The city of Urumqi is the capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, under the administration of People’s Republic of China, counting 2.5 million habitants.

Urumqi has the characteristic to be the most inland city in the world, being the furthest location on earth from any ocean. The population is a mix of two major ethnic groups, such as the Uyghur and Han. In top of that other groups are present, for instance the city includes Kyrgyz, Kazakhs, Mongols and Hui Muslims. Moreover even if Urumqi represents a Chinese destination the main language is not mandarin, but Uyghur, a Turkic language. Furthermore only a narrow number of people speak English, even in the major hotel Chain, so it is considered helpful to have the name of the hotel or destination written in Chinese, for this reason is always better to book a tour with China Tour especially if you are travelling for the first time to China.

Urumqi is easily accessible from almost all the main and medium size airports present in China, for more information is advised to consult the main travel tool China Flights.

Urmuqi offers several attractions that give the opportunity to revive the past history, for a better understanding of the Xinjang culture origins. The main site that tourist cannot miss out when travelling to Urmuqi is The Xiajiang Regional Museum. The latter was firstly built in 1953; its assortment covers an area of 7,800 square meters, including a entirety collection of 50’000 items representing every single aspect of the ethnic and social life of the 12 minorities that lived in Xinjiang.

The museum surprises tourists as it displays a wide collection of very well preserved corpses, dated back almost 4,000 years ago. Those bodies differ from the Egyptian mummies, (conserved by embalming procedures) as Urumqi bodies were dried by a particular natural environment. The outstanding collection in includes all type of citizens, but the most impressive is the “Loulan beauty” which has preserved his red hair, large eyes, and long hair for more than 4,000 years. Another must-see attraction in Urumqi is the Hongshan “Red Mountain”, it includes an breath-less view of the city, but also includes the Light Temple entrance which represents a Buddhist temple. The mountain also offers a cable service or a path of 14km for those more adventurous tourists, leading to the Celestial Capital Peak, that offers a unique experience “up in the clouds” and a celestial lake (see pictures).

During the past Urumqi has represented one of the main destinations of the ancient Silk Road, indeed still today the Xinjiang capital offers the traditional Islamic Market, Da Bazar also known as Erdaoqiao market situated in the downtown offering a unique market and culinary experience. The Silk Road history can also be discovered Thanks to the “Xinjiang Silk Road Museum”, which it can be found just next to the Grand Bazaar, the museum makes great use of the English language giving the opportunity to everyone to enjoy the ancient path that stretches along China.

For more information about the city capital of Urumqi, it is advised to visit China Travel, a website that provides all the necessary information.