|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Ulink Travel Center
Home> China City Guide> Urumqi
Providing full travelling information on Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China and the places of interest in Urumqi.
Introduction
Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is one of the country's most important cities open to the outside world like a piece of emerald embedded at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains. The city, located between latitude 43
5
to 44
The place where Urumqi stands was a pastureland in ancient times. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, the wasteland was reclaimed and agriculture was initiated by immigrants. During the Sui Dynasty, trade began to be conducted between the region and the interior of the country, which further brought in the advanced civilization from the Central Plains. During the Tang Dynasty, troops were stationed in the Urumqi area to develop the land and to build frontier fortifications. During the Ming Dynasty, a city was set up in the present Jiujiawan District of Urumqi, but it was destroyed by fire in the Junggar Rebellion which was put down by the Qing government in 1755, the twentieth year of the reign of Qing Dynasty Emperor Qianlong. The Qing troops built barracks on the east side of the Urumqi River in 1758, the twenty-third year of Qing Emperor Qianlong. Five years later, a new city was built and named " Dihua", which, in Chinese, means "enlightening and civilizing" and, so, carries implications of contempt for the minority nationalities. In 1765, Dihua City was extended from its north. In 1884, the tenth year of Qing Emperor Guangxu, Xinjiang Province was established and Dihua City became its capital. In 1954, five years after liberation, the city was renamed Urumqi. As a city Urumqi was only a little over 210 years old, and as a provincial capital, 101 years old.
Urumqi is a multinational city with a population of 1.5 million and a population density of 101 persons per square kilometer. There are thirteen nationalities living in the city, including the Uygur, Han, Hui, Kazak, Manchu, Mongol, Xibe, and Russian. Of the total population of the city 74.11 percent are Han nationality; 11.82 Uygur; 9.87 Hui; 3.10 Kazak; 0.29 Manchu; 0.23 Mongol; 0.16 Xibe and 0.09 Russian.
Urumqi is located in the temperate zone of a dry continental climate. The meteorological data indicate that the annual mean temperature in Urumqi has been 7.3
for many years. The highest temperature recorded was 42.1
The city is rich in natural resources. High-quality coal reserves of all kinds have topped nine billion tons. In the southeast there is forty square kilometers natural salt lake which abounds with salt and mirabilite. Furthermore, the northern part of the city is blessed with many other minerals, such as oil, natural gas, iron, manganese, phosphorus and limestone.
The songs and dances of Xinjiang possess a special charm owing perhaps to the magic quality of the wind and snow of the Tianshan Mountains. The artists of numerous songs and dances ensembles and theatres in Urumqi hold the audience spellbound with their wonderful performance. Many "nightingales" from the Tianshan Mountains create sensations all over China and the world. The vault roofed museum and exhibition hall house and display many rare cultural relics, the only one of their kinds in China and the world and witnesses the history of Xinjiang. They include implements used by prehistoric men, documents of ruling organizations set up by the Han and Tang authorities in the west region, seals engraved with the characters Han Gui Yi Qian Zhang (chief of the Qiang in Allegiance to Han), and Yi He Fu (Yi He Prefecture) and signifying the enfeoffment of the Mongolian tribe Tuerhute. There are also wooden tablets carved with ancient scripts, rubbings from tablet inscriptions, Chinese and foreign coins of different times, ancient silk, woolen and cotton fabrics, mummies 1,000 to 4,000 years and porcelain. A visit to this west region art gallery is simply an unforgettable experience.
Red Hill, 1.5 kilometers long and one kilometer wide and 910 meters above sea level, is situated on the east side of the Urumqi River and at the very center of the city, running from east to west. The hill top looks like a mighty lion in its quiet sleep and the ridge like a wriggling dragon. The hill's rocks are reddish-brown, hence the name "Red Hill".
