Urumqi 乌鲁木齐
Furthest city from any ocean on earth, and the gateway to Xinjiang.
- Region
- Xinjiang
- Best months
- May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct
- Nights to budget
- 2
- Airport
- Diwopu International (URC)
Why visit Urumqi
- Heavenly Lake and the Tianshan are 2 hours away
- Grand Bazaar is the real thing, not a theme market
- Uyghur food is unlike any other Chinese regional cuisine
What to see
- • Grand Bazaar
- • Heavenly Lake (Tianchi)
- • Xinjiang Regional Museum and its mummies
- • Red Hill
- • Nanshan pasture
- • Tianshan Grand Canyon
What to eat
- Lamb kebabs
- Polo rice
- Big-plate chicken
- Naan
- Lagman noodles
Getting there
Urumqi is the western terminus of the Lanzhou–Xinjiang high-speed line; Lanzhou 8h, Turpan 1h.
Urumqi has a metro, so most journeys inside the city cost ¥2–10 and avoid traffic entirely.
Practical guides for Urumqi
City-specific topic pages are being written city by city. In the meantime these national guides apply everywhere.
- Visa & entry
Whether you need a visa for China, and the three routes that get most travellers in without one.
- Payment & money apps
Alipay and WeChat Pay now accept foreign cards.
- eSIM & connectivity
How to get online in China without losing access to Google, WhatsApp and Instagram.
- Safety
China is statistically one of the safest countries for travellers.
- Getting around
Metro, taxi, ride-hailing and buses — how each works and which to use when.
- High-speed rail
The world’s largest high-speed network — how to book, board and not miss your train.
- Food & eating
How to order, what the regional specialities actually are, and how to handle dietary needs.
- Hotels & booking
Which sites actually work for foreigners, and what to check before you pay.
- Attraction tickets
Almost every major attraction now requires a timed online reservation, often days ahead.
- Money & costs
What a day actually costs, where the money goes, and how to budget by tier.
- Language & communication
How far English gets you, and the handful of Chinese that changes the trip.
- Apps you need
The short list of apps that make the trip work, and what each one replaces.