KHOTAN 
749 
table on occasions of ceremony; in West Turkestan they 
are hung on the wall. 
Khotan is really the name of the entire oasis, embracing 
some three hundred villages. The town itself is however 
generally called Ilchi ; the oasis contains also two other 
"owns, namely Kara-kash and Yurun-kash. ^ The trade 
with China is carried on partly along the Khotan-dana, 
through Ak-su and Turfan, partly by way of Yarkand 
and Maral-bashi ; on the other hand, scarcely any of it 
passes Lop-nor. Trade with Russia goes by way of 
Kashgar; the Anglo-Indian trade by way of Leh in 
Ladak. In the bazaar of Khotan there are merchants 
from all parts of Asia— Chinese, Afghans, Hindus, West 
T'urkestanis, and even Nogai Tatars from Orenburg 
1 stayed nine days in Khotan. The amban, Liu Darin, 
showed me genuine hospitality ; and every time I rode 
in or out of his yamen (official residence) honoured me 
with a salute of three guns. The very day of my arriva 
we exchanged the usual visits of ceremony and gave 
one another presents. I went to see him many times 
afterwards, and soon discovered, that even according to 
European ideas he was a man of honour, generous, 
upright, and just; and a real tie of friendship grew 
up between us. He was a man of seventy or so, tall, 
with strongly marked features, small intelligent eyes, 
and thin white moustache, and a very meagre pigtail. 
Of all the Asiatics with whom I came in contact on 
this present journey, Liu Darin is the one I like best 
to remember, and whom it would give me greatest pleasure 
to see again. ^ 
On this occasion, as well as when I got back to x o an 
the second time, Liu Darin often invited me to his house. 
in rnmnanv with the chief mandarins of the town, 
•dinners as a change in my 
homely and monotonous bill 