At the top of the hill stands a nine-story, solid, gray brick pagoda 8 meters high, facing one at the top of the Yamalike Hill. It is called "Zhenlong pagoda", meaning "Pagoda to Suppress Dragons". According to historical documents, the Urumqi River at the foot of the Red Hill overflowed in 1785 and the year after. Some superstitious people at that time rumored that it was the evil done by a vicious dragon and that the Red Hill and the Yamalike Hill would join to each other blocking up the river and Urumqi area would turn into a vast expanse of water. In the year 1788, the fifty-third year of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, Shang An, the governor of Urumqi, had a pagoda built at the top of each hill in order to suppress the evil dragon. After two hundred years of weathering, the pagoda still remains basically intact. There used to be a number of historical sites on the hill. As early as the time of the nomadic Oyrat Tribe, an "Ebo" was built at the top of the hill; "Ebo" is the name for a kind of cairn used by the tribesmen to worship and offer sacrifice to their gods. During the Qing Dynasty, the Temple of the Jade Emperor was built at the top of the hill as well as the Temple of the Great Buddha; the Palace of the Dipper and the Temple of Ksitigabha were built at the foot of the hill. These splendid temples attracted a great number of visitors and made the hill a holy place where worshippers chanted the Buddhist sutra and conducted religious services. Unfortunately almost all these magnificent buildings were burnt down in wars among warlords and nothing was left except a shaky temple gate and the pagoda standing at the top of the precipitous Red Hill. Today, Red Hill is regarded by the local people as the symbol of the city. As a result of the construction in the past thirty years or more, the barren Red Hill is now covered with emerald green trees and embellished with tourist facilities such as stone-stepped paths and an asphalt road winding to its top..
The West Poplar Valley in the Southern Mountains
The "Southern Mountains" generally refers to the mountain area at the northern foot of Karawuquntag Mountain, a branch of the Tianshan Mountains to the south of Urumqi. This place is not only an excellent natural pastureland but also an ideal summer resort for sightseeing visitors. There are dozens of parallel valleys and ravines running from west, with the West Poplar Valley as the most famous one.
Seventy-five kilometers south of Urumqi, the West Poplar Valley is located in the transition zone between low mountains and the mountains of intermediate height. At an elevation of 2,100 meters, it has an annual rainfall of 500 to 600 millimeters. The valley, screened by snow-capped peaks and dotted with tall and straight dragon spruce trees, is covered with a carpet of green grass. Setting off the deep shade of the green trees are white yurts scattered here and there, and small exquisite villas, elegant and quiet sanatoriums, reception houses for foreign guests and snack bars make the valley even more attractive. When making an excursion into this place, visitors are welcomed as guests to the yurts of the local Kazak herdsmen and always offered fragrant milk tea, mare's milk, cheese and delicious roast lamb. They can entertain themselves to their hearts' content with singing and dancing in threes and fours and ascend the heights, threading their ways through the deep woods, to enjoy the picturesque landscape. Young visitors who are found of horsemanship can hire fine horses for a few coins from the local Kazak herdsmen, and make use of the whip to urge on the horse to gallop across the vast pastureland.
At the far end of the valley, one finds the landscape even more spectacular. From a striking precipice hiding in the green trees, a waterfall two meters wide cascades forty meters, floating down like a white silk in the air, roaring down to the bottom and spraying fine water droplets and mist onto the rocks covered with mosses and the green leaves on both sides, just like a drizzle making people feel pleasantly cool.
Lake Tianchi -- the Heavenly Lake
Known as Yaochi (Jade Lake) in ancient times, Lake Tianchi is one of the main tourist attractions in China. Hemmed in by a group of mountains west of Mount Bogda, Lake Tianchi is geologically a moraine lake 3,400 meters long, 1,500 meters wide, 105 meters at the deepest point and lies 1,980 meters above sea level. This giant bowl of sapphire water is surrounded by mountains with majestic snow-crowned peaks reflecting on the lake, making the beauties of the lake and mountains an integral whole. Mountainsides are covered by green and luxuriant pines and cypresses extending as far as the eye can see. The open spaces between trees are embellished by rainbows of flowers, dotted with white yurts, and roamed by flocks of sheep that look like clouds floating past. This picturesque scene on a day after a rain is especially enchanting. In summer, the lake sees an endless stream of visitors from around China and abroad
Home> China City Guide> Urumqi
Any question or suggestion, please e-mail us
Copyright © 1999-2000 Ulink Travel Center All rights reserved.
