Capital of the Autonomous Region of Xinjiang
Area: 70sq.km/27sq.mi.
Ürümqi lies in a oasis in a large desert near the northern foothills of Mount Tianshan, in the north of the Autonomous Region of Xinjiang. The town is on the rail route from Lianyungang to Kazakhstan.
The name Ürümqi comes from
the Mongolian and means ''Beautiful Pastures''. Various tribes grazed their cattle here more than two thousand years ago. In the 1st C AD the Han government sent troops to reclaim the land, but it was not until the Tang era (618-907) that the first urban settlement was formed. In 1758 the town was fortified and shortly after that it was given the name of Dihua. In 1884 Xinjiang was elevated to the status of province and Dihua made the seat of government. It was renamed Ürümqi in 1954, and during the last forty years or so has developed into an industrial town, with coal and iron-ore mining.