Urumqi

Formerly Tihwa or Dihua, Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the northwest of China. Urumqi was a major hub on the silk road during China's Tang Dynasty, and developed its reputation as a leading cultural and commercial center during the Qing Dynasty.

Urumqi, whose name means "beautiful pasture" in the Mongolian language of the Dzungar people, is the largest city in China's western interior. The city has a population of around 2.5 million and is in the Tian Shan mountains. Since the 1990s Urumqi has developed economically and now serves as a regional transport node, cultural, and commercial centre.

Urumqi is quite famous for its claim that it is the most inland major city in the world, that being the farthest from any ocean. There are two major ethnic groups, the traditional Han (1.5 million) and Uyghur (0.25 million), Other ethnic groups in Urumqi include Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Mongols and Hui Muslims. Regardless of ethnicity, most people in Urumqi can speak some level of Mandarin Chinese, however in some parts of the city Uyghur, a Turkic language, is dominant. Few people speak English, even in some of the large hotels. When taking a taxi, it is a good idea to have a piece of paper with the name of your destination written in Chinese.