 In 1962, events of the Sino-Indian War occurred in parts of Aksai Chin administered as part of Hotan Prefecture.In 1971, Hotan was changed from a district () to a prefecture ().According to a reporter for the "Wen Wei Po" in Ürümqi, between January and August 2005, authorities had disbanded six "illegal underground" religious schools in Hotan Prefecture and confiscated more than one hundred unauthorized religious books and periodicals as well as 972 audio and video tapes.