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For the county, see Ürümqi County.
Ürümqi or Ürümchi (English pronunciation: /uːˈruːmtʃi/; Uyghur: ئۈرۈمچی, Ürümchi; simplified Chinese: 乌鲁木齐; traditional Chinese: 烏魯木齊; pinyin: Wūlǔmùqí), formerly Dihua, is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country. With an urban population of over 2.3 million people, Ürümqi, whose name means "beautiful pasture" in the Mongolian language of the Dzungar people, is by far the largest city on China's vast Western interior. Since the 1990s Ürümqi has become gradually developed economically and now serves as a regional transport node and commercial centre.
[edit] HistoryAlthough Ürümqi is situated near the northern route of the Silk Road, it is a relatively young city. During the 22nd year of Emperor Taizong's reign in the Tang Dynasty, AD 648, the Tang government set up the town of Luntai in the ancient town seat of Urabo,[2] 10 kilometers from the southern suburb of present-day Ürümqi. Ancient Luntai Town was a seat of local government, and collected taxes from the caravans along the northern route of the Silk Road. Little is heard of the region following the Tang Dynasty until the conquest of Dzungaria in 1755 under the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. The Dzungars were deliberately exterminated in a brutal campaign of ethnic genocide. One writer, Wei Yuan, described the resulting desolation in what is now northern Xinjiang as: "an empty plain for a thousand li, with no trace of man." After 1759 state farms were established, "especially in the vicinity of Urumchi, where there was fertile, well-watered land and few people."[3] It has been estimated that more than a million people were slaughtered, and it took generations for it to recover.[4] During the Qing Dynasty (1763) the Qianlong Emperor named the expanded town of Luntai "Dihua" (Chinese:迪化; pinyin: Díhuà; Manchu: Wen de dahabure fu), meaning "to enlighten." In 1884, the Guangxu Emperor established Xinjiang as a Province, with Dihua as its capital.[5] Following the founding of the People's Republic of China, on February 1, 1954, the city was renamed Ürümqi, meaning "beautiful pasture" in the Mongolian language of the Dzungar people. The city was the site of major rioting in July 2009 due to conflicts between Han and Uyghur ethnic groups in which nearly 200 people were left dead. [edit] Demographics
According to the 2000 census, Ürümqi has 2,081,834 inhabitants, with a population density of 174.53 inhabitants/km².
[edit] Administrative divisionsÜrümqi currently comprises 8 administrative sub-divisions, county-level units, of these, 7 are districts and 1 is a county. The areas of the city are divided into 7 districts and 1 county:
[edit] Geography and climateThe largest city in the western half of the People's Republic of China, Ürümqi has earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the most remote city from any sea in the world. It is about 1,400 miles (2,500 km) from the nearest coastline (Ürümqi being the city closest to the Eurasian[citation needed] Pole of inaccessibility). The city has an area of 10,989 km². The average elevation is 800 meters. In Ürümqi a cold desert climate prevails. Ürümqi features hot summers in July with average temperatures of 24°C (75°F) as well as very cold winters with average temperatures in January of -16°C (3°F). The annual average temperature is 5.4°C (41.7°F). Ürümqi is arid, with its summers slightly wetter than its winters. Its annual precipitation is about 240 mm. 
[edit] Economy Ürümqi is a major industrial center within Xinjiang. Ürümqi, together with Karamay and Bayingolin, account for 64.5% 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% from 2007. The GDP per capita reached US$6,222 in 2008 [1]. According to statistics, Urumqi ranked 7th in 2008 by the disposable income for urban residents among cities in Western China.[6] 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 (Chinese: 乌洽会) has been held annually since 1991. 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.[7] As the economic center, Urumqi has expanded its urban area since the 1990s. The CBDs in the city increased rapidly all around the major districts. Zhong Tian Plaza, located in one of the CBDs in North Xinhua Road, is the tallest building in Urumqi and Xinjiang; with a height of 229 metres, it is also the tallest in Northwestern China and Central Asia. Lacking in subway, the city built an outer ring road (外环路) in 2003, which considerably facilitates transport. Zhongshan Road (Sun Yat-sen Road, Chinese: 中山路) in Urumqi has been one of the ten most famous commercial streets in the People's Republic of China since 2005 (through official appraisals). The others are Wangfujing, etc. The commercial street of Zhongshan Road has the largest computer, mobile phone and consumer electronics market, i.e Baihuacun, Ccyber Digital Plaza and Fountain Plaza, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region; it is believed to be the focal point of technological products in Urumqi. [edit] Tourism
[edit] EducationUrumqi has many educational campuses including Xinjiang University, Xinjiang Normal University, Xinjiang Agricultural University , Xinjiang Medical University and many others. [edit] Universities
[edit] High schools
[edit] Transportation[edit] AirÜrümqi is served by the Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport. The airport is one of the five major airports in the People's Republic of China. It is also a hub for China Southern Airlines. It has been rumored that a new airline China Central Airlines will start operations at the airport sometime in late 2010. [edit] Rail
[edit] Road[edit] Media The Xinjiang Networking Transmission Limited operates the Urumqi People's Broadcasting Station and the Xinjiang People's Broadcasting Station, broadcasting in the Mandarin, Uyghur, Kazakh, Mongolian, Russian and the Kyrgyz languages. The Xinjiang Television Station (XJTV), located in Urumqi, is the major TV broadcasting station in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The local television station for Urumqi city is Urumqi Television Station (UTV)(乌鲁木齐电视台). [edit] Sport
[edit] International relationsMain article: List of twin towns and sister cities in China [edit] Twin towns — Sister citiesÜrümqi is twinned with: [edit] References and footnotes
[edit] External links
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