Ürümqi

Ürümqi (English IPA: ; Uyghur: ئۈرۈمچی; Uyghur Latin script: Ürümqi; ), with a population about 1.6 million, is the capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country.

History of naming

Before 1954, the city was called 迪化（pinyin: dihua）, meaning "to enlighten", which shows racism of Han Chinese against Uyghurs, implying that the Uyghurs were uncivilized. On February 1, 1954, the city was renamed to Ürümqi, which means "Beautiful Pasture".

Geography

Ürümqi is the largest city in the western half of China, and has won a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the remotest city from any sea in the world at a distance of about 1,400 miles (2500 km) from the nearest coastline (Ürümqi being the city closest to the Eurasian Pole of Inaccessibility). The city has an area of 10,989 km².

Climate

In Ürümqi a continental steppe climate with hot and dry summers prevails (average temperature July 24°C) as well as damp and cold winters (average temperature January -16°C). The annual average temperature amounts to 5.4°C, the yearly precipitation is about 273 mm.

Demographics

According to the 2000 census, Ürümqi has 2,081,834 inhabitants with a population density of 174.53 inhabitants/km².

Administrative divisions

Urumqi 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:

Tianshan District (天山区: Tiānshān Qū)
Sharyibark District (沙依巴克区: Shāyībākè Qū)
Toutunhe District (头屯河区: Tóutúnhé Qū)
Shuimogou District (水磨沟区: Shuǐmógōu Qū)
Xinshi District (新市区: Xīnshì Qū)
Dongshan District (东山区: Dōngshān Qū)
Dabancheng District (达坂城区: Dábǎnchéng Qū)
Urumqi County (乌鲁木齐县: Wūlǔmùqí Xiàn)

Economy

Urumqi is a major industrial center within Xinjiang. Urumqi, together with Karamay and Bayin'gholin account for 64.5% of the total industrial output of Xinjiang. Urumqi is also the largest consumer center in the region, recording ¥19.1 billion retail sales of consumer goods in 2004, accounting for 33.9% of the region's total retail value. The GDP per capita was ¥22,820 (ca. States dollar|US$" target="_blank" >^*2,850) in 2004 ^*. Prefecture-level divisions of Xinjiang

Transportation

Air: Ürümqi is served by the Urumqi Diwopu International Airport.

Rail:

A railway line connects the city to Kashgar (southwest)
Ürümqi is also on the Beijing-Almaty (Kazakhstan) railway line.

Road: Ürümqi is located along the China National Highway 312 and China National Highway 314.

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