Hetian, also known as Hotan, is an oasis town in southwestern Xinjiang, an autonomous region in northwestern China. It is the seat of Hotan Prefecture. The city proper of Hotan broke off from the larger Hotan County to become an administrative area in its own right in August 1984.
Hetian is a major oasis settlement in the region, situated in the southwestern part of Xinjiang. Its status as a separate administrative area dates from the 1984 split from Hotan County, and it serves as the administrative centre of the surrounding prefecture.