Ürümqi Metro Map
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ürümqi, , is the capital of the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC: previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest of the country at the crossroads ...
in
Northwestern China Northwestern China () is a region in the People's Republic of China. It consists of five provincial administrative regions, namely Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid continental climate. ...
. With a census population of 4 million in 2020, Ürümqi is the second-largest city in China's northwestern interior after
Xi'an Xi'an is the list of capitals in China, capital of the Chinese province of Shaanxi. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong plain, the city is the third-most populous city in Western China after Chongqing and Chengdu, as well as the most populou ...
, also the second-largest in
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
in terms of population, right after
Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. Ürümqi has seen significant economic development since the 1990s and currently serves as a regional transport node and a cultural, political and commercial center.


Etymology

The name Ürümqi comes from the Mongolic
Oirat language Oirat ( Clear script: , ; Kalmyk: , ; Khalkha Mongolian: , ) is a Mongolic language spoken by the descendants of Oirat Mongols, now forming parts of Mongols in China, Kalmyks in Russia and Mongolians. Largely mutually intelligible to oth ...
and means "beautiful pasture" (, ). It was originally the name of a small town founded by the Mongolic, Oirat-speaking Dzungars. The
Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...
took Ürümqi by force in 1755, during its conquest of the
Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate ( Mongolian: ), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyz ...
. Qing forces expanded the town into a walled city from 1763 to 1767, and upon completing the expansion renamed the city Dihua ( zh, c=迪化, links=no; previously romanized as Tihwa), meaning "to enlighten and civilize". The
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
restored the name "Ürümqi" on 1 February 1954, believing Dihua to be a belittling and ethnically chauvinist name.


History


Early period

During prehistory, the site of the future Ürümqi was occupied by a nomadic people known in Chinese accounts as the Jushi, who lived mainly on the northern slopes of the surrounding Tianshan Mountains. The Jushi are often regarded as likely precursors of the Tocharian peoples, who later established city states in the
Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is an endorheic basin in Xinjiang, Northwestern China occupying an area of about and one of the largest basins in Northwest China.Chen, Yaning, et al. "Regional climate change and its effects on river runoff in the Tarim Basin, Ch ...
, south of the present site of Ürümqi. The oldest known settlement, a town called ''Urabo'' (Chinese: Wulabo), was located about from the southern suburbs of the present-day Ürümqi.
Han Chinese The Han Chinese, alternatively the Han people, are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Greater China. With a global population of over 1.4 billion, the Han Chinese are the list of contemporary ethnic groups, world's la ...
states, located to the east, exerted increasing control of the Tarim Basin. Under the name Luntai, the city was founded by the Tang government, in 648 CE, the 22nd year of Emperor Taizong's reign, as part of the Protectorate General to Pacify the West. It was a seat of local government and collected taxes from the caravans along the northern route of the Silk Road. After the Tang retreated from the
Western Regions The Western Regions or Xiyu (Hsi-yü; ) was a historical name specified in Ancient Chinese chronicles between the 3rd century BC to the 8th century AD that referred to the regions west of the Yumen Pass, most often the Tarim Basin in prese ...
, the region came under the control of the
Uyghurs The Uyghurs,. alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic peoples, Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central Asia and East Asia. The Uyghurs are recognized as the ti ...
of the
Khaganate A khanate ( ) or khaganate refers to historic polity, polities ruled by a Khan (title), khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. Khanates were typically nomadic Mongol and Turkic peoples, Turkic or Tatars, Tatar societies located on the Eurasian Steppe, ...
and
Gaochang Gaochang (; Old Uyghur: ''Qocho''), also called Khocho, Karakhoja, Qara-hoja, Kara-Khoja or Karahoja (قاراغوجا in Uyghur), was an ancient oasis city on the northern rim of the inhospitable Taklamakan Desert in present-day Sanbu Town ...
/
Qocho Qocho or Kara-Khoja ( zh, t=高昌回鶻, p=Gāochāng Huíhú, l=Gaochang Uyghurs, c=, s=), also known as Idiqut, ("holy wealth"; "glory"; "lord of fortune") was a Uyghur kingdom created in 843, with strong Chinese Buddhist and Tocharian ...
. There is little information about the Ürümqi area during the time between the Tang and Qing dynasties, and researchers believe that there were no permanent settlements there for most of this period. The Mongols referred to the wider area as Bishbalik, meaning five cities, a reference to the five towns that surrounded the present-day Ürümqi area.


