Urumqi (Wulumuqi), situated on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains is most famous for being the furthest city in the world from the ocean. A relatively new city (founded in 1763), the most land locked area in the world is essentially a modern and drab place, resembling a Russian industrial town in many ways, with few sights of interest but a lively resident population who sustain enough intrigue to hold you here for a day or two. This is also a compulsory stop in terms of transportation (and has been since the Silk Road opened) throughout Xinjiang, and the spectacular Heaven's lake, a day trip from the city, justifies a visit to this area in itself. Previously known as Dihua, meaning "Enlightening and Civilizing", the Chinese renamed the city in 1884 to its present day tag, Wulumuqi. Although the feeling and atmosphere here is predominantly Uigur, in fact, 80% of the population are Han Chinese. Long an important trading center, the Han Chinese population today dominate the industrial and commercial side of the city, with huge department stores and factories ruling the skyline here. An exploration of the older streets and the Uigur area known as Erdaoqioa provides a more interesting look at the different nationalities living in the city.One thing to bear in mind here is the time! Although officialy run according to Beijing time, residents actually live life two hours behind Beijing. This does not however, affect train, plane and bus times, so make sure you are absolutely sure when you are supposed to leave and which time zone is being used!

Bank:

Post office:

Hospital:

Police Station:

　　please dail 110

Urumqi's transportation network is quite developed considering just how remote this city is.

Airport

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.

Railway station　

This is the best way to travel east into the rest of China. The Urumqi Train Station is in the southwest of the city. To and from Urumqi, you'll find direct trains to Beijing, Shanghai, Lanzhou, Xi'an, and Chengdu. Expect trains to take a few days. Trains to and from Beijing take around 75 hours, and to and from Shanghai takes around 76 hours. We strongly recommend taking hard or soft sleeper trains. Anyone on a budget who tries taking a train to Urumqi with a hard seat will quickly find out how uncomfortable it can be.

Bus station

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. If you purchase tickets at the bus station near the train station, you will be charged the correct "official" price, but it may cost time as you will be driven to the smaller bus stations to allow other passengers to board. Buying tickets at the wrong bus station however, incurs unnecessary charges. One exception is that buses to Turpan can only be taken from the Urumqi-Turpan bus station near the Erdaoqiao market on Quanyin Dadao. Buses to Kashgar take 36 hours and to Turpan take 3 hours.

City transport

City buses in Urumqi can get crowded and are prime hunting grounds for pickpockets and bag slashers. A better alternative are the minibuses that go through the city for an average fare of RMB1 to RMB2.

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