Urumqi
The resource-rich and vast Xinjiang is a treasure of China. The ancient and beautiful Urumqi is a brilliant pearl at the foot of Tianshan Mountains. Urumqi, which lies in the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain and the south of Junggar Basin, is surrounded by hills and girdled by water, has vast expanse of fertile fields, and is the well-known "land for plowing, singing and dancing" of western regions. Thus, the native people since ancient times affectionately call her "Urumqi", and Junggar has the meaning of "beautiful ranch" in Mongolian language.
Urumqi is the world's farthest city from the sea and is belonged to the temperate continental arid climate with the annual average rainfall of 194 mm, the average temperature of the warmest July and August is 25.7℃ and that of the coldest January is -15.2℃. The spring and autumn are shorter, and the winter and summer are longer with large temperature difference between day and night. June to October of each year is the golden time for tourism, with flowers flocking to bloom and fruits and melons overflowing flagrance. At the time of bitter winter, the whole city will be covered with snow and filled with silver trees, creating some tastes and funs of the northlands.
1. Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar
Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar, the major landmark of Urumqi, Xinjiang, which was completed in 2003 with Islamic architectural style and a total floor area of 100,000 square meters, is located in Erdaoqiao of the intersection of South Jiefang Road and Tuanjie Road, and is the largest shopping market with distinctive national features of Xinjiang. The Grand Bazaar includes the food court, banquet hall, observation tower and a mosque.
2. Bogda Peak
Bogda Peak, with an altitude of 5,445 meters, is the highest peak of Bogda Mountain in eastern Tianshan in the same line with two other grand peaks with respective altitudes of 5,287 meters and 5,213 meters. The unity of the three peaks looks exactly like a penholder, and the local herders called them three holy mountains. Above 3,800 meters is the perpetual snow area with snow gleaming white, winning the title of "Snow Sea".
The starting fare of all taxies of Urumqi is 6 Yuan, with 1.6 Yuan more per kilometer and 1.8 Yuan per kilometer at night for mileage exceeding 3 kilometers. It costs approximately 30 Yuan to the airport from the city center by taxi and less than 10 Yuan to the south railway station by taxi. The public transportation of Urumqi is very convenient with the uniform fare of 1 Yuan and 1.5 Yuan after 10pm.
Urumqi Diwopu International Airport, which is located in the northwest of Urumqi and 18 kilometers from the city center with a half an hour of bus trip, is equipped with transportation vehicles for sending travelers to the Red Mountain Civil Aviation Ticket Office in urban area. The urban public transport vehicles leading to Urumqi International Airport are bus No. 51 and No.27.