Urumqi Brief Introduction Located at the foot of the snow-capped Tianshan Mountain Range, Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest of China. The place became known to foreign visitors mainly for its role as the last stopover along the" Silk Road". Resourcefully rich and ethnically diverse, this region attracts many adventurous travelers, keen to discover something about the western China. Urumqi is located in the temperate zone and has a continental climate. The average annual temperature is 6.4 centigrade and the precipitation averages 236 mm yearly and is a semi arid area. Urumqi has four distinctive seasons and the best time to travel the region is from May to October. Xinjiang contains the driest, hottest and coolest spots in China. The longest inland river, the Tarim River is here; the lowest area, the Aidin Lake in the Turpan Basin and the largest desert in China can also be found in Xinjiang.   Local Culture Shopping and Food Entertainment Transportation Tourist Attractions   Local Culture As both the Uygur and Hui minorities is Muslim, pork is rare in Xinjiang. Only Han Chinese eats pork here. It is therefore, important to remember to respect this tradition. Shopping and Food Urumqi is a great place to pick up some interesting craft items like ethnic clothing, embroidery, and jewelry. Other handicrafts include jade carvings, Kashgar carpets, exotic knives, wood crafts, and ethnic musical instruments. All of the above items are handmade and many can be found at very cheap prices, both of which make Urumqi a fun place to shop for something a little special. Culinary culture hear is rich and unique, a nice break from your typical Chinese fare. Of course, you can still find lots of typical Chinese food including Sichuan and Cantonese cuisine, but the local ethnic food and snacks are very tasty and very hot. Xinjiang cuisine really excels at the preparation of mutton and Mutton Kebabs are popular throughout China. Other typical Xinjiang dishes include Lamian noodles, Nan bread, and Uygur rice. Entertainment Night market is very popular in major cities in Xinjiang, both for local people and tourists. You can find most of the delicious snacks here. Just enjoy it!   Transportation Transportation to and from Xinjiang is fairly developed and mainly focuses on Urumqi as the major hub for traffic to the region. Flights to and from Urumqi are the most convenient method of accessing the region. Browse our transport sections for Urumqi, Kashgar, Turpan, and Yining for more detailed transport information. By Air: The Urumqi airport is 15km from the city. To get there, either take a taxi (for around RMB50-RMB60) or an airport bus which runs from the CAAC offices on Youhao Lu in the northern section of central Urumqi, north of the Post Office and past Hongshan Department Store. Daily domestic connections to Beijing, Guangzhou and other major cities are available as well as daily connections to Kashgar. Some international flights (not all daily) to Moscow and Islamabad,   are also available. By Train Urumqi is linked by rail to six major Chinese cities, including Xian, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Zhengzhou and Lanzhou. Due to the great distances, we strongly advise you to take hard or soft sleeper berth. Train services also connect Urumqi with other main cities in Xinjiang, such as Korla, Aksu, Kuitun, and Liuyuan. The train station is in the southwest part of the city.  By Bus: The best way to get around in Xinjiang is by bus as the highway system is relatively complete. The Urumqi bus station is a few blocks northeast of the train station. There are several bus stations in Urumqi, each associated with a different destination city. Tourist Attractions Heavenly Lake The Heavenly Lake is a very beautiful mountain lake formed more than million years ago in the 4th glacial epoch, so the water in it is pure and icy. The altitude of the lake is up to 2150 meters above the sea level and got its fame as the "jewel in the crown". To the east of the lake stands the Bogda Peak-the highest peak in the east part of Tian Shan Mountain, which is capped by glacier and snow glistening in the sun, finely contrasted with blue lake water, forming fabulous scenery. Mount Nan Pasture Mount Nan pasture is very big with West Baiyanggou, Juhuatai, East Baiyanggou, Mount Zhaobi, Miaoergou and Daxigou from west to east. Tourists here can visit locals' houses to have some milk tea and mutton. Later, they can rent horses to ride around the grassland. If you are fortunately, you can watch the activities of horse race, sheep catching and girls' whip. The Terai Camp A special experience of Kazak nomad life here, have a cup of milk tea and taste some really local food. Astana Tombs It is located in the Gobi Desert in the north of Gaochang, 40 kilometers away from Turpan city. At the Ancient Tombs of Astana, thousands of treasure historical relics had been unearthed, including mummy, writing, inscription, painting, earthen figurine, stone wares, pottery wares, wood wares, bronze wares, iron wares, gold wares, silver wares, cotton, silk, wool, ancient coins and so on. Therefore, the Ancient Tombs of Astana is called the "Gaochang's live history record and underground museum in the Turpan area." Gaochang Ancient City The city's name means 'the King City'. It was founded during the first century B.C. and abandoned during the 15th century.Ascending a height to enjoy a distant view, you can see the whole city in a plane shape of an irregular square, which is divided, into three parts the exterior city, interior city and the palace city. The total area is about two million square meters. The Tuyugou Great Canyon The Tuyugou Great Canyon is 46 kilometers away from Shanshan county in the east, 47 kilometers from Turpan city in the west and13 kilometers from the Gaochang Ancient City in the southwest.Among the canyons in the Flame Mountain which extends nearly one hundred kilometers, the Tuyugou Great Canyon is the canyon with the longest culture and the most mighty and majestic natural landscapes. Suleiman's Minaret The Sugong Tower is the biggest ancient pagoda existing in Xinjiang and the only Islamic ancient pagoda in the country. It is located at the Munage village, 2 kilometers away from the Turpan city in the east. Karez Well The Karez Water System Folkways Paradise is located at the Ya'er country in Turpan city, 3 kilometers away from the city urban, and 2 kilometers away from the 312 national highway in the south. This irrigation system of wells connected by underground channels is considered to be one of the three great ancient projects in China.                                                                        Grape Valley With its shady vineyards and trees, this provides a welcome place of relaxation amidst the hundreds of square miles of sand. You may take a seat under the vintage frames, savor various grapes, enjoy the beautiful Uyghur girls in their ornate costumes, and be fully intoxicated by this refreshing palace of grapes. Taking a walk along the grape corridor, you will find drying rooms on nearby slopes. Every year over 300 tons of raisins are made here.