Hotan Prefecture in the context of Tibet Autonomous Region

Aksai Chin is a region administered by China partly in He'an County and Hekang County of Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, and partly in Rutog County of Ngari Prefecture, Tibet, and constituting the easternmost portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a dispute between India and China since 1959. China administers the region and claims it as part of the Xinjiang and Tibet autonomous regions. India meanwhile claims it as part of Leh district in the union territory of Ladakh.

He'an County (Chinese: 和安; pinyin: Hé'ān) is a county in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. It is the southernmost county-level division of Xinjiang. It administers part of Aksai Chin.

The county government is seated in the town of Dahongliutan (or simply Hongliu), which is located at an elevation of 4,200 meters above sealevel.

Hekang County (Chinese: 和康; pinyin: Hékāng) is a county in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. It administers part of Aksai Chin. The seat of the administration is Kunling Township, known as Saitula Township prior to June 2025.

Leh district is a district in Indian-administered Ladakh in the disputed Kashmir-region. Ladakh is an Indian-administered union territory. With an area of 45,110 km, it is the second largest district in the country, second only to Kutch. It is bounded on the north by Gilgit-Baltistan's Kharmang and Ghanche districts and Xinjiang's Kashgar Prefecture and Hotan Prefecture, to which it connects via the historic Karakoram Pass. Aksai Chin and Tibet are to the east, Kargil district to the west, and Lahul and Spiti to the south. The district headquarters is in Leh. It lies between 32 and 36 degree north latitude and 75 to 80 degree east longitude.

All of Ladakh was under the administration of Leh until 1 July 1979, when the Kargil and Leh administrative districts were created. Religion has been a source of grievance between Buddhists and Muslims since the late 20th century and contributed to this division.

Kargilik County (Uyghur: قاغىلىق ناھىيىسى), also known as Yecheng County (Chinese: 叶城县), is a county in southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Kashgar Prefecture. It contains an area of 28,600 km. To the north, the county borders Makit County. To the east, the county borders Guma County (Pishan) in Hotan Prefecture. To the west, the county borders Yarkant County, Poskam County and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County. In the south, the county has a border of more than 80 km (50 mi) with Pakistan and India administered areas of Kashmir.

Hotan (Uyghur: خوتەن, romanized: Xoten; Chinese: 和田; pinyin: Hétián) is a major oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in Northwestern China. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become an administrative area in its own right in August 1984. It is the seat of Hotan Prefecture.

With a population of 408,900 (2018 census), Hotan is situated in the Tarim Basin some 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) southwest of the regional capital, Ürümqi. It lies just north of the Kunlun Mountains, which are crossed by the Sanju, Hindutash and Ilchi passes. The town, located southeast of Yarkant County and populated almost exclusively by Uyghurs, is a minor agricultural center. An important station on the southern branch of the historic Silk Road, Hotan has always depended on two strong rivers, the Karakash River and the White Jade River, to provide the water needed to survive on the southwestern edge of the vast Taklamakan Desert. The White Jade River still provides water and irrigation for the town and oasis.

Nagqu (also Naqu, Nakchu, or Nagchu; Tibetan: ནག་ཆུ།, Wylie: Nag-chu, ZWPY: Nagqu; Chinese: 那曲; lit. 'black river') is a prefecture-level city in the north of the Chinese autonomous region of Tibet. On May 7, 2018, the former Nagqu Prefecture was officially declared the sixth prefecture-level city in Tibet after Lhasa, Shigatse, Chamdo, Nyingchi and Shannan. The regional area, covering an area of 450,537 km (173,953 sq mi), is bordered by Bayingolin and Hotan Prefectures of Xinjiang to the north, Haixi, Yushu Prefectures of Qinghai and Chamdo to the east, Nyingchi, Lhasa and Shigatse to the south, Ngari Prefecture to the west. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 462,381. Since its official establishment in 2018, it is the largest prefecture-level city by area in the world, being slightly larger than Sweden.According to the population sampling survey, the resident population of the city by the end of 2024 will be 514,300.

Nagqu contains 89 townships, 25 towns, and 1,283 villages. The main city of Nagqu is along the China National Highway 109, 330 kilometres (210 mi) northeast of Lhasa. Amdo, Nyainrong and Xainza are other towns of note. Extremely rich in water resources, with 81% of Tibet's lakes, covering a total area of over 30,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi), it contains lakes such as Namtso, Siling Lake and rivers such as Dangqu.

Dahongliutan (Chinese: 大红柳滩) or simply Hongliutan (Chinese: 红柳滩) is a village situated in Karakash river valley in the Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. It is located along the China National Highway 219, and is the town just north of the disputed Aksai Chin region of China and India.

Dahongliutan lies along the China National Highway G219. Following the highway westward, the deserted town of Kangxiwar is about 50 km west and the modern town of Xaidulla is about 115 km west. Following the highway southeastward leads to Aksai Chin. The Tianshuihai army service station in Aksai Chin is about 100 km south along the highway.

Karakax County (Uyghur: قاراقاش ناھىيىسى, also transliterated as Qaraqash; Chinese: 喀拉喀什县), also known as Moyu County (Chinese: 墨玉县), is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is located in the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, it is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. It contains an area of 25,667 km (9,910 sq mi). According to the 2011 census it has a population of 577,000 and 98,1% are Uyghurs. The county is bordered to the north by Awat County in Aksu Prefecture, to the northeast by Lop County, to the southeast by Hotan County, to the northwest by Maralbexi County in Kashgar Prefecture, and to the southwest by Pishan County and Kunyu. Exclaves of Kunyu are located within the county.

Makit County is a county in Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It contains an area of 10,927 km (4,219 sq mi). The Yarkand River passes through the county. The county is bordered to the north by Maralbexi County, to the east by Guma County (Pishan) in Hotan Prefecture, to the west by Yarkant County, and to the south by Kargilik County.

Pishan County (Chinese: 皮山县) as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Uyghur as Guma County (Uyghur: گۇما ناھىيىسى; Chinese: 固玛县), is a county within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. It contains an area of 39,412 km (15,217 sq mi). According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 220,000. The county borders Maralbexi County and Makit County to the north, Karakax County, Hotan County and Kunyu to the east and Kargilik County to the west. The county includes lands near the Karakoram Pass which are part of the Aksai Chin area that is disputed between China and India.

Hotan County (also known as Gosthana, Gaustana, Godana, Godaniya, Khotan, Hetian, Hotien) is a county in the southwest of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Hotan Prefecture. Almost all the residents of the county are Uyghurs and live around oases situated between the desolate Taklamakan Desert and Kunlun Mountains. Hotan County is the southernmost county-level division of Xinjiang. The county borders Karakax / Moyu County to the northwest, Hotan City and Lop County to the northeast, Qira County to the east, Pishan County to the west, and (in Aksai Chin) Rutog County, Tibet to the southeast. Hotan County administers most of Aksai Chin, an area disputed between China and India. The Line of Actual Control divides the India-controlled part of Ladakh union territory from the Aksai Chin area administered as part of southwest Hotan County.