Dzungar period

The Oirat-speaking Dzungar tribes that formed the
Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate ( Mongolian: ), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyz ...
were the last major power to control Ürümqi before the Manchus gained control of Xinjiang. During the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
, there was a record of a place at Jiujiawan to the west of present Ürümqi, which may have been the Dzungar town that was later destroyed during the Qing conquest. The Mongolians also used the area as herding ground in this period. Steppe peoples had used the location, the pass between the
Bogda Shan The Bogda Shan (; zh, s=博格达山, t=博格達山, p=Bógédá shān) range is part of the Eastern Tian Shan mountains and located in Xinjiang, some 60 km east of Ürümqi Ürümqi, , is the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uy ...
to the east and the
Tian Shan The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...
to the west, connecting the Dzungar Basin to the north and the
Turpan Depression The Turpan Depression or Turfan Depression, is a fault-bounded trough located around and south of the city-oasis of Turpan, in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in far Western China, about southeast of the regional capital Ürümqi. It includes ...
to the south. Ürümqi remained a small town of lesser importance than the
oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentTurpan Turpan () or Turfan ( zh, s=吐鲁番) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 693,988 (2020). The historical center of the ...
to the southeast. Fighting for the control of Dzungaria led to the Khoshuuts (now classified as Mongols) leaving Ürümqi for
Qinghai Qinghai is an inland Provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. It is the largest provinces of China, province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xin ...
and
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...
in the 1620s and 1630s. The Uyghurs were introduced into the Ürümqi area in the 18th century by the Dzungars who moved them from the west Tarim region to be ''taranchis'' or farmers in Ürümqi.


Qing rule

In the 18th century, the Qing went to war against the
Dzungar Khanate The Dzungar Khanate ( Mongolian: ), also known as the Zunghar Khanate or Junggar Khanate, was an Inner Asian khanate of Oirat Mongol origin. At its greatest extent, it covered an area from southern Siberia in the north to present-day Kyrgyz ...
. Ürümqi was taken by the Qing in 1755, and the Dzungars of the region were eliminated in the Dzungar genocide. One writer, Wei Yuan, described the resulting desolation in what became northern Xinjiang as "an empty plain for a thousand '' li'', with no trace of man". A fort was built (either in 1755 or 1758 depending on sources), and the Qing then established garrisons of Manchu and Mongol bannermen and Han Chinese troops at Ürümqi. After 1759, the Qing government established state farms in the under-populated areas around Ürümqi, where there was fertile, well-watered land. Manchu soldiers also constructed a temple with red walls dedicated to Guandi on Pingding mountain overlooking Ürümqi, which gave Ürümqi the nickname "Red Temple". The Manchus began to construct a walled city in 1763 to the south of the first fort, and it was completed in 1767. The
Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...
named the new settlement "Dihua" ( zh, c=迪化, p=Díhuà, links=no;
Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...
: ''Wen de dahabure fu''), meaning "to enlighten and civilize". In 1771, another city named Gongning Cheng () was built nearby to the northwest to house Manchu bannermen, and this would become the seat of government. The bannermen settlement to the west was commonly referred to as "Mancheng" ( zh, labels=no, t=滿城 , l=Manchu City), while Dihua to the east became a Han Chinese town commonly called "Hancheng" ( zh, labels=no, t=漢城 , l=Han City). The Ürümqi of the early period was therefore a twin-city, with Gongning Cheng forming the administrative center while Dihua grew into Xinjiang's commercial and financial center. Han Chinese from all over China moved into Dihua, as did Chinese Hui Muslims from
Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...
and
Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
. The origin of Hui in Ürümqi is often indicated by the names of their mosques. By 1762, more than 500 shops had already been opened by Chinese migrants to the area of modern-day Ürümqi. Those Qing literati who visited Dihua were impressed by its cultural sophistication and similarity to eastern China. The writer
Ji Yun Ji Yun (; 1724–1805), also known as Ji Xiaolan () or Ji Chunfan () was a Chinese philosopher, politician, and writer. He was an influential scholar of Qing dynasty China and many anecdotes have been recorded about him. Ji Yun left behind a b ...
compared Dihua to Beijing, in that both had numerous wine shops which offered daily performances of Chinese music and dance. In 1870, the Battle of Ürümqi took place between the Turkic Muslim forces of Yaqub Beg against the Dungan Muslim forces of Tuo Ming (Daud Khalifa). With the help of Xu Xuegong's Han Chinese militia, Yaqub Beg's forces defeated the Dungans. Gongning Cheng was captured, its Qing administrator killed, and the city burnt to the ground and abandoned. The Qing later regained control of Ürümqi. In 1884, the
Guangxu Emperor The Guangxu Emperor (14 August 1871 – 14 November 1908), also known by his temple name Emperor Dezong of Qing, personal name Zaitian, was the tenth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the ninth Qing emperor to rule over China ...
established
Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...
as a province, with Dihua as its capital.


