The Rawak Stupa stands about 90 kilometres northeast of Hotan in the desert, a large Buddhist monument that was one of the most important religious sites in the ancient kingdom of Khotan. Built in approximately the 4th or 5th century AD, it consists of a central stupa surrounded by a walled courtyard, the whole structure now half-buried in the dunes that have been advancing across it for a thousand years.
Getting there requires a full-day excursion by 4WD vehicle from Hotan — the road is desert track for most of the approach, and a guide is necessary. The journey itself takes you into the edge of the Taklamakan, past dunes and dry riverbeds, with the mountains visible to the south. Arriving at Rawak gives you a sense of the scale of what was lost: this was a significant religious complex in a prosperous Buddhist kingdom, and the desert has swallowed it so completely that it was unknown to the outside world until Stein found it.
The stupa's form is still largely intact at its core, rising several metres from the sand. The sculptures described by Stein are gone — the result of the looting that followed his excavation — but the setting and the knowledge of what stood here make the visit worthwhile for anyone interested in the lost civilisations of the Silk Road. Arrange transport and a guide through your hotel or the Hotan Museum.