Get around
On foot
The city centre is big, and separated into different 'centres'. You can walk, but distances are large, roads are wide, and ongoing building work will block your path. Furthermore, in summer it gets very hot and in winter it can drop to -35°C (-31°F) at night.
By taxi
Metered taxi fares start at ¥10. There are also black taxis (illegal), driven nowadays by anyone, male or female. Fares for these are negotiable and they definitely come in handy during rush hour when metered taxis are tough to come by. Regardless, you should normally never pay more than ¥20 for a ride within the city, although many roads are closed at present as a subways network is being built and roads are being fixed and so you may sometimes need to pay more.
By bus
Bus number 52 goes from the round about near the airport to the museum. Other useful routes running generally north-south are 101, 61 and 63.
The very visible BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) Buses are a quick, efficient and very crowded way from getting from one end of the city center to another. BRT1 and 2 are very useful. BRT1 runs straight down Youhau Lu to the train station. BRT 3 connects the grand bazar, People's Theater and Square and ultimately terminates with a connection to BRT1 at its Northern end. Just put ¥1 in the box on the way onto the platforms and then squeeze onto a bus. These are recently opened and run along a segregated busway - something of a cross between a bus and a tram.
Driving
If you want to drive yourself, you need to make sure you have a Chinese driving license. if you have an international driving license you only need to do a theoretical exam to get a chinese driving license. the exam is in various languages.
Driving around in urumqi is fairly easy, however traffic can be a bit crazy sometimes. If you own your own car please make sure you pay your road tax and do your annual check.
Parking, due to a lack of space many of the public areas all charge for the parking and can vary between 3 to 6RMB per hour. in recent years they start to construct various parking garages throughout the city.
By Air
There are various international flights from and to Urumqi. There are flights to most of the surrounding countries and in recent years flights to Istanbul, Dubai and taiwan have been added. Most popular routes to Europe are Urumqi-istanbul- final destination and Urumqi-Astana-frankfurt.
On foot
The city centre is big, and separated into different 'centres'. You can walk, but distances are large, roads are wide, and ongoing building work will block your path. Furthermore, in summer it gets very hot and in winter it can drop to -35°C (-31°F) at night.
By taxi
Metered taxi fares start at ¥10. There are also black taxis (illegal), driven nowadays by anyone, male or female. Fares for these are negotiable and they definitely come in handy during rush hour when metered taxis are tough to come by. Regardless, you should normally never pay more than ¥20 for a ride within the city, although many roads are closed at present as a subways network is being built and roads are being fixed and so you may sometimes need to pay more.
By bus
Bus number 52 goes from the round about near the airport to the museum. Other useful routes running generally north-south are 101, 61 and 63.
The very visible BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) Buses are a quick, efficient and very crowded way from getting from one end of the city center to another. BRT1 and 2 are very useful. BRT1 runs straight down Youhau Lu to the train station. BRT 3 connects the grand bazar, People's Theater and Square and ultimately terminates with a connection to BRT1 at its Northern end. Just put ¥1 in the box on the way onto the platforms and then squeeze onto a bus. These are recently opened and run along a segregated busway - something of a cross between a bus and a tram.
Driving
If you want to drive yourself, you need to make sure you have a Chinese driving license. if you have an international driving license you only need to do a theoretical exam to get a chinese driving license. the exam is in various languages.
Driving around in urumqi is fairly easy, however traffic can be a bit crazy sometimes. If you own your own car please make sure you pay your road tax and do your annual check.
Parking, due to a lack of space many of the public areas all charge for the parking and can vary between 3 to 6RMB per hour. in recent years they start to construct various parking garages throughout the city.
By Air
There are various international flights from and to Urumqi. There are flights to most of the surrounding countries and in recent years flights to Istanbul, Dubai and taiwan have been added. Most popular routes to Europe are Urumqi-istanbul- final destination and Urumqi-Astana-frankfurt.