Republican era

After the collapse of the Qing dynasty, Xinjiang was ruled from Ürümqi by a succession of warlords:
Yang Zengxin Yang Zengxin (; March 6, 1864 – July 7, 1928) was a Chinese warlord who was the ruler of Xinjiang after the Xinhai Revolution in 1911 and during the Warlord Era until his assassination in 1928. Life Yang Zengxin was born in Mengzi, Yun ...
(1911–1928), Jin Shuren (1928–1933), Sheng Shicai (1933–1942), and Zhang Zhizhong (1942–1949) as governor of Xinjiang. Of these, Yang and Sheng were considered capable rulers. During the
Kumul Rebellion The Kumul Rebellion ( zh, t=哈密暴動, p=Hāmì bàodòng, l=Hami Uprising) was a rebellion of Hami, Kumulik Uyghurs from 1931 to 1934 who conspired with Hui people, Hui Islam in China, Chinese Muslim General Ma Zhongying to overthrow Jin Sh ...
, the First Battle of Ürümqi and the Second Battle of Ürümqi took place between the forces of
Ma Zhongying Ma Zhongying, also Ma Chung-ying (, Xiao'erjing: ; c. 1910 or 1908 – after 1936), nickname Commander Ga (尕司令, lit. youngster commander), was a Chinese Muslim warlord during the Warlord era of China. His birth name was Ma Buying (). Ma ...
's
36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) The New 36th Division was a cavalry division in the National Revolutionary Army. It was created in 1932 by the Kuomintang for General Ma Zhongying, who was also its first commander. It was made almost entirely out of Hui Muslim troops, all of ...
and Jin Shuren and Sheng Shicai's provincial forces. At the second battle, Ma was assisted by the Han Chinese General Zhang Peiyuan.


People's Republic era

On 1 February 1954, following the
founding of the People's Republic of China The proclamation of the People's Republic of China was made by Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), on October 1, 1949, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The government of a n ...
, the city's name was officially changed back to Ürümqi. The ruling
Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
believed that the name "Dihua", which literally means "to enlighten and civilize", was belittling and ethnically chauvinist. Ürümqi became the ''de facto'' political and economic capital of Xinjiang in 1962, following protests against Chinese rule in the previous capital
Yining YiningThe official spelling according to ( zh, s=伊宁), also known as Ghulja () or Kulja (Kazakh language, Kazakh: ), is a county-level city in northwestern Xinjiang, China. It is the administrative seat and largest city of Ili Kazakh Auton ...
(Ghulja). In what came to be known as the Yi–Ta incident, 60,000 Chinese citizens left Yining and
Tacheng TachengThe official spelling according to (), also known as Tarbagatay, Chuguchak or Qoqek, is a county-level city and the administrative seat of Tacheng Prefecture, in northern Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang. The Chinese name "Tach ...
for the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, prompting the Chinese government to move its administrative buildings and industrial focus from Yining to Ürümqi. The Chinese government also began construction on a railway connecting Ürümqi to
China proper China proper, also called Inner China, are terms used primarily in the West in reference to the traditional "core" regions of China centered in the southeast. The term was first used by Westerners during the Manchu people, Manchu-led Qing dyn ...
in the east. As a result, Xinjiang was culturally and economically reoriented away from Central Asia and toward China proper. In the late 1970s,
Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...
relaxed China's tight control over Xinjiang, and Ürümqi benefited from the development of the oil and gas industry in Xinjiang. New mosques were built in Ürümqi with financial assistance from the Chinese government. While the Chinese government implemented strict rules on religion in southern Xinjiang, the treatment of the Uyghurs and their religion in Ürümqi were more lax and permissive. In May 1989, unrest in Ürümqi resulted in 150 injuries. In February 1997, bombings in Ürümqi following the Ghulja incident resulted in 20 deaths and scores of injuries.


