Xinhua announced yesterday the construction of a new regional airport in Xinjiang. It will be built in Yutian, a remote County of Hotan/Khotan Prefecture in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Yutian is also known as Keryia.
Already in 1953
On July 15, 1953, a CIA note dealing with “Chinese Communist Troops, West Tibet” and “Road Construction, Sinkiang to Tibet and Ladakh” mentioned that late 1952, the 2 Cavalry Regiment, commanded by one Han Tse-min, had set up his headquarters at Gartok (the main trade centre in Western Tibet). It announced that the regiment had 800 camels and 150 men garrisoned at Rutok, in the vicinity of the Panggong lake. At that time, the 2 Cavalry’s commandant spoke of the Chinese intention to built three new roads in the area.[Source]