Hotan's climate is extreme: summer (June–August) reaches 40°C, while winters are cold with temperatures regularly below zero. Spring and autumn are the best seasons, with April–May and September–October offering moderate temperatures. The Sunday market operates year-round, but the bazaar is liveliest and the surrounding countryside most attractive in autumn, when the mulberry and grape harvests are underway. The Taklamakan desert ruins are best visited in spring or autumn — summer heat makes walking in the desert genuinely dangerous, and winter cold is sharp.