July 2009 riots and subsequent unrest

In the largest eruption of ethnic violence in China in decades, there were riots in July 2009 between ethnic Han Chinese and Uyghurs. The ''New York Times'' reporter covering the riot described the violence as "clashes with riot police and Uyghurs rampaging through the city and killing Han civilians. Then, for at least three days, bands of Han vigilantes roamed Urumqi, attacking and killing Uyghurs." Before the riot broke out, young Uyghurs had marched through the city "to protest a case of judicial discrimination". According to official figures, most of the 197 killed in the riot were Han, a statement which ''New York Times'' reporter Edward Wong says is disputed by Uyghurs.


Geography

The largest city in
western China Western China ( zh, s=中国西部, l=, labels=no or zh, s=华西, l=, labels=no) is the west of China. It consists of Southwestern China and Northwestern China. In the definition of the Chinese government, Western China covers six provinces ...
, Ürümqi has earned a place in the ''
Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
'' as the most remote city from any sea in the world. It is about from the nearest coastline as Ürümqi is the closest major city to the Eurasian
pole of inaccessibility In geography, a pole of inaccessibility is the farthest (or most difficult to reach) location in a given landmass, sea, or other topographical feature, starting from a given boundary, relative to a given criterion. A geographical criterion of i ...
, although
Karamay Karamay (also spelled Karamai) is a prefecture-level city in the north of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. It is surrounded on all sides by Tacheng Prefecture. The name of the city comes from the Uyghur langu ...
and Altay, both in Xinjiang, are closer. The city has an administrative area of and has an average elevation of . The location in the southwestern suburbs of Ürümqi ( Ürümqi County) was designated by local geography experts as the "center point of Asia" in 1992, and a monument to this effect was erected there in the 1990s. The site is a local tourist attraction.


Water supply

Although surrounded by deserts (the Gurbantünggüt in the north and the
Taklamakan The Taklamakan Desert ( ) is a desert in northwest China's Xinjiang region. Located inside the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang, it is bounded by the Kunlun Mountains to the south, the Pamir Mountains to the west, the Tian Shan range to the n ...
in the south), the Ürümqi area is naturally watered by a number of small rivers flowing from the snow-capped Tian Shan mountains: the main range of the Tian Shan in south of the city (Ürümqi County), and the
Bogda Shan The Bogda Shan (; zh, s=博格达山, t=博格達山, p=Bógédá shān) range is part of the Eastern Tian Shan mountains and located in Xinjiang, some 60 km east of Ürümqi Ürümqi, , is the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uy ...
east of the city ( Dabancheng District). There are 20,000 glaciers in Xinjiang – nearly half of all the glaciers in China. Since the 1950s, Xinjiang's glaciers have retreated by between 21 percent to 27 percent due to
global warming Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes ...
. Tianshan Glacier No. 1 (), origin of Ürümqi River, is the largest glacier near a major city in China, but has already split into two smaller glaciers. As the Ürümqi region's population and economy are growing, the water demand exceeds the natural supply. To alleviate water shortages, the Irtysh–Ürümqi Canal was constructed in the first decade of the 21st century. The canal's main trunk terminates in the so-called "Reservoir 500" (; ) in the far north-eastern suburbs of the city (on the border of Ürümqi's suburban Midong District and Fukang City). A new industrial area, called Ganquanbao Industrial Park (), or Industrial New City 500 () was being developed in 2009, west of the reservoir, relying on it for water supply. From the reservoir area water is further distributed over a network of canals throughout the lower Midong District.


