and even on the streets. Generally, it coincides with festivals and there will be large-scale performances.

Maixilaifu, a mountainous area, is the general name of a kind of mass art activity unique to herders living in Karakorum Mountain in Hotan and people engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry at the foot of the mountain. Accompanied by primitive three-stringed instruments, herder Rewafu and tambourine, the participants performed enthusiastic dances with rich local characteristics and entertainment activities with various jokes. Stone knocking has a long history in the history of Uygur music. The tool used to knock stones is a kind of stone called Xerox. Xerox is a natural stone, black and light in texture, which can make a crisp sound after being struck. Playing music with this kind of stone can achieve the purpose of limiting the beat of music, restricting the main melody and adding an active atmosphere to the main melody.

Because stones are easily broken when they collide with each other, aluminum alloys are widely used as music stones now. Xiao is a local musical instrument, which is made of unwatered reeds and grows on high slopes. It is played directly with the mouth. Generally speaking, the short flute is 30cm long, with rough sound quality and good alto. It is the only representative musical instrument handed down from ancient times in Hotan area, and it is very suitable for playing Muqam and Maixilaifu tunes.

Music and dance in Khotan is one of the areas most influenced by Buddhism in the western regions, and the introduction of Buddhist music has brought fresh breath to Khotan, a country that has long advocated singing and dancing. When Dharma, a monk, appeared in Khotan, he saw that the country was rich in folk music, and the people were rich and safe. They were all law-abiding and enjoyed Buddhism together. In the Han Dynasty, with the eastward spread of western culture, western music, represented by Qiuci music and Tian Yu music, was also introduced to the court. At that time, the Han Palace as a court music income "Yu Lan Yue" yuan. It is reported that Emperor Gaozu often entertained himself with orchestral songs and dances in Weiyang Palace. When Zhang Qian returned to Chang 'an from the Western Regions, he brought back the Buddhist song Mahadule adapted by Khotan and Qiu Zile.

The Tang Dynasty was the heyday of western music, and nine times out of ten court music was Hu Yin. Jade capital jade Tan Meiyu has always enjoyed a high reputation in history: according to legend, as early as the Shang Dynasty, the palaces of the Shang Dynasty were used for jade and various utensils for jade processing; At that time, the princes and nobles of Chu took jade as their status symbol; By the Han Dynasty, more and more people in the Central Plains loved jade, and various governors sent craftsmen to collect jade around Kunlun Mountain. After the hard work of these jade pickers, a large number of jade carvings in Kunlun Mountain were transported to the Central Plains, and the Silk Road gradually flourished. Yutian jade is the top grade of jade, which can be divided into jadeite and nephrite according to the types, the former is more valuable; From the color can be divided into white jade, jasper, sapphire, jet, topaz, ruby and so on.

Dayu jade carving, carved with jade from Kunlun Mountain, is 2 meters high and has the title of Jade King. It is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The best travel time in Hotan is from August to September, with four distinct seasons, long and windy spring, hot and dry summer, large temperature difference in autumn and little snow and cold winter. Sunglasses, sunscreen and sun hat are essential items for Hotan tourism, which can resist sandstorms and scorching sun. August and September, when fruits are ripe every year, are the golden season for tourism. At this time, the scenery in Hotan is charming, the autumn is crisp and the fruits are fragrant. But the temperature difference between day and night is large, so you need to prepare enough clothes. In addition, peach blossoms and apricot blossoms in Hotan compete to open in March and April every year. If you go at this time, you need to be prepared for cold and dust.