Urumqi (Pronounced: Y-RYM-chee) (乌鲁木齐; Wūlǔmùqí; Uyghur: ئۈرۈمچی) is the capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, administered by the People's Republic of China. The city has a population of around 4.0 million (2013) and is in the Tian Shan mountains. Currently one of China's fastest growing cities (% growth).
Urumqi is quite famous for its claim that it is the most inland major city in the world, that being the farthest from any ocean.
There are two major ethnic groups, the traditional Han (3.0 million) and Uyghur (0.25 million), Other ethnic groups in Urumqi include Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Mongols and Hui Muslims.
Regardless of ethnicity, most people in Urumqi can speak some level of Mandarin Chinese, however in some parts of the city Uyghur, a Turkic language, is dominant. Few people speak English, even in some of the large hotels. When taking a taxi, it is a good idea to have a piece of paper with the name of your destination written in Chinese.
Despite what some of the guidebooks say, Urumqi has a lot to offer and can provide a great introduction to Xinjiang.
Expats in Urumqi
Although there are lots of expats in Urumqi from surrounding countries there is only a small amount of western expats in Urumqi. Most of the expats are working in education and there are some that work for international corporations which are based in Urumqi.
although there are a couple hundred western expats in Urumqi there no more expat club.
There has been one expat club in the nineties which was ironically called the Urumqi Yacht Club.
Urumqi is quite famous for its claim that it is the most inland major city in the world, that being the farthest from any ocean.
There are two major ethnic groups, the traditional Han (3.0 million) and Uyghur (0.25 million), Other ethnic groups in Urumqi include Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Mongols and Hui Muslims.
Regardless of ethnicity, most people in Urumqi can speak some level of Mandarin Chinese, however in some parts of the city Uyghur, a Turkic language, is dominant. Few people speak English, even in some of the large hotels. When taking a taxi, it is a good idea to have a piece of paper with the name of your destination written in Chinese.
Despite what some of the guidebooks say, Urumqi has a lot to offer and can provide a great introduction to Xinjiang.
Expats in Urumqi
Although there are lots of expats in Urumqi from surrounding countries there is only a small amount of western expats in Urumqi. Most of the expats are working in education and there are some that work for international corporations which are based in Urumqi.
although there are a couple hundred western expats in Urumqi there no more expat club.
There has been one expat club in the nineties which was ironically called the Urumqi Yacht Club.