Climate

Ürümqi lies on the boundary between a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Dfa'', Trewartha: ''Dcac'') and a cool semi-arid climate (Köppen: ''BSk'', Trewartha: ''BSac''). It sees vast differences between summer and winter temperatures, featuring very warm to hot summers, with a July daily average of , and frigid winters, with a January daily average of . The annual average temperature is . Although the cityʼs summers are slightly wetter than its winters, sunny weather is much more likely in the hotter months, and relative humidity is the lowest during summer. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 33 percent in December to 75 percent in September, the city receives 2,643 hours of bright sunshine annually. Its annual precipitation is about . Extremes since 1951 have ranged from on 27 February 1951 to on 1 August 1973.


Cityscape


Air quality and pollution

Blacksmith Institute mentioned Ürümqi in ''2007 World's Worst Polluted Places'' caused by
air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...
along with
Linfen Linfen () is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, People's Republic of China, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. Linfen City is located in the southern part of Shanxi Province, with the remaining branches of T ...
and
Lanzhou Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. His ...
, all in China. In 2008, ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...
'' listed Ürümqi as one of the top ten worst places to live in the world due to sulphurous pollution. Heavy haze is extremely common in winter, which frequently affects air traffic. Officials believed that severe winter air pollution in Ürümqi is mainly caused by energy-heavy industries and the outdated coal-firing winter heating system. According to a report by Department of Environmental Science and Engineering of
Fudan University Fudan University (FDU) is a public university, national public university in Yangpu, Shanghai, Yangpu, Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education and is co-funded with the Shanghai Municipal ...
, the average PM2.5 and TSP concentrations in the winter of 2007 were 12 times higher than USA standard for PM2.5 and 3 times the National Ambient Air Quality Standard of China for TSP. The
sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell that is responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is r ...
from industrial emissions mixed with the local anthropogenic aerosol with the transported soil dust from outside the city were the main sources of the high concentration of sulfate, one of the main factors causing the heavy air pollution over Ürümqi.


Timing of sunrise

Because of the use of a single time zone for all of China, in Ürümqi which is at a far western location in China, the sun is 2 hours and 10 minutes behind
China Standard Time The time in China follows a single standard UTC offset, time offset of UTC+08:00, where Beijing is located, even though the country spans five geographical time zones. It is the largest sovereign nation in the world that officially observes only ...
(CST =
UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...
+8). During early January the sun does not rise until 09:45 and it sets between 18:45 and 19:10 local time. In September and March, the sun rises around 08:00, and sets around 19:45. However, in June the sun rises at about 06:25 and does not set until 21:45.


Administrative divisions

Ürümqi currently comprises 8 county-level subdivisions: 7
districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...
and 1
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
.


Demographics

Ürümqi has been a multiethnic city from the time of the Qing conquest; in the early years, the Manchus lived in Gongning Cheng, Han Chinese in Dihua and various other ethnic groups such as the Hui, Uyghurs and others in the suburban districts. Muslims settled to the south of the walled-city of Dihua, and although the walls have since been demolished, the Muslims are still concentrated there. A census in 1787 showed that there were 114,348 Hui and Han in the prefectures of Zhenxi (which included Barköl and
Hami Hami ( zh, c=哈密) or Kumul () is a prefecture-level city in eastern Xinjiang, China. It is well known for sweet Hami melons. In early 2016, the former Hami county-level city merged with Hami Prefecture to form the Hami prefecture-level city ...
) and Ürümqi. In Ürümqi city itself, there were 39,000 people in the 1880s and by the early 20th century, 50,000 people. Ürümqi in 1908 was said to have been inhabited by Uyghurs (then called Turkis), Chinese, Manchus and a few Mongols, with the Uyghurs estimated to comprise a quarter of the population. In the People's Republic of China era, an active program to resettle Han population in Xinjiang was initiated. In 1960, there were 76,496 Uyghurs and 477,321 Han Chinese in Ürümqi. According to the 2000 census, Ürümqi had 2,081,834 inhabitants, with a population density of 174.53 inhabitants / km2 (452.3 inhabitants / sq. mi.). In the 2010 census, the population was recorded as 3,112,559. Part of the increase was due to boundary changes; for example, Miquan was merged into Midong District and became part of Ürümqi in 2007. In 2021, Ürümqi was estimated to have a population of 4.544 million people.


