Hotan Night Market Travel Guide
Late-night Canteens in Southern Xinjiang: Grilled Eggs, Baked Buns, and Night Market Songs and Dances
Hetian Night Market is the most lively late-night eatery in southern Xinjiang: the three brothers of grilled eggs, grilled buns, rose nang, and live singing and dancing. Business hours, must-try list, prices, and etiquette are all explained in this article.
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Destination Details
Hotan Night Market is located in the urban area of Hotan (mainly around the new night market city near Huanhu Road and Renmin West Road). It truly becomes lively after 9 PM and you can eat until midnight. It represents the pinnacle of night market culture in southern Xinjiang: hundreds of stalls, live singing and dancing, and more locals than tourists.
Must-Try List
- Three Bro Eggs: Chicken eggs, quail eggs, and goose eggs roasted together with honey and maca. This is Hotan Night Market's signature; one goose egg is filling enough.
- Roasted Buns and Thin-Skinned Buns: Lamb and onion filling freshly baked, costing two to three yuan each. The ones straight out of the clay oven are the most fragrant.
- Rose Naan and Yogurt Rice Dumplings: Hotan specialty rose jam spread on naan; yogurt dumplings drizzled with honey are surprisingly harmonious.
- Jar Meat and Pigeon Soup: Lamb soup stewed in enamel jars, a bowl warms you from stomach to toes in winter.
Practical Tips
The atmosphere peaks from 9:30 PM to 11 PM, with more people on weekends. Walk around first before choosing what to eat, don't fill up at the first stall. Stalls generally accept only cash or mobile payment, so bring small bills. It is safe for women to walk alone; just greet before taking photos. If invited to join in the singing and dancing, don’t be shy, simply follow along and clap.
Itinerary Suggestion
Hotan Night Market is usually scheduled for the evening of the Hotan trip: during the day, visit the Yutian Ruins, the Walnut King Tree, or the Jade Bazaar, and end the day at the night market. If traveling along the southern Xinjiang route (Kashgar—Shache—Hotan), leave the night market for the last night to relax the most.
