Urumqi

           Located at the northern foot of the eastern section of the Tianshan Mountains and on the southeastern edge of the Jungar Basin , Urumqi is the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the political, economic and cultural center of the region. With a arid climate of the temperate zone, Urumqi is inhabited by the Han, Uygur, Kazak , Mongolia and other nationalities of over 40,totaling over 1.5 million in population.

         During its long history, Urumqi was the stationing and herding place of the town-state kingdom of Cheshi in the Han Dynasty ,and Luntai County was established here in the T`ang Dynasty. In the 38th year of Emperor Qianlong (1763) of the Qing Dynasty, Urumqi was named Dihua,and the Gongnin City was set up here in 1772. After the establishment of Xinjiang Province in 1884, Urumqi became the capital of the province. Today, a modern industrial system, with the petroleum, coal, steel, textile and electronic industries as it backbone, has taken shape in Urumqi , and with advanced industry, commerce and traffic, Urumqi has become a traffic hinge and a metropolis in the Central Asia .

The Bogda Peak

         Within an area of 15 square kilometers and about 60 kilometers to the east of Urumqi , there stand 7 peaks all above 5000m in elevation. The highest peak of them, the Bogda Peak is 5445m in elevation. With the top covered with snow all the year round, it stands towering like a patron saint to the east of Urumqi . People of Urumqi respect the Bogda Peak and regard it as manito. It is said that in ancient times the government officials, gentlemen and plebes of Urumqi would hold memorial ceremonies on the top of Red Hill to impetrate safety and foison in the spring every year. Tourist who like to explore can climb up the peak from Dongshan Mountain (the East Mountain ) or Jiangjun Gorge in Fukang County to enjoy the splendid views there.

Red Hill

        Situated on the east bank of the Urumqi River , the Red Hill gets its name from the ochre sandstone of its body. With an elevation of 910, the mountain is believed to be a giant dragon fly from the Heavenly Lake by the Bogda Peak ,while the Yamalik Mountain on the west bank of the Urumqi River is believed to be the avatar of a demon. It`s also believed that if these two mountains met ， Urumqi would turn into a place of vast sea. To press down the mountains and lock the water ， two pagodas were set up on the top of two mountains respectively in 53rd year of the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty(1788).From then on ,”the pagoda relieved against the setting sun ”become a famous scenic spot of Urumqi . Today the Red Hill is the biggest urban park in Xinjiang.

Xinjiang Museum

     Located at No.132, Xibei Road , Urumqi , the museum was built in 1953. With a total ground area of 41,000 square meters and exhibiting area of 7800 square meters, the museum is the main institution to collect and investigate the unearthed cultural relics and specimens in Xinjiang. There are more than 50 thousand pieces of various kinds of cultural relics stored in the museum, among them, the ancient mummies represented by ‘the Loulan Beauty', manuscripts in Chinese, Kharosthi, Qiuci, Yanji, Tibetan, Uigurian and other characters prevailed in ancient Westen Regions, the silk ,wool, cotton and hemp fabrics and folk rainment, etc., are unusual tidbits in the world. The museum has made extensive contacts with museums domestic and abroad, and held several exhibitions abroad. The main exhibition on display include” The Exhibition of the Historic Cultural Relics in Xinjiang ”, ”A Selection of the Unearthed Cultural Relics in Xinjiang”, ”The Exhibition of Ancient Mummies in Xinjiang”,”The Exhibition of the Customs of the Nationalities in Xinjiang”, etc., and various special exhibition are often held here.

Song and Dance of Xinjiang

     Xinjiang is usually known as “home of song and dance ”. Minorities in Xinjiang all have their own music and dance, especially the Uygur, they have been known as a nationality good at both singing and dancing on the vast land of both south and north of the Tianshan Mountains . Art troupes of Urumqi and every city and prefecrure can provide various kinds of performance, such as singing and dancing, music, drama, opera, Ch`in opera, Beijing opera, Yu opera, acrobatics, etc. The artists of different nationalities go deep to urban and rural areas to provide food for thought for people of different nationalities and the visitors.

Shopping in Urumqi

     Urumqi is a large business city in the hinterland of Asia and an ideal place for shopping for the tourists. There are hundreds of big commercial mansions standing all over the city , and the Hualing Market is the biggest distributing center of merchandise in the Central Asia . The Erdaoqiao Market is specialized in selling snakes of local flavor, folk handicraft articles, dress and personal adornments and goods from the Central Aaia .

              


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