Economy

Ürümqi is a major industrial center within Xinjiang. Ürümqi, together with
Karamay Karamay (also spelled Karamai) is a prefecture-level city in the north of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. It is surrounded on all sides by Tacheng Prefecture. The name of the city comes from the Uyghur langu ...
and
Korla Korla,The official spelling according to also known as Kurla, United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency or Kuerle, is the second largest city by population in Xinjiang, China. It is a county-level city and the seat of Bayingolin Mo ...
, account for 64.5 percent of the total industrial output of Xinjiang. Ürümqi is also the largest consumer center in the region, recording ¥41.9 billion retail sales of consumer goods in 2008, an increase of 26 percent from 2007. , the city's GDP was (), while the GDP per capita was around (). Ürümqi has been a central developmental target for the China Western Development project that the Central Government is pursuing. The Urumqi Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Fair has been held annually since 1991 and has been upgraded into the first China-Eurasia Expo in 2011. Its purpose is to promote domestic and foreign markets. The 17th Fair has attracted participants from the Ministry of Commerce and the China Council for Promotion of International Trade. Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment Group is the largest real estate enterprise and most powerful
privately owned company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...
in Xinjiang and is currently engaged in energy and automobiles. China CITIC Bank Mansion, headquarters of Guanghui, located in one of the CBDs in North Xinhua Road, is the tallest building in Ürümqi and Xinjiang; with a height of , it is also the tallest in
Northwestern China Northwestern China () is a region in the People's Republic of China. It consists of five provincial administrative regions, namely Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang. The region is characterized by a (semi-)arid continental climate. ...
and
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
. Zhongshan Road (Sun Yat-sen Road; zh, links=no, c=中山路) has been one of the ten most famous commercial streets in China since 2005. Zhongshan Road has always been the hub of
consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...
in the city, with the largest computer,
mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...
and
consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...
market in Xinjiang, including Baihuacun, Cyber Digital Plaza and Fountain Plaza. As the economic center in Xinjiang, Ürümqi has expanded its urban area since the 1990s. The CBDs in the city increased rapidly all around the major districts. Despite the old city areas being primarily in the south, the development in the north part began since the late 1980s. The completion of the new office tower for Ürümqi Municipal Government in 2003 at Nanhu Square () in Nanhu Road marked a shift of the city center to the north. Lacking a subway, the city commenced the construction of
viaduct A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide ...
s for Outer Ring Road () since 2003, which considerably facilitates transport. Youhao Road () and surrounding neighborhood, is the commercial center for business, shopping and amusement. Youhao Group (), the namesake local enterprise, owns a major market share of retails. Maison Mode Urumqi (), open since 2008, became one of the few notable department stores for luxury merchandise in the city. The Ürümqi Economic and Technological Development Zone (UETD) located in the northern Toutunhe District, has been a leading base for steel, machinery manufacturing, biochemistry and other industrial innovations.


Tourism

* Grand Bazaar, a
bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
on South Jiefang Road (). *
Hong Shan Coordinates: Hong Shan, Hongshan or the Red Mountain (; Pinyin: Hóng Shān; ; ''Qiziltagh'') is an inner city mountain in Ürümqi, capital of Xinjiang, China. The mountain, sometimes referred to as a hill for its smaller size than a mountain i ...
(Red Mountain) is the symbol of Ürümqi, located in Hongshan Park. * People's Park, south of Hongshan Park. *
People's Square People's, branded as ''People's ViennaLine'' until May 2018, and legally ''Altenrhein Luftfahrt GmbH'', is an Austro- Swiss airline headquartered in Vienna, Austria. It operates scheduled and charter passenger flights mainly from its base at ...
* Nanhu Square () * Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum (), which was completely rebuilt in the early 2000s. * Heavenly Lake Scenic Area, a popular park with some of China's most famous alpine scenery, over two hours outside Ürümqi. * Shuimogou Hot Springs () is located northeast of Ürümqi. * Xinjiang Silk Road Museum () is located next to the Grand Bazaar at No. 160 Shengli Road. It is located on the fourth and fifth floors of a large European-style building which houses a shopping complex as well. Most of the exhibits have English names as well and some of the guides speak some English. * Ürümqi City Museum () is located at South Nanhu Road 123 (). * Ürümqi Tatar
Mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
() is located on Jiefang Road. Permission must be obtained prior to visiting the mosque. * The monument at the Geographical Center of Asian Continent, in Yongfeng Township, Ürümqi County * Ürümqi Silk Road Ski Resort () is located in Ürümqi County. * Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Ürümqi: Diocesan Cathedral of the Diocese of Xinjiang ()


