Introducing Ürümqi
Travel Alert: The security situation in Xīnjiāng is now under control but the potential for further violence remains; travellers are advised to exercise caution. Check the BBC for news updates or the Thorn Tree for advice from other travellers.
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Ürümqi’s Silk Road history does dominate the perceptions. Travellers disembark half-expecting oasis tents and hawkers bellowing their kebab quality. With all that cartographical earth-tone indicating desert nearby (trivia alert: it’s the furthest place in the world from an ocean – 2250km), perhaps they also expect the odd camel or two chewing contentedly. Thus, many are not a little bit surprised when they find it a modern and relatively efficient city. With a few kebab sellers.
Its Mongolian name, Ürümqi (Wūlǔmùqí or Wūshì in Modern Standard Chinese), hints at a place of fertile pastureland. Those halcyon days have said bye-bye in this teeming city, jump-started in the late 1990s by the Chinese government’s efforts to relocate skilled Han here to solidify it as a strategic and economic bulwark of China’s west (read: oil exploration and extraction). Its skyscraper quotient may be modest compared to eastern megalopolises, but the city definitely has a hotwired economy fast becoming a Central Asian hotshot.
Apart from the provincial museum and nearby Tiān Chí, Ürümqi is basically a practical hub, from where you can make all the necessary preparations for various trips through Xīnjiāng, Central Asia or back into China.
Last updated: Jul 21, 2009
Thorn Tree forum discussion
Recent posts
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RE: Chinese visa help
by jiejie 13 September 2011
#14 Interesting. Usually when they see Urumqi as an intended destination and tell you a special permit is needed (or a confirmed tour),…
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RE: Chinese visa help
by rainman32 13 September 2011
So I unfortunately did not read this thread and applied for the Chinese tourist visa in Hong Kong, stating that I would be going to Urumqi…
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RE: Information Urumqi
by karakulcamel 12 September 2011
Hi there, Please check here for Abdul Wahab Tours. He was highly recommended tour operator in Kashgar and whole Xinjiang province. http://…
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