Education and science

Ürümqi is one of the top 500 cities in the world by scientific research output, as tracked by the
Nature Index The Nature Index is a database that tracks institutions and countries/territories and their scientific output since its introduction in November 2014. Originally released with 64 natural-science journals, the Nature Index expanded to 82 natural-sci ...
. The city is also home to
Xinjiang University Xinjiang University (XJU) is a provincial public comprehensive university in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. It is a national key university affiliated with the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the re ...
, a comprehensive university with the highest academic level in Xinjiang, under the
Project 211 Project 211 ( zh, c=, links=no, s=211工程) was a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the government of China for "preparing approximately 100 universities for the 21st century", initiated in November 1995. There were 115 ...
and the
Double First-Class Construction The World First-Class Universities and First-Class Academic Disciplines Construction (), together known as Double First-Class Construction (), is a higher education development and sponsorship scheme of the Chinese central government, initiated ...
. Other educational campuses include Xinjiang Normal University, Xinjiang Agricultural University, and
Xinjiang Medical University Xinjiang Medical University ( zh, s=新疆医科大学, p=Xīnjiāng Yīkē Dàxué; ), formerly the Xinjiang Medical College, is a Medical school, medical university in Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region o ...
.


Universities

*
Xinjiang University Xinjiang University (XJU) is a provincial public comprehensive university in Ürümqi, Xinjiang, China. It is a national key university affiliated with the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and co-funded by the Ministry of Education and the re ...
() * Xinjiang Normal University () * Xinjiang Agricultural University () * Xinjiang Arts Institute () * Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics () * Ürümqi Vocational University () * Xinjiang Vocational and Technical Institute () *
Xinjiang Medical University Xinjiang Medical University ( zh, s=新疆医科大学, p=Xīnjiāng Yīkē Dàxué; ), formerly the Xinjiang Medical College, is a Medical school, medical university in Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region o ...
()


High schools

* Ürümqi No.1 High School * Bingtuan No.2 Middle School * Bayi Senior High School of Ürümqi * No.70 Senior High School of Ürümqi * No.8 Senior High School of Ürümqi * No.6 Senior High School of Ürümqi


Research institutes

* Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory * The Xingjiang Technical Institute of Physics & Chemistry.CAS * Xingjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography


Transportation


Air

Ürümqi is served by the Ürümqi Tianshan International Airport. It is a hub for
China Southern Airlines China Southern Airlines (branded as China Southern) is a major airline in China, headquartered in Guangzhou, Guangdong. It is one of the three major airlines in the country, along with Air China and China Eastern Airlines. Established on 1 ...
. Ürümqi Tianshan International Airport is the largest airport in Xinjiang, and the only airport in China to serve flights from
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
and
Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...
.


Bus rapid transit

The Ürümqi Bus Rapid Transit (Ürümqi BRT) bus service was launched in August 2011 after an investment of 930 million yuan in an effort to improve urban traffic. There are currently 9 routes operated, BRT1, BRT2, BRT3, BRT4, BRT5, BRT 6, its branch BRT 61, BRT 7, and its branch BRT 71.


Metro

The
Ürümqi Metro The Ürümqi Metro or Ürümqi Subway is a rapid transit system in operation in Ürümqi, capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in China. It is the 35th rapid transit system to be put into operation on the Chinese mainland and the second in n ...
opened on 25 October 2018, when the northern section of Line 1 was opened to the public. The southern section of Line 1 opened on 28 June 2019. Line 1 runs between Ürümqi Tianshan International Airport and Santunbei in downtown Ürümqi, with a total length of and 21 stations. It is fully underground. The planned system consists of 7 lines being in length. The first two lines, Line 1 and Line 2 will be constructed with an estimated cost of 31.24 billion yuan.


Rail

Ürümqi is Xinjiang's main rail hub with two primary railway stations, the older Ürümqi South railway station (formerly the Urumqi railway station) and Ürümqi railway station opened in July 2016. The Lanzhou-Xinjiang High Speed Railway stops at both stations, running from Ürümqi to Lanzhou railway station, and has been in operation since the end of 2014. The city is served by several conventional rail lines. Ürümqi is the western terminus of the Lanzhou–Xinjiang (Lanxin) and Ürümqi–Dzungaria (Wuzhun) Railway, and the eastern terminus of the Northern Xinjiang (Beijiang) and the Second Ürümqi–Jinghe railway. The Beijiang and the Lanxin Lines form part of the Trans-Eurasian Continental Railway, which runs from
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
through the Alataw Pass on the Kazakhstan border to Ürümqi and on to Lanzhou and
Lianyungang Lianyungang () is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province of China, province, China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north. Its ...
.


Road

* China National Highway 216 *
China National Highway 312 China National Highway 312 (312国道), also referred to as Route 312, is a key east-west route beginning in Shanghai and ending at Khorgas, Xinjiang in the Ili River valley, on the border with Kazakhstan. In total it spans , passing through Ji ...
* China National Highway 314 Many roads to the north and west typically shut down by early October, remaining closed until the end of winter.


Media

The
Xinjiang Networking Transmission Limited Xinjiang Networking Transmission Limited (), also known as Xinjiang Broadcast Network, consists of media broadcasting to Ürümqi and the Xinjiang province area. It operates the Urumqi People's Broadcasting Station and the Xinjiang People's Bro ...
operates the Ürümqi People's Broadcasting Station and the Xinjiang People Broadcasting Station, broadcasting in the
Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
,
Uyghur Uyghur may refer to: * Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia (West China) ** Uyghur language, a Turkic language spoken primarily by the Uyghurs *** Old Uyghur language, a different Turkic language spoken in the Uyghur K ...
, Kazakh, Mongolian, Russian and the Kyrgyz languages. The Xinjiang Television Station (XJTV), located in Ürümqi, is the major TV broadcasting station in the
Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC: previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest of the country at the crossroads ...
. The local television station for Ürümqi city is Ürümqi Television Station (UTV).


Sport

* Xinjiang Flying Tigers is a basketball team that is part of the
Chinese Basketball Association The Chinese Basketball Association (), often abbreviated as the CBA, is the first-tier men's professional basketball league in China. The league is commonly known by fans as the CBA, and this acronym is even used in Chinese on a regular basis ...
, based in Ürümqi, Xinjiang. Its corporate sponsor is Xinjiang Guanghui Group. * Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard F.C. is a local football team in the
China League One The Chinese Football League 1 (), also known as China League One or Chinese Jia League (), is the second level of professional football in China, under the Chinese Super League. The league is under the auspices of the Chinese Football Association ...
. China started a
bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...
development programme by organizing educational days in Ürümqi in June 2009. In 2015, an indoor
speed skating Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marathon speed skat ...
arena was opened.


Twin towns and sister cities

Ürümqi is twinned with:
Almaty Almaty, formerly Alma-Ata, is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population exceeding two million residents within its metropolitan area. Located in the foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains ...
is a state-level city of
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...


Notable people

* Dilraba Dilmurat * Gulnazar * Rushan Abbas * Hassan Anvar * Elnigar Iltebir


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * *


Further reading

* Lattimore, Owen . 1973. "Return to China's Northern Frontier." ''The Geographical Journal'' 139(2):233–42. *Zang, Xiaowei. 2013.
Ethnic variation in network composition in Ürümchi: do state policies matter?
''
Ethnic and Racial Studies ''Ethnic and Racial Studies'' is a peer-reviewed social science academic journal that publishes scholarly articles and book reviews on anthropology, cultural studies, ethnicity and race, and sociology. The editors-in-chief are Martin Bulmer (Uni ...
'' 36(1):179–98. .


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Urumqi Populated places along the Silk Road Cities in Central Asia Populated places in Xinjiang Provincial capitals in China Prefecture-level divisions of Xinjiang Populated places established